For nearly 20 years, Sharon Tharp has been breaking news, landing exclusive interviews, and covering reality television’s biggest stories. On The Exclusive, she takes fans behind the headlines with insider analysis, exclusive conversations, and behind-the-scenes access they won’t find anywhere else.
359: Survivor 51 Episode 1 Recap: Genevieve Mushaluk on That 'Electric' First Tribal
Sep 24, 2026
Show notes
Genevieve Mushaluk, who played Survivor 47 and Survivor 50, joins The Exclusive to break down the Survivor 51 premiere and the first live Tribal Council of the Open Era. Watching in "fan mode," she reflects on the marooning, the idol on Exile Island she calls "hugely overpowered," and the return of the coin flip, asking "why would you ever flip that coin?" if your odds of staying are better than 50-50. Genevieve also explains why Devin's campaign to save Aaliyah was "such a red flag" to her as a player, why Jenna and Patt stood out, and why she thinks Aaliyah went home "through very little fault of her own." Plus: her take on the Survivor alums on Big Brother 28 and The Traitors.
357: Big Brother 28 Exit Interview: Melody Morris Addresses Drew Romance
Sep 24, 2026
Show notes
Melody Morris, the latest houseguest evicted from Big Brother 28, joins The Exclusive to break down her final campaign to stay and her decision to renominate Yash after Devens won the veto on her HOH. She reflects on the Mosh Pit, the alliance with the Icons she calls "a total sham," her close bond with Drew, and the one thing she wishes she'd done differently: "win more competitions." Melody also explains why she has "absolutely no regret" about the renom, and says she would play Big Brother "every single summer for the rest of my life."
357: Survivor 51 Exit Interview: Aaliyah Reveals What We Missed at Tribal
Sep 24, 2026
Show notes
Aaliyah Puglia, the first player voted out of Survivor 51, joins The Exclusive to break down the premiere's live Tribal Council and the Shot in the Dark she was always going to play. She reflects on walking into Tribal feeling it was "70% me," the challenge she says set Toca behind, and the whisper from Jenna to Brady and Kilby that made her the target. Aaliyah also explains why she had her "hands in a lot of different jars" without locking anyone in, what Devin and Jelly's "10 toes down" votes meant to her, and why she wants to change the idea that going out first is embarrassing: "The worst thing that can happen is to never play at all."
355: Michele Noonan Ross Looks Back on Big Brother 11
Sep 24, 2026
Show notes
Seventeen years after Big Brother 11, Dr. Michele Noonan Ross joins the Memory Wall to look back on the season she won more competitions in than anyone else, and to "set the record straight on what I actually did after the house." The neuroscientist and drug-policy researcher walks through the casting call that found her — a Craigslist ad looking for "a nerdy girl for reality TV," answered from a postdoc job she had already quit — the job lie production outed on day one, and why a house that watched her take four competitions still decided she was, in Ronnie's words, "the worst human being he had ever met." Michele also revisits the Coup d'etat vote that sent Jesse home, the jury vote she would cast differently today, the sparkly devil horns she packed in her suitcase for her eviction speech, and her career since the show. Plus: why she "didn't throw a single comp," what seventeen years of rewatching changed about how she sees Natalie's game, and whether she would ever play again.
351: The Amazing Race 39: Phil Keoghan Previews Express Pass Twist, Teases Season 40
Sep 23, 2026
Show notes
Phil Keoghan, the host of The Amazing Race since its 2001 premiere, joins The Exclusive ahead of the Season 39 premiere to break down the all-new Express Pass twist and the show's first trip to Albania. He explains why handing every team a pass "took away some of the predictability of the stronger teams always winning a leg," why casting made a concerted push for the "very strong women" who define this season, and what it means to be sitting on country number 99 with a 40th season in sight. Keoghan also talks about the racers he loves most — the "wide-eyed and enthusiastic" teams from small-town America who have never owned a passport — the 25th anniversary that "snuck up on us," and where he lands on the celebrity-season idea that Hacks put back in the conversation. Plus the Albanian Cold War bunkers that have been turned into cafes and museums, why the starting line moved to Vancouver, and the live U-turn vote he wants more of.
356: Big Brother 28 Week 11 Recap: Josh Martinez on Dee's Best Path to Win
Sep 22, 2026
Show notes
Big Brother 19 winner Josh Martinez joins Sharon to break down Week 11 of Big Brother 28, from Taylor's HOH to the final four decision potentially facing his close friend Dee. Josh walks through the one piece of advice he gave her before the game, why he thinks she has to cut Devens and cut him sooner rather than later, and why Devens' "way too trusting" read of the house could hand him the "biggest blindside of the season." He explains what he believes it takes to win a final jury speech — "own your game," even the parts that make you the villain — and what Drew and Taylor each need to say if they get to the end. Josh also gets into Drew's chaotic run and whether it adds up to winner equity, Yash's slow-burn game and the one thing he wishes he'd done differently and the Survivor versus Big Brother debate. Plus, his read on Jag, Taylor and Michele heading into The Traitors castle.
354: The Traitors: New Blood Exit Interview: Madeline Sets the Record Straight on Kriste's Accusation
Sep 21, 2026
Show notes
Madeline Kostopulos, the first player banished from The Traitors: New Blood, joins The Exclusive to break down the accusation that took her out at the first Roundtable and what she actually said about Kim. She reflects on a "genuine blindside" that no one in the castle warned her about, why she led her defense with "she must have misheard me" instead of a flat denial, and the moment she knew the accusation was the "nail in my coffin." Madeline also explains why she refused to "bend the knee" and apologize for something she says she didn't say, what Victor's vote meant to her, and how being read as a six-foot woman in a room shaped the way the group took her. She says the response since the episode aired has given her the justice she didn't get in the castle — and that she'd play again "1,000 times over."
353: Big Brother 28 Check-In With Drew's Beast Games' Buddy JT About His Endgame
Sep 20, 2026
Show notes
JT Williams — who met Drew Campbell on Beast Games and has run his social media all season — returns to The Exclusive to break down where Drew actually stands going into the Big Brother 28 finale. JT, who has spent the summer fielding the DMs on both sides of the backlash, argues Drew is "definitely not drawing dead," makes the case that taking out Yash in the double eviction was the defining move of the season, and explains what it meant for Drew to be the "kingmaker" between two duos. He walks through the final four and final three comps Drew still has to win, embraces the "weasel" label instead of fighting it, and tells the story of the fake cousin Drew swore on — which was supposed to be "cousin JT." JT also delivers, off the cuff, the final two speech he'd want Drew to give the jury. They close on Drew's America's Favorite odds, what show he does next, and the game show he got flown out for and cut from.
352: The Traitors: New Blood Exit Interview: Kim Explains Her Coach Cover Story
Sep 20, 2026
Show notes
Kim Daily, the first player murdered in The Traitors: New Blood, joins The Exclusive to break down the night she was taken out and the cover story she spent the whole game protecting. The Houston attorney — who told the castle she was a college basketball coach — reflects on being read as "the brightest light in the room," the three-piece suit that made her stand out in the lineup, and the shield she climbed onto the boat to grab and then left behind. Kim also explains why she thought Joe was "acting mad sketchy" well before the murder, what she saw when the "shadowy figures" appeared in front of her, and how she planned to deflect suspicion onto Michael at the Roundtable.
351: Big Brother 28 Exit Interview: Yash Patel: '1,000% Would Have Beaten Drew'
Sep 18, 2026
Show notes
Yash Patel, the latest houseguest evicted from Big Brother 28, joins The Exclusive to break down why he has no regrets about winning HOH ahead of the Double Eviction and the deal he took with Drew in the Pressure Cooker. He reflects on the bribe he wanted to "wash my hands of," why he knows "in my bones" he could have outlasted Drew, and how his dad's 12- to 14-hour shifts on his feet at a liquor store kept him standing. Yash also explains why he still sees keeping Dee over Angela as the right call, calling her a "heat-seeking missile," and says that a month from now, his answer to playing again would be "hell yeah, let's run it."
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