By Susan Hornik

REALITY CHECK

Reality television fans absolutely love to see when their favorite contestants pop up on other competitive series, like Parvati Shallow, who went from 4 seasons of CBS’ Survivor (Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Cook Islands, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains and Survivor: Winners at War) to being one of the deliciously deceptive players on Peacock’s second season of The Traitors.

And while Shallow didn’t win the $250,000 on that series, she might well have that chance on NBC’s iconic gameshow, Deal or No Deal Island, where she will be one of the contestants for season 2.

Her fellow ex-castmate, Rob Mariano, has been on six seasons of Survivor, winning All-Stars and Redemption Island, and was just on Deal or No Deal Island. Known on the series as Boston Rob, he is now headed to The Traitors.

“I will definitely be watching Traitors season 3!” said Shallow. “I’ve got so many friends playing the game this time and so many people to root for. I’m excited to watch Survivor 44 finalist Carolyn Wiger and Boston Rob play, and I’m so curious if they’ll get along.”

FESTIVAL FARE

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – at least for Hallmark Media, who is celebrating its 15th year hosting the Countdown to Christmas viewing event. This time, they will have more than 40 new movies across Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mystery. They are also expanding their programming, creating Hallmark+, which launches this month.

Among the highlights:

—Mistletoe Murders, which stars Sarah Drew, will play Emily, the small-town owner of a Christmas-themed store. Her side job is investigating local murders!

—Hallmark’s first holiday specific show is Holidazed, which follows six families with various backgrounds and cultures that reside on the same block. Dennis Haysbert, Loretta Devine, and Virginia Madden star.

—Hallmark’s The Wedding Veil trilogy now has a male-focused spinoff! The Groomsmen will star Tyler Hynes, Jonathan Bennett, and B.J. Britt and will premiere later this year on Hallmark+.

METAL HEART

One of the most anticipated films this fall is DreamWorks Animation’s adaptation of the New York Times’ bestselling book, The Wild Robot, starring Pedro Pascal, Mark Hamill, Ving Rhames, Bill Nighy, and Catherine O’Hara. The book, about a smart robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) who gets stranded on a deserted island, has since inspired a trilogy that now includes The Wild Robot Escapes and The Wild Robot Protects.

Writer/director Chris Sanders, the three-time Academy Award nominated director of How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods, stumbled onto the book via his daughter’s school assignment, and thought it would make a great animated movie.

“What struck me most about the book was its deceptively simple yet profound emotional depth,” Sanders acknowledged. “I connected with its innocence and its earnestness. I’m drawn to stories with strong emotional undercurrents. While I appreciate big adventure stories, it’s the quieter more intimate moments that truly resonate.”

SCENE STEALER

Production designer Deborah Riley has had the “extreme good fortune” of working on two successful television series, HBO’s fantasy drama, Game of Thrones, and more recently, the Netflix sci fi thriller, 3 Body Problem.

To take on designing two large-scale series would be considered an immense challenge, but Riley, who has won four Primetime Emmys, takes it all in stride. “I am the cheerleader of the art department!” she enthused. “I just want to bring the best out of the people that I am working with. Hopefully we all create something that we are proud of.”

Riley first met producers/ creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss back in March 2013 on season four of Thrones. “I worked with them on each subsequent season until it wrapped in July 2018. So by the time the guys called me about their new series, 3 Body Problem, it felt like the most natural thing in the world and we got to pick up where we left off.”

L’AMOUR

Awards season has only just begun, and there’s already Oscar buzz for intriguing French musical, Emilia Pérez, starring Mexican telenovela star Karla Sofía Gascón, Mexican film star Adriana Paz, and U.S. actresses Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez.

The fascinating film has an unconventional narrative, focusing on a dissatisfied lawyer (Saldana) who helps a Mexican cartel leader (Gascón) escape from the police so she could secretly undergo gender-affirming surgery. Years later, now known as Emilia, she contacts the lawyer once again, wanting to see her wife (Gomez) and children she left behind, despite the danger involved

Many critics believe that when the Academy Awards are announced, Gascón will make history as the first openly trans actress nominated for an Oscar. This could also be the first Netflix film to win at the Academy Awards as well. Talking about her own transition six years ago, Gascón told the New York Times: “It was very difficult. People knew me a certain way and then I changed, so I constantly felt that I had to justify myself. I was always fighting with everyone.”

After getting a long standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, the movie received accolades; Gascón was on hand to accept the Jury Award