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Stay home, but travel back in time to see Pittsburghers on reality TV shows

Robert Voets/CBS

Stay home, but travel back in time to see Pittsburghers on reality TV shows

In a world where new content is being consumed faster than eggs on grocery store shelves, there’s a wealth of archived competition reality shows that feature Pittsburghers being, well, real.

“Survivor,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Big Brother” are out there, among others. Here is a general guide of where to find them.

‘Survivor’

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For the kids in the Mariano household, every Wednesday is “Survivor and Doritos Night.”

“It’s so great to have a show we can all watch and enjoy together,” said Amber Mariano, a Beaver native whose family now lives in Florida.

But they’re no casual fans. Back in 2001, Mrs. Mariano, then known as Amber Brkich, became a celebrity as part of the cast for Season 2 of “Survivor: The Australian Outback.”

“I was a kid!” she said, reflecting on how — at 22 years old and fresh out of Westminster College — she ended up on one of the most popular shows in television history.

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Fans of the show that kicked off America’s obsession with reality television can currently relive that season, as well as the 39 cycles that followed, on CBS All Access.

It pretty much started with Amber. Three years after her Australian adventure, she was chosen for the show’s all-star edition in Panama. There, she was a tribe mate of Rob Mariano, with whom she began a real-life love story rarely found in reality television. (CBS even broadcast a special on their wedding in the Bahamas.)

Mr. Mariano, known through five seasons of “Survivor” as “Boston Rob,” was a cunning player who excelled at manipulating others. In “All-Stars,” he made and broke deals with players to protect Amber from being voted off the island, and they wound up as the final two.

Amber won the $1 million prize, and at the live finale, he proposed to her.

They’ve been married for 15 years and have four young daughters. The whole family was featured on this year’s April 15 episode, filmed last year, when everyone received a visit from loved ones during the shoot for “Survivor: Winners at War” in Fiji.

“Survivor: Winners at War” concludes with a two-hour episode, followed by a live remote reunion, on May 13. At press time, it was unlikely either Mariano would be in the finale but would instead be on the jury to choose the winner. This time, all of the contestants were previous $1 million winners on the show.

Mrs. Mariano said looking back at that first all-star experience, “our game had everything it needed. I was the patient one. The one who could talk through moves.

“Rob was the one who was aggressive … without each other I don’t think either of us would have made it to the end.”

It’s hard to remember now, but before “Survivor” debuted in 2000, reality television was a rarity in American pop culture. For its first decade, “Survivor” was a ratings juggernaut, consistently in the top 10 ratings.

Pittsburgh “Survivors” often played a major part.

Bridgeville native Jenna Morasca won Season 6 in the Amazon (2004). Ambridge native Ian Rosenberger looked to have a place in the finale locked up in 2005’s “Survivor: Palau” but took third after throwing the final immunity challenge as a goodwill gesture to eventual winner Tom Westman. (It’s a long story — just watch.)

Anyone caring to relive “Survivor” can find it on CBS All Access. There is also “The Amazing Race” — which featured Amber and Rob in two seasons (7 and 11) — on Hulu. There was also a 2007 series, “Rob and Amber: Against the Odds,” that ran on the Fox reality channel. Set in Las Vegas, Mr. Mariano tries his hand at becoming a professional gambler. Some episodes can be found with a bit of hunting on YouTube.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

Looking for something a bit more glam? (Spoilers ahead.) Two Pittsburgh queens slayed on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which can be found on Amazon Prime Video.

In 2012, Sharon Needles (aka Aaron Coady) sashayed into the werk room in a black witch’s outfit, somewhat to the derision of some of the more turned-out drag queens.

But she was the real deal. Each week, the goth-tastic Sharon Needles proved to be smart, irreverent, creative and, most of all, really funny. It was no surprise when she won.

A year later, her then-boyfriend Justin Honard got his shot at fame. Alaska galloped into Season 5 wearing a horsehead mask and showed she was a talent in her own right. The Erie native and University of Pittsburgh graduate evolved into an even more polished performer when she won the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars” in 2016. In one of reality television’s more bizarre meet-ups, Alaska later appeared in VH1’s 2017 “Scared Famous” (available online at VH1.com).

‘Big Brother’

It took a mathematician to work out a perfect way to win the $500,000 prize on CBS’s “Big Brother.”

Shaler High grad Ian Terry was a Tulane University student in 2012 when he was cast. He didn’t seem to fit the typical House Guest profile among the bros, the former cheerleaders, the good ol’ country boys. Instead, he was an intense player whose little quirks made him appear nonthreatening to the hard-core players.

But Mr. Terry had it figured out. He had a chart that pegged what kind of people he would need to surround himself with and how to play them. It worked.

At the time, Mr. Terry said he didn’t tell most of his family what he was up to when he flew out to Los Angeles to spend the summer in the House. But by the time his victory was announced on live television, they were at the door to greet him.

Past seasons of “Big Brother” are available on CBS All Access.

‘The Joe Schmo Show’

“The Joe Schmo Show” was Pittsburgh all the way. The original featured Mt. Lebanon’s Matt Kennedy Gould, who was told he was competing on a Spike TV 2003 reality show (“Lap of Luxury”) with other contestants.

The catch: The show was all about him. Actors portrayed the other players as well as guests. An early-in-her-career Kristen Wiig even showed up as a counselor.

Mr. Gould would turn out to be a really nice guy, despite being thrust into preposterous situations. For his efforts, he “won” prizes and $100,000.

Ten years later, Spike TV was back again, this time similarly casting Lawrenceville’s Chase Rogan as a “contestant” on a fake show, “The Full Bounty.” Like Mr. Gould, Mr. Rogan proved to be an honest, amiable guy, even when the “real” Lorenzo Lamas was unjustly announced as the winner.

After revealing that it was all an elaborate ruse, the producers rewarded Mr. Rogan with $100,000. Mr. Rogan’s season is available for sale on Amazon Prime and iTunes.

Pittsburgh’s got talent?

Full episodes of “Dancing With the Stars” and “America’s Got Talent” performance clips abound on YouTube, and some of “AGT” is on the NBC app. It’s well worth watching former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and professional dance partner Kym Johnson as they tangoed, waltzed and more to the 2011 Mirror Ball Trophy. Runner-up was Kirstie Alley and Maks Chmerkovskiy in a season that included the Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio.

In 2016, Steelers receiver Antonio Brown was on the show as well but did not make the finals. He also was on “The Masked Singer” in 2019, dressed as a hippo, and numerous other programs involving celebrity homes. Former quarterback Terry Bradshaw also was on the first season as a singing deer. It’s on Hulu as well as available for purchase on iTunes.

And then there was Jackie Evancho, who was just a tiny girl from Pine with a big voice when she reached the finals of “America’s Got Talent” in 2010. She returned nine years later for an all-star version “America’s Got Talent: The Champions.” 

Of course, Pitts­burgh has a voice in pop, and two of the big­gest were Mun­hall’s Gabby Bar­rett, who fin­ished third on ABC’s re­boot of “Amer­i­can Idol” in 2018, and Ross na­tive Chris Jami­son, a 2014 fi­nal­ist on NBC’s “The Voice.” Both shows, or at least per­for­mance clips, can be found on YouTube.

‘Face Off’

Thanks to Monessen’s Tom Savini Special Makeup Effects Program, every one of the 13 seasons of Syfy’s excellent series “Face Off” had a local rooting interest. And a couple of grads won: Nora Hewitt (2015) and Cig Neutron (2017).

“Face Off,” hosted by McKenzie Westmore and with a panel of major award-winning judges who were always real but never cruel, was a rarity. The artists were talented, and with one exception in an early season, everyone always seemed to help each other. Imagine that.

Episodes are available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes.

“Capture”

What if “The Hunger Games” were for real, but no one got hurt?

In 2013, The CW aired one season of a show called “Capture.” There were 12 teams of two, including Indiana University of Pennsylvania friends Antoine Burton and Kareem Dawson.

Shot in a 4-acre wilderness area in California, the competition pitted two teams at a time, each with tracking devices. The “hunters” had to find the prey team within four hours to score points.

Ambridge native Mr. Burton and Dawson were the Green team, ultimately winning the $250,000 prize.

Alas, “Capture” only lasted a season and does not appear to be currently streaming.

Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or @Maria_Sciullo_.

First Published: May 1, 2020, 12:00 p.m.

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"Boston Rob" Mariano and wife Amber Brkich Mariano are both veterans of CBS's "Survivor," as well as the network's "The Amazing Race." They're both on the current "Survivor" season, which airs Wednesday nights, and their previous stints are available on various platforms including CBS All Access.  (Robert Voets/CBS)
Beaver County native Amber Brkich Mariano and husband Rob Mariano were treated to a visit from their four young daughters on the April 15 episode of "Survivor: Winners at War."  (Robert Voets/CBS)
Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, with host Nick Cannon, was revealed to be "The Masked Singer" hippo on Fox's reality series that debuted in 2019.  (Michael Becker/FOX)
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"RuPaul's Drag Race" alumni Alaska, left, of Erie, and Sharon Needles, of Pittsburgh, in the dressing rooms of the Byham Theater before a show in 2015.  (Bill Wade/Post-Gazette)
Chase Rogan (top row, center), believed he was taking part in an elimination ceremony for a new reality TV series searching for America's next bounty hunter. The Lawrenceville man won $100,000.  (Spike TV)
Cig Neutron is congratulated after winning an all-star season of Syfy's "Face Off."  (Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
Nora Hewitt works on her "Siren" for one of the top looks on Syfy's "Face Off." Hewitt was a winner on her season.  (Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
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Shaler High grad Ian Terry won his season of CBS's "Big Brother."  (Sonja Flemming)
Pittsburghers Kareem Dawson, left, and Antoine Burton comprised the Green Team on The CW's "Capture." The Indiana University of Pennsylvania friends captured first place.  (Eddy Chen)
Robert Voets/CBS
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