“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” “Bitchin’ Rides.” And now … “Gwyneth vs Terry: The Ski Crash Trial.” Really?
Really. Another reality show, of sorts, that takes place right here in the Beehive State is headed for television. This one will recount the legal battle between Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow and retired optometrist Terry Sanderson.
He said she ran into him on the ski slopes at Deer Valley, causing him serious injuries. She said, no, he ran into her, causing some bruising and costing her half a day of skiing.
Spoiler alert: Paltrow won.
Anyway … “Gwyneth vs Terry” has been commissioned for the WBD streaming service in the U.K. and Ireland. (That’s why there’s no period after “vs” in the title.) It’ll be part of a celebrity-driven series of two-part, two-hour documentaries that included Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard and Kim Kardashian vs. Kanye West. In addition to Gwyneth vs. Terry, other upcoming installments include Megan Thee Stallion vs. Tory Lanez (the latter was convicted of shooting the former) and the in-laws of David Beckham’s son, Brooklyn, vs. the wedding planners they hired and then fired. Really.
Terry Sanderson, the Utah man suing Gwyneth Paltrow, testifies during the court, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Sanderson accuses Paltrow of crashing into him on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Without having seen anything (obviously), it seems like maybe two hours is a good length for “Gwyneth vs Terry.” Or, at least, the maximum tolerable length. I didn’t watch every minute of that trial, but I did watch hours on end … because I was assigned to write about it.
And it was interminable. Interesting minutes sprinkled among hours of deadly dull court proceedings. Two hours of “Gwyneth vs Terry” highlights are virtually guaranteed to be more entertaining than the trial itself.
There are a lot of things that are unclear about this “Gwyneth vs Terry” project. Are Paltrow and Sanderson being paid for their participation? Probably not. Apparently, the producers are using footage from the streaming feed of the trial, which doesn’t belong to either party, along with “access to those who know and were close to the cases.”
If Paltrow or Sanderson do interviews for the program, they could be paid. That’s not the way journalism works, but this seems sort of journalism-adjacent, at best.
Gwyneth Paltrow and her attorney Steve Owens smile after the reading of the verdict in her lawsuit trial, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Paltrow and Sanderson haven’t asked me for advice, but I’d steer clear of any further participation in this. Yes, Paltrow won, but neither she nor Sanderson came out of it looking good.
And neither did their lawyers. Paltrow’s lead attorney, Stephen Owens, could easily be edited to look like a pretty terrible human being for the way he handled himself in court. Heck, he looked like a pretty terrible human being in real time, which he acknowledged with repeated apologies.
That was the way to win, it would seem.
Will “Gwyneth vs Terry” be available in the United States? I would guess it will be, eventually, although previous installments of these “vs” documentaries are not yet available on Max, the merger of Discovery+ and HBO Max. When they’ll stream on this side of the Atlantic is anybody’s guess, but the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strike means Max will be looking for content.
(TLC) Holly and Wayne on "90 Day Fiance: The Other Way."
Utahn on “90 Day Fiance: The Other Way”
Speaking of Utahns on “reality” TV, Ogden’s Holly Weeks was just made for the genre. Her story must be real, because no scriptwriters in their right minds could come up with what’s happened so far on Season 5 of this show:
• Weeks, 44, has been married twice before — once for two months and once for 12 hours.
• A barber herself, Weeks has very long locks — about 70 inches long, she estimated. She said on the show, “Ever since I was little I loved fairy tales and Rapunzel was one of my favorites.”
• Holly met her South African boyfriend, Wayne, on a Jehovah’s Witnesses dating site. (She said she didn’t want to date men from Utah.)
• After talking online for six months, she flew to South Africa to meet Wayne. He proposed three days later. (”The Other Way” in the title refers to Americans who travel to other countries.) His home was burglarized the same day — something that’s happened at least three times.
• In the season premiere, Holly returned to South Africa intending to marry Wayne in a week. “I know it’s really quick, but we’re really ready,” she said. “And, we’re waiting until we’re married to have sex, and so we’re excited to do that as well.”
• To prevent the couple from engaging in intimate relations before the wedding, Holly’s mother accompanied her to South Africa. And she planned to sleep in the same bed as her daughter in Wayne’s home.
• The wedding didn’t come off as quickly as Holly hoped because she got sick, threw up a lot and “nothing is going as planned,” she said.
• Wayne doesn’t like the way Holly dresses. He thinks her attire is too revealing, and that “needs to change.”
• Holly wants to move to a gated community. Despite the break-ins, Wayne wants to stay in his present home. Holly said Wayne can’t “comprehend” the sacrifices she’s made in going to South Africa, adding, “You won the wife lottery.”
You can’t make this stuff up, right? We’ll see if Holly and Wayne actually make it to the altar — and if they do, whether this marriage lasts more than a couple months.
New episodes of “90 Day Fiance: The Other Way” air Mondays on TLC — 6 p.m. on Dish and DirecTV; 9 p.m. on Comcast.
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