Reality Life with Kate Casey

Carl Kurlander, co-writer of St. Elmo's Fire, joins me for the first of a two-part conversation about the true story behind the 1985 Brat Pack classic. It all started with a summer job as a bellhop at the St. Elmo Hotel in Chautauqua, New York, and a waitress named Lynn he couldn't stop thinking about. Carl takes us from an 18-page short story he mailed to her, to a freak scholarship at Universal Studios, to fetching gazpacho for director Joel Schumacher, the mentor who would become his co-writer and, at times, his tormentor. He reveals how a blizzard drive from Cleveland to D.C., a laundry room in an anarchist collective, and a disastrous night on Mulholland Drive all ended up on screen. 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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Bonnie Lou Gower and Kara Robinson Chamberlain join Kate to discuss The Serial Killer Connection, the three-part Investigation Discovery docuseries exploring their extraordinary connection to serial killer Richard “Marc” Evonitz. Bonnie was married to Evonitz before learning the truth about his crimes. Kara escaped his captivity at just 15, providing crucial information that helped authorities identify him and link him to the murders of three girls in Virginia. 

The series follows the women as they retrace Evonitz’s past, investigate new leads, and confront the possibility that he had additional victims. Their interviews explore two profoundly different experiences with the same man, the unlikely bond that brought them together, and their shared determination to find answers for families still waiting for the truth. 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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Kate discusses what to watch this week including The Serial Killer Connection (ID Discovery), Lorne (Netflix), Who is Martin Mull (Netflix), The Pet Cemetery Murders (HBO), and The Kardashians. 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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Tom Bross, author of the three-part memoir series Don’t Call Me Jupiter: Memoir of a Reluctant Hippie Kid—Tightrope, Lightning Crashes, and Wheel in the Sky—joins Kate to discuss growing up in a family that traded a conventional Midwestern life for California’s hippie counterculture. He shares how his mother’s pursuit of freedom left her five children navigating instability and abandonment, why school became his refuge, and how he found his own path. Tom also discusses taking in his nephews after his sister’s death, the heartbreaking decision to pursue an open adoption, and learning to love his mother without excusing the pain she caused. 

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Kate reviews the latest episodes of The Real Housewives of Orange County, Salt Lake City, and New York City. 

Director Jeff Cameron joins Kate to discuss Miller Night Football on HBO, revisiting Dennis Miller’s unexpected run on Monday Night Football and the collision of his cerebral comedy with live sports broadcasting. 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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Dan Slepian, Dateline senior investigative producer and Pulitzer Prize finalist for Letters From Sing Sing, joins Kate to talk about the new Netflix documentary The Widower: 'Til Death Do Us Part. Thomas Randolph had six wives, and four of them died. In 2008, his sixth wife, Sharon Causse, was shot in their Las Vegas home after a Mother's Day dinner. Randolph claimed he killed the intruder, but prosecutors said he had hired the man to kill Sharon for life insurance money. Dan spent nearly twenty years following the case, including a death sentence, a reversal by the Nevada Supreme Court, and a second conviction. 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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Chris DeRosa joins Kate to review Team Moms: Baseball on Paramount+. The series follows seven families at a Scottsdale baseball academy where the boys train for a shot at college and professional baseball, while their parents clash in the stands. 

Kate and Chris discuss the academy’s reported $30,900 annual cost, the parents who keep the drama going, and the question at the heart of the show: when does supporting your child’s dream become chasing one of your own? 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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Gerardo Mejía played one of the high school football players in Can’t Buy Me Love before becoming an international star with “Rico Suave.” He joins Kate to talk about his family’s move from Ecuador to Los Angeles, how dancing led to acting and music, and why he spent his own money making a music video before he had a record deal. He also shares what happened after the hit, from struggling to support his family to starting over as a record executive and working with Enrique Iglesias and a new generation of Latin artists. 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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Kate discusses what to watch this week including Amazing Race (CBS), The Widower: ’Til Death Do Us Part (Netflix), Miller Night Football (HBO), and The Swan: Behind the Mirror (Hulu). 

Reality Life with Kate Casey 

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EPISODE OVERVIEW:Deadline:Friday September 25th, 2026 at 10:00 P.M. MSTBaked-In Ads (Y/N & Amount):NOEpisode Title:Ep. - 1727 - SATURDAY SERIES: MICHAEL SWERDLICK PART TWODescription:Michael Swerdlick returns to tell more stories about the making of Can’t Buy Me Love, pilots hesold, and wild experiences in the business including working with the Olsen Twins.

Reality Life with Kate Casey

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