Show Notes
This week, we’re talking about a man who truly understands the assignment of modern celebrity: Spencer Pratt. Once the platinum-blond villain of The Hills, Spencer built an entire career out of chaos, crystals, tabloid feuds and reality TV infamy. But in the strangest twist yet, he recently tried to turn that notoriety into political power with a run for mayor of Los Angeles. So, how did Spencer go from reality TV’s most hated man to a surprisingly serious political headline? We get into his villain origin story, the rise of Speidi, the way reality TV trained us to reward outrage, and why his mayoral campaign felt both absurd and completely inevitable in 2026.
More from The Reheat
This week, we're talking about Selma Blair. At one point, Selma was one of the most promising young starlets, acting alongside Reese Witherspoon in both Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde. While she never broke big, Selma did become a recognizable character actress and something of a fashion icon. A few decades later, Selma is now more infamous than famous, making headlines for her upsetting behaviour on airplanes. At the same time, Selma is an MS patient and an outspoken advocate for people living with disabilities. However, she's also known for her repeated incidents of Islamophobia. How do we make sense of this complicated person? Listen as we try!
Taylor Swift's smug married girl era is upon us, but is it genuine happiness or a carefully calculated rebrand? This week, we unpack her eyebrow-raising SNL cameo alongside Dakota Johnson, and ask whether the pop star is embracing a more traditional image while distancing herself from her messy single girl past. Then, we dive into royal family drama as Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, makes explosive allegations about King Charles in his new memoir. Is he honouring his late sister's memory, settling old scores, or simply cashing in? Plus, we're talking Pete Davidson's influencer rant, Travis Barker's health scare, and a few other fresh headlines.
To celebrate The Reheat's fifth anniversary, last week, we recorded a live episode of the show at Toronto's Book Bar! We also brought along our friends, Stacy Lee Kong of Friday Things, Chris Hanna of Film Me In, and Laura Hensley of That's My Opinion!. The result? A raucous panel on the state of popular culture. Is modern fandom sort of toxic? Is monoculture truly dead — and what's replaced it? What's the most unmissable reality TV right now? Why are book lovers referring to 2026 as The Year of The Memoir, and which celebrity memoirs should you be checking out of the library? We address all these burning questions and more. To make the night even more special, we announced the start of The Reheat's new book club! Each month, we will select a new pop culture-y read to talk about on the show. Our book club pick for October is none other than You Know What You Did: The Hills, a retrospective of the groundbreaking reality show by Lisa Whittington-Hill!
This week on The Reheat, we’re joined by Canadian TV icon Rick Campanelli to talk about his new memoir, Tempted, and the wild ride of his career — from the glory days of MuchMusic to the parts of his life he kept private for years. Rick opens up about fame, gambling addiction and recovery, reflects on what MuchMusic meant to a generation, and shares unforgettable stories from his years interviewing some of the biggest stars in the world, including Whitney Houston and Britney Spears. It’s nostalgic, candid and full of behind-the-scenes MuchMusic lore. Join us!
🎉 Come celebrate five years of The Reheat, live in Toronto, next week! More details and how to buy tix below... Now, in this first season episode from our archives, we assess how the celebrity sex tape has long been a salacious and voyeuristic fascination for the media and its subjects' fans. But oddly, when it comes to male stars, their tapes have seemed to serve as fuel for their fire, while for female stars, the only rhetoric has been slut-shaming. We dive into the story behind the tapes of everyone from Rob Lowe to Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee to Paris Hilton to understand why, and what sort of ripple effect celebrity sex tapes have left in the years since.