Alec Karam

Chicago

Freelance Contributor at Freelance

bravo recaps @thedailybeast | bylines in @suntimes @slate @blockclubchi @windycitytimes @complex | perpetually stirring a metaphorical pot 🇱🇧 (he/him)

Articles

There’s an Explosive New Real Housewives Feud to Obsess Over

1 week ago | thedailybeast.com | Alec Karam

Bravo cameras are once again following the Real Housewives on solo trips where major interpersonal drama ensues: We are so back. The Real Housewives of Miami just followed a banger premiere with an even more impressive follow-up. From coke allegations to extreme narcissism and marital drama, this episode has it all, in large part because this cast is too delusional to be anything but irritatingly authentic.
Is It Time for Bravo to Fire Jax Taylor From ‘The Valley’?

1 week ago | thedailybeast.com | Alec Karam

The Valley is a game of suburban Minesweeper. Every move you make, you risk at least a few explosions. That’s why it’s Bravo’s psychological thriller, a show so sordid it’s a shock Jax Taylor still sits comfortably atop the villain throne. Walking an ever-fragile tightrope, Jax has waddled his way back into the group with a renewed perspective, the kind a 30-day stay in a rehab with 24/7 access to your phone and ex-wife’s home security system can give you.
An Outrageous Divorce Explodes on New ‘Real Housewives of Miami’

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Alec Karam

'AITA for refusing to take in my brother’s kids?' 'I said I would if something ever happened to him.' UPDATE"AITA for refusing to take in my brother’s kids even though I once said I would if something ever happened to him?"This is eating me up and I …
An Outrageous Divorce Explodes on New ‘Real Housewives’

2 weeks ago | thedailybeast.com | Alec Karam

Drowning in a sea of despair, horrific headlines on all ends, and a Bravo schedule thinner than ever, life for the reality fan has rarely felt more helpless. Thankfully, The Real Housewives of Miami has returned as self-assured as ever, with a premiere so fantastic it wipes away months of worry.
Queer Muslim conference brings strength to Chicago's marginalized community

1 month ago | windycitytimes.com | Alec Karam

The Ayah Project's second annual queer Muslim conference wasn't just a chance for faith members to commiserate and find community-it was a place of active resistance amid a worldwide rise in xenophobia and homophobia. The non-profit-formerly the US branch of Hidayah, a UK-based community outreach organization-arrived at the University of Illinois at Chicago April 26 for a day-long conference featuring several panels, speakers and workshops, followed by an informal after party at Eli Tea Bar.
These Horrible Reality TV Scandals Are Getting Too Salacious for Fans

1 month ago | thedailybeast.com | Alec Karam

Since the dawn of reality television, audiences and editors have engaged in an endless tug of war. Where is the line that actions go from captivating to revolting? At which point does airing something become an endorsement of certain behavior? And when do villains stop being love-to-hate, and just become straight-up despised? In the modern age, where social media rules all and the line between salacious and sickening gets ever-blurred, how much drama can reality fans handle?
Four Horny Real Housewives Unleashed at Bravo’s ‘Love Hotel’

2 months ago | thedailybeast.com | Alec Karam

The Real Housewives have exposed their lives in a plethora of ways, from cancer scams to drunken arrests and all the alleged pirate conquests between. Now, they’re traversing their most vulnerable challenge yet: dating on camera. Four of Bravo’s most renowned Housewives have checked into the Love Hotel for an 8-episode journey to find love, or at least a good time.
‘The Valley’: The Fight That Sends Reality TV’s Biggest Villain to Rehab

2 months ago | thedailybeast.com | Alec Karam

Bravo is a cathedral to many and a sanctuary for the world’s most sordid souls. And no one inhabits more raw evil per capita than Jax Taylor, TV’s biggest villain.
How a Jewish Basketball Team Overcame Adversity After October 7

2 months ago | thedailybeast.com | Nick Schager |Laura Wheatman Hill |Emma Fraser |Alec Karam

Hollywood loves fairy-tale endings, especially when it comes to sports movies, which have a habit of climaxing with last-second touchdowns, game-winning shots, and underdogs overcoming amazing odds to pull off unlikely victories. In real life, though, such feel-good conclusions aren’t preordained, and Rebound: A Year of Triumph and Tragedy at Yeshiva University Basketball movingly captures the reality of persevering in the face of adversity.
The Real Housewives Face-Off We’ve Been Waiting for Arrived

2 months ago | thedailybeast.com | Alec Karam

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills may hold diamonds in their intro, but they much prefer to clutch pearls. That’s how we just spent an entire reunion episode discussing Kyle Richards’ text to Dorit’s ex-husband, and Sutton Stracke’s snide remark about the size of her wallet. In Beverly Hills, the weight of every little word travels far and wide, and the worst thing you can do is be a bit catty and biting.