Jack Vita Show: Entertainment | Reality TV | Survivor | The Traitors | Big Brother | The Challenge

From March 21, 2024 — Earlier this week, Kim Mattina became the fourth contestant eliminated from NBC's new hit reality competition show, Deal or No Deal Island. As part of our Deal or No Deal Island coverage, Kim visits the Jack Vita Show for her exit interview.

Kim is a 62 year-old woman, originally from Peoria, Illinois (now living in Phoenix, Arizona) who fulfilled a dream by competing on Deal or No Deal Island. She is an OG reality competition show fan, watching long-running, hit shows such as Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race and MTV's The Challenge since the genesis of network reality television.

Kim came out of the gate, playing hard. She earned the steal case in the first challenge. She immediately recognized Boston Rob Mariano from his time on Survivor, and quickly let everybody know how big of a threat he is. Rob immediately felt threatened by Kim, so he worked hard on trying to get her out of the game. In the second episode, Rob won immunity and picked Kim to face the banker in a game of Deal or No Deal. Kim won, and got to choose who she wanted to send packing. She gave Rob's ally Jamil the boot.

In the third episode, Kim's target continued to grow, especially after she called Rob and Claudia a bad word to Alyssa. Alyssa turned around and told Rob. Rob's alliance concocts a plan to boot Kim, which goes south when Stephanie steals Claudia's case, leaving Aron and Claudia in the bottom two, with Rob in control. Rob selects Claudia to face the banker, and Claudia becomes the first contestant to lose a game of Deal or No Deal, as she is eliminated.

In episode four, Amy picks Rob to face the banker. Rob wins, and he finally sends Kim home.

Kim chats with Jack about her time on the show, her love for reality television, why she targeted Rob, what her gameplan was, what went wrong for her, and much more!

You can follow Kim on Instagram, @kimmattina.

From March 19, 2024 — Survivor: Guatemala contestant Brooke Struck and Jack Vita are back to recap the fourth episode of NBC's new hit reality competition show, Deal or No Deal Island!

Each week, Brooke and Jack will be recapping the latest episode of Deal or No Deal Island. Later in the week, Jack will provide an exit interview with the most recent contestant eliminated from Deal or No Deal Island.

Episode 4, "Are You Intuitive?" picks up where episode 3 left off, with the elimination of Claudia. Kim continues to target Boston Rob, and now Amy is going after the Robfather.

The contestants split into two separate teams for the challenge. A heroic effort from Alyssa and Aron earns their tribe immunity, protecting Miranda, Jordan and Amy from elimination. As the team's captain, Amy has the power to select which contestant from the losing team will go into elimination. Sensing that he could very easily be picked off by someone else if they were to win a Deal or No Deal game, Rob volunteers to go into elimination. With Amy's sights set on giving Rob the boot, she accepts Rob's proposition. Rob takes a gamble, and it pays off. He then sends Kim packing.

Before sending the contestants back to camp, Joe asks the group which player they believe to be the most trustworthy. Aron is collectively agreed upon as the recipient of the title, and he is told to stay back while the rest of the contestants retreat to camp. Aron is nervous about this sudden twist of fate, as the episode reaches its end.

From March 16, 2024 — This week, former Deal or No Deal model Claudia Jordan became the third contestant eliminated from NBC's new hit reality competition show, Deal or No Deal Island.

In the midst of an explosive confrontation at episode's challenge, Claudia offered to sacrifice her safety in the game for her alliance. She encouraged Stephanie to steal her case instead of taking Boston Rob's. Stephanie reluctantly accepted Claudia's offer, placing Claudia in the bottom two with Aron. Rob won immunity for the second straight week, and he selected Claudia to play Deal or No Deal, with her life in the game on the line. Unfortunately for Claudia, her briefcase contained a higher dollar value than the deal she accepted, making her the third contestant eliminated from Deal or No Deal Island.

Claudia visits the Jack Vita Show for this week's Deal or No Deal Island exit interview. Claudia explains why she offered herself up as a sacrifice to Stephanie, what name Kim called her and Rob that set them off, what it was like being on the other side of production this time around, what wasn't shown from the episode, and much more! Claudia spills the tea in an exclusive interview on the Jack Vita Show!

Claudia is no stranger to reality television. She has competed on two seasons of The Celebrity Apprentice and was a main member of the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She has appeared in dozens of other films and shows. You can follow her on Instagram @claudiajordan.

From March 12, 2024 —

Days after Peacock's The Traitors wrapped up in a historic finale, Jack is back to recap another show on the Jack Vita Show!

Jack will be recapping Deal or No Deal Island each week with his cohost, Brooke Struck! They will also be providing exit interviews with the eliminated contestants each week, all season long.

Brooke competed on Survivor: Guatemala in the fall of 2005. Brooke started the game in the majority alliance on the Nakum tribe and was set up to be a prominent figure on the season. In the fourth episode, she fell victim to a tribe swap, and was outnumbered on her newly remade Nakum tribe. Our Traitors recap cohost Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick voted Brooke out, making her the fourth boot on Day 11 of Survivor: Guatemala! Brooke now works as an attorney, specializing in family law.

Brooke and Jack record their first recap, dissecting the third episode of Deal or No Deal Island, "Are You Fearless?". The episode opens with the cast sitting around after Kim has won the most recent Deal or No Deal game and eliminated Jamil. Kim made a comment during the game directed at Boston Rob and his alliance, saying that she was going to "kick [their] ass". Rob calls Kim out in front of the group, saying that it wasn't necessary for her to make things personal like that. The rest of the cast reacts, piling onto Kim. Rob reveals in a confessional that he did not actually take Kim's comment personally, but he was using it against her to paint a greater target on her.

Kim confides in Alissa, who she believes in an ally of hers. Kim calls Rob and Claudia a bad word (or words), and Alissa uses this against Kim to further throw her under the bus, informing Rob. Word spreads, and it appears that the group has collectively agreed to take out Kim the next chance that they get. Stephanie catches wind of the plan, and she isn't on-board with it.

At the challenge, Stephanie gains the ability to steal a case from anybody. Initially she indicates that she plans to take Rob's million-dollar, first-place case. This would take immunity from Rob and drop the Survivor icon into the bottom two, leaving him up for elimination. Soon, a gigantic argument breaks out. Rob reveals to the group that he is unhappy about the remarks that Kim made earlier to Alissa. Claudia is upset. In the middle of this argument, Claudia volunteers for Stephanie to take her case instead of Rob's, risking her own future in the game. Stephanie reluctantly accepts Claudia's offer, leaving Rob immune and putting Stephanie in-danger of going home. Claudia and Aron finish in the bottom two, and Rob selects Claudia to face the banker.

Claudia gets down to three cases. One case contains $0.01, another contains $175,000 and the final case contains $500,000. She is offered $180,000 by the banker, giving her a 2/3 shot of beating the banker and living to see another day. Claudia accepts the deal, and unfortunately for her, her case contains $500,000. She is eliminated from the game, becoming the season's first player to lose to the banker.

Brooke and Jack break it all down, sharing their thoughts on the latest episode of Deal or No Deal Island, as well as the show's concept as a whole!

Claudia will visit the Jack Vita Show later this week for her exit interview, as we will be providing exit interviews with the cast all season long. Make sure you are subscribed to our YouTube channel, so that you don't miss it.

From April 1, 2024 — All season long, Survivor legend and The Traitors season 1 contestant Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick and Jack Vita have been covering the second season of Peacock's hit reality competition show The Traitors, providing in-depth analysis and recaps on the Jack Vita Show after every single episode. This week, Steph and Jack are pleased to be joined by one of the season's winners, Trishelle Cannatella!

Trishelle played a calculated and aggressive game throughout her time on The Traitors, never shying away from calling out the contestants that she perceived as traitors at the roundtable. She correctly voted to banish Dan and Phaedra from the game. She figured out that Parvati was a traitor, but convinced her alliance to attempt to work with Parvati, in hopes of taking control of the numbers. Her plan was unsuccessful, but Peter, John and Kevin were all targeted by the Bravo alliance before she was.

Trishelle teamed up with longtime frenemy Chris "CT" Tamburello. The pair first met in the year 2002, on MTV's The Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet. The Real World and Challenge alumni have a bit of a rocky past, so it came as a bit of a surprise to both of them that they ended up working so closely together on The Traitors and ultimately winning, splitting the $208,000 prize!

Stephenie and Jack ask Trishelle about her strategy, her gameplay and her time in Scotland! Trishelle shows off the notes she took in her journal during her time in the castle and provides great detail and insights to her strategy. She also gives us a peak behind the curtain and discusses some things that weren't shown on camera. Trishelle provides clarity to her decision to banish again and why she voted CT and pivoted to MJ. Trishelle has been catching some heat from the fans. Why is that, and what are her thoughts on the matter? Join us as we take a deep dive into Trishelle's path to victory on The Traitors!

Trishelle made her reality television debut in the year 2002, appearing as a cast member on the 12th season of MTV's The Real World, The Real World: Las Vegas. Trishelle competed on four seasons of MTV's The Challenge. After competing on The Challenge: Rivals II in 2013, Trishelle took an eight-year break from reality television, until coming out of retirement to appear on the first season of The Challenge: All-Stars. 23 years into her reality television career, she is finally a champion.

You can follow Trishelle on Twitter (@TrishelleC) and Instagram (@TrishelleC).

You can follow Stephenie (@steph_lagrossa_kendrick) on Instagram, and join her and Trishelle on the Cruise of Deception!

From March 11, 2024 — The Traitors Season 2 has met its end! With Stephenie on vacation this week, season 1 contestant Michael Davidson fills in for her on the Jack Vita Show and breaks down a historic finale and dramatic reunion show, in the eleventh episode of The Traitors, "One Final Hurdle".

The episode picks up where episode 10 left off. In the aftermath of Phaedra Parks' banishment, Kate is the final traitor remaining. Kate chooses to murder Sheree, hoping to pin the murder on a non-Bravo cast member. Kate takes aim at Sandra, making the two-time Survivor champion her next target. Meanwhile, Sandra is on to Kate. Sandra believes Kate slipped up at the latest roundtable, when she cast her vote towards Phaedra.

The group completes the final mission, raising the prize pot to $208,100. In the moments before the roundtable, the cast scrambles as Sandra and Kate fight for their lives in the game. Trishelle and CT had planned to banish Kate, but CT changes his tune at the last second, something that shocks Trishelle. An emotional Trishelle casts a vote for Sandra, wanting to vote with the group, even though she appears to have no desire to vote out Sandra. Sandra is banished, and reveals that she is indeed a faithful.

Moments later, the final four enters the fire of truth. The contestants have the choice between ending the game or banishing again. Kate chooses to end the game, while MJ, Trishelle and CT all opt to banish again. Considering that there was a murder at the start of the episode and Sandra was not a traitor, the group knows that there has to be at least one more traitor remaining in the game. Kate is banished, leaving MJ, Trishelle and CT.

CT gives a wink to Trishelle, and both former Challengers vote to banish again, leaving MJ in shock. What comes as an even greater shock to the audience however, is when Trishelle votes for CT. CT votes for MJ and MJ votes for Trishelle, making the vote a deadlock tie. CT's sudden pivot from voting Kate to banishing Sandra at the previous roundtable causes suspicion from Trishelle. Before revoting, CT assures Trishelle that he is not a traitor, and MJ is banished from the game, leaving the two Real World alumni as the champions of The Traitors Season 2, splitting the prize pot equally.

The reunion show does not lack drama, either. Dan receives blowback for his decision to target Phaedra before his banishment. MJ is disgusted with CT and Trishelle. Meanwhile, Peter breaks out a spot-on Alan Cumming impression and the cast relives the biggest moments and discusses the greatest talking points from the second season of The Traitors.

Michael and Jack are here to break it all down, providing thoughtful commentary and analysis. It's a Traitors finale recap that you will NOT want to miss!

You can follow Michael on Instagram, @michaeldavidson_.

From March 1, 2024 — Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick returns to the Jack Vita Show to break down the tenth episode of The Traitors Season 2, "The Weight of Deceit".

The season's penultimate episode picks up where Episode 9 left off, as MJ reveals who she voted for in the most recent roundtable. By a vote of 5-4, Peter has been banished from the castle. In the turret, Phaedra and Kate detect that Phaedra's days may be numbered. They choose to murder John, eliminating another one of the Peter pals' numbers. Now, only Trishelle remains.

At breakfast, suspicions around Phaedra continue to rise. Kate tries to protect Phaedra, by taking aim at Sandra. CT and Trishelle try to scramble and find a way to keep themselves from being picked off one-by-one.

The majority of the group struggles at the mission, with CT and Trishelle carrying the group to the mission's completion, adding more money to the prize pot. Later, Kate continues to target Sandra, which Sandra picks up on. Kate's attempts to save Phaedra fall flat, and Phaedra appears to lose her desire to fight. Phaedra is banished in a clean sweep, with Phaedra casting a stray vote for CT. At the roundtable, Kate makes what may have been a critical error, calling Phaedra "more selfish than skillful" when casting her vote for the traitor. Sandra suspects that Kate let it slip to the group that she too is a traitor. The episode ends with Sandra correctly suspecting Kate, and Kate wanting to use Sandra as a target for banishment.

You can follow Stephenie (@steph_lagrossa_kendrick) on Instagram, and join her and Sandra on the Cruise of Deception!

From February 23, 2024 — Two-time Survivor winner Sandra Diaz-Twine has been playing an exceptional game on the second season of Peacock's Emmy-Award winning competition show, The Traitors. This week, she joins Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick and Jack on the Jack Vita Show, as they recap The Traitors S2 E9 "A Game of Death".

Jack is traveling and recorded this episode from an Airbnb in Nashville. Unfortunately, his audio quality was not up to par in this episode. Our sincere apologies; we will do better next time.

Episode 9 opens with Kate entering the dungeon and being presented an ultimatum: join the traitors, or be murdered. Kate accepts, and is floored when Phaedra asks her, "What's our strategy going forward?" Moments later, Kevin becomes the sixth faithful murdered, eliminating the Bling Empire alum from contention.

The next morning at breakfast, MJ thinks Kate is acting shady, and calls her out in front of a group of people. Suspicion begins to surround Peter, after he proactively fought to keep Parvati in the game the night before. As Peter is targeted by the Bravo clique, he, Trishelle and John see the writing on the wall and believe that they will be the next three contestants eliminated, unless they are able to flip the script. The Peter pals try to form a plan. Peter pulls CT into a room, and CT tells Peter that he he's convinced that the former Bachelor star is a traitor.

At the mission, Phaedra makes a major blunder. Sandra suggests to Phaedra that they change the order in which they are shooting at the targets, taking aim at Trishelle. Trishelle and CT make immediate notice of this, and CT realizes that Phaedra is a traitor. Later, CT approaches Trishelle and informs her that his opinion has shifted and that he will vote for Phaedra at the night's roundtable.

Peter pulls Phaedra into a room, in an attempt to freeze Phaedra out from other conversations. Trishelle appeals to the Bravos, laying out a compelling case that Phaedra is a traitor.

The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with four votes being cast for Peter and four for Phaedra, with MJ's vote to be revealed at the start of Episode 10.

Jack and Stephenie recap the episode and share their initial thoughts (0:00 - 23:45). Then, Sandra joins the conversation (23:45 - 1:21:05). Sandra answers questions about Episode 9 and everything that has happened up to this point! Is Sandra committed to the Bravos, or is she playing both sides? Why did she vote for Peter instead of Phaedra in this week's roundtable? Where did she and Parvati stand entering the season, and how are things between the two of them now? Stephenie and Sandra discuss and compare their experiences from their respective time in the castle. Sandra gives us a peak behind the curtain and shares some of the juiciest info that wasn't shown on The Traitors. All this, and so much more!

Later, Steph and Jack share their predictions for Episode 10 (1:21:05 - END).

You can follow Sandra on Twitter (@SandraDTwine) and Instagram (@sassysdt).

You can follow Stephenie (@steph_lagrossa_kendrick) on Instagram, and join her and Sandra on the Cruise of Deception!

From February 19, 2024 — This past week on Peacock's The Traitors, Love Island USA 5 alum Carsten "Bergie" Bergersen became the fifth contestant murdered and the latest competitor eliminated from contention. He visits the Jack Vita Show for a longform conversation, as he and Jack take a deep dive into his game, discussing his time in the castle in great detail.

Bergie made his reality television debut last summer, appearing on the fifth season of the American version of Love Island. Bergie finished in third place and instantaneously became a fan favorite. Shortly after his run on Love Island met its end, he was approached by Peacock about appearing on The Traitors. Just weeks after he left the beaches of Fiji, the 24 year-old found himself amongst a group of some of reality television's greatest figures, in a castle in Scotland.

Bergie quickly formed a close bond with Peter Weber (The Bachelor), Janelle Pierzina (Big Brother) and Trishelle Cannatella (The Real World: Las Vegas). After Janelle was eliminated, their group was able to pick up enough numbers to banish traitor Dan Gheesling (Big Brother) from the castle. Dan had attempted to murder Bergie that same morning, but Bergie was protected by a shield that he collected during the previous mission. Bergie's group was close to banishing another traitor in episode 7, but a twist cancelled the night's banishment and offered protection to a majority of the cast, leaving Bergie as one of only four contestants up for murder. This time around, Bergie was in fact murdered, ending his time on The Traitors.

Bergie chats with Jack about his strategy going into the show. For the first time ever, Bergie reveals notes from the journal that he kept in Scotland, as he attempted to pinpoint the identities of the traitors. Bergie tells all, taking us through his thought process and revealing which contestants were on his radar, and when he started becoming suspicious of certain individuals.

Bergie gives us a peak behind the curtain and shares what plot points he was most surprised have not been shown on The Traitors thus far. Find out how he figured out that Parvati and Dan were traitors, and why Phaedra was on his radar early on. He discusses what led to his murder and what he might have done differently, if he were to receive a do-over, and shares favorite memories of his from his time in the castle. Later on, he shares some thoughts on his Minnesota Vikings and the induction of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. It's a jam-packed episode you will NOT want to miss!

You can follow Bergie on Instagram (@bergielicious35), Twitter (@CarstenBergie) and TikTok (@carstenb), and be on the lookout for his new YouTube channel, coming soon!

From February 16, 2024 — Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick returns to the Jack Vita Show to recap the eighth episode of the second season of Peacock's Emmy Award-winning reality competition show, The Traitors.

This week on The Traitors, Bergie (Love Island USA 5) was the victim of the traitors' fifth murder. The loss of Bergie is a huge hit to the Peter pals alliance, which is now a group of four: Trishelle, John, Kevin and Peter. Sensing that a pivotal roundtable is on the horizon, the group turns its attention to Phaedra. They sense that both Phaedra and Parvati are traitors. The group views Parvati as a dead woman walking, and fears that if they don't take out Phaedra as soon as possible, the Bravo clique will pick them off one-by-one. Trishelle crafts a plan for the group to try to pull Parvati into the fold, protect her, and attempt to use her vote in the upcoming banishment. Peter meets with Parvati and it appears the two have squashed their beef and agreed to team up.

Meanwhile, the Bravo clique also knows that a big time vote is coming. Its core of Phaedra, Sheree, Kate and MJ has its sights set on banishing Parvati. CT and Sandra have positioned themselves in the middle, as the swing votes.

The contestants visit a cabin in the woods that functions as an escape room. They are met with gross bugs and a number of other obstacles. The contestants from Bravo drop out of the challenge, while the reality competitors add $11,000 to the prize pot. Trishelle wins a shield, protecting her from the night's murder. Big Brother winner Dr. Will makes a cameo at the challenge.

After the mission, the contestants strategize as the bravo clique goes for Parvati and the Peter pals try for Phaedra. In the end, Parvati is banished at the roundtable by a vote of 7-4. Even John votes with the Bravos, leaving Peter, Trishelle and Kevin hung out to dry.

With Phaedra as the last remaining faithful in the turret, she is instructed by Alan that she must pick a faithful to recruit as a traitor. If that faithful rejects the offer, they will be murdered. Phaedra chooses Kate, and the episode ends as Kate enters the dungeon.

Stephenie and Jack break it all down!

You can follow Stephenie (@steph_lagrossa_kendrick) on Instagram, and join her on the Cruise of Deception!