I don’t know about you, but when it comes to the 2025 TV schedule, the series I’m starting my year hooked on is the U.S. version of The Traitors. I know, I know, it’s been a hot topic for those with a Peacock subscription since the U.S. version of the show started in 2023, but I’m just getting into watching all the lying and treachery this month. I want to talk about why it took me so long, and why I’ve just about never binged a series faster.

If you too are catching up on the hype, The Traitors is a reality game show that has a group of people venturing to a castle in the Scottish Highlands to play a social deception game. A select few are secretly selected by host Alan Cumming to serve as as “traitors” while the rest of the contestants are “faithfuls”. Oh, and $250,000 is on the line to win. While the Traitors are tasked with anonymously "killing" a contestant each week, it is the job of the faithfuls to suss out the traitors, because if there are any left in the game at the end, they will be the only ones to win money and thus, the faithfuls will leave Scotland empty handed. Now, I’ll get into my fun journey with the show as a recent first-time viewer.

I Waited To Start The Traitors Because I Don’t Know Most Of The Contestants

When it comes to reality TV, I wouldn’t say that I am a frequent viewer. In recent years, I have fallen into the trap of dating shows within Bachelor Nation and Netflix series like Love Is Blind, and every once in a while I’ll get into a competition show like Dancing With The Stars or The Voice. So when, I decided to turn on the first season of The Traitors, I really didn’t know anything about most of the contestants from shows like Survivor, Big Brother or Real Housewives. The only familiar one for me, was Arie from The Bachelorette and The Bachelor.

This was the main reason why I steered clear of The Traitors. In the ads for the show, it seemed to market the personalities of these shows as selling points, when I’d never seen them before in my life. However, when I decided to just give it a try, it was only the first episode or two that had me feeling like I had to fill in the gaps about who the players were. After that, I was really able to settle into the game and not feel like I was missing much by not seeing the shows some of the players are from.

But, As Soon As I Started I Had To Be Pulled Away From My TV

I wouldn’t call myself much of a binge-watcher either, but as soon as I understood the concept of The Traitors and started seeing it play out, it felt like all I wanted to do was sit on my couch and hit play until the finale. Over just a few days, I experienced the first season, and was really impressed with how much I enjoyed it. Wow, these people are ruthless for money!

Why am I so into this show? First off, I think it’s really cleverly executed. I’m someone who would absolutely cringe if I had to play a social deception game because I’m a horrible liar, but to sit back and watch one play out where the stakes is hundreds and thousands of dollars, it feels like one big social experiment along with having players who know how to both be entertaining and have a good time with it.

It's always intriguing to see shows that have people work for big sums of cash, and between his elaborate outfits and performance, Alan Cumming is one of the best series hosts I've ever seen. He's committed to a theatrical character, and it just works so well. Oh, and the sets! The sets are gorgeous. It does feel like you're watching a movie play out with how well thought out each part of the game is.

At first I enjoyed the “game show” element of there being missions and being clued in on the traitors strategy, but ultimately I think my curiosity grew and grew because it’s addicting to watch the group of people know multiple people are lying to gain for themselves, and how that poisons the water and affects how they act and go about things. What does it take to be successful in The Traitors? What twists would come up next? I was on the edge of my seat.

Why Not Knowing The Contestants Actually Makes It A Lot Of Fun

While I initially thought that The Traitors wouldn’t be for me because of its connection with so many reality shows, ultimately I think it’s accessible to anyone. I’d even recommend more people who are not into reality TV get into it with me, because I I feel like I had perhaps an even better time being short-sided by what I would be getting from each player and how they would react in different situations. In Season 1 for example, one who has watched Survivor might already be privy to the fact that Cirie is a master at reality TV game play, but since each player was seen in my eyes as an equal in the beginning, I watched as they presented themselves and their strategies in different situations.

If you do join the dark side with me, I do recommend starting at the beginning. I’m happy I didn’t throw myself into streaming The Traitors Season 3 first, because Season 1 is the only season of the U.S. version that has a mix of civilians and stars. It was also a blast to see the reality veterans interact with fans of reality TV, because it added a new layer of deception for the players, too.

After Finishing The First Season I Totally Understand Why It Needs All The Reality Stars

Since starting Season 3 and seeing who Alan Cumming chose out of a castle full of big names, I understand why the series decided to fill the entire castle with reality stars going forward. They are more likely to be big personalities who stir the pot, and the faithfuls in the first season seemed to lose an edge because they were not playing to the same cunning level as the reality stars.

Sure, there’s a part of me that just wants to see everyday people play this social deception game, but after watching the first season and getting into the current season, I’m aware that the reality TV stars just add so much gloss and danger to the game.

Anyway, I’ll be watching the new season week by week and watching what I missed at a later date. I'm an officially a faithful to The Traitors.

Pretty much the whole world is still in the grip of Olympic fever, as we have several more competitions that need to wrap up before the 2024 Paris Olympics (which you can stream from anywhere) come to an official close. This means that many athletes, like Netflix documentary star Simone Biles, are still staying in the Olympic Village, but a viral TikTok with swimmer Ryan Lochte just revealed one US Olympics rule that’s way different from some other countries, at least for the swim team.

What Did Ryan Lochte Say About How US Olympic Rules Differ From Other Countries?

Swimmer Ryan Lochte might not be a part of the competition this year, but seeing as he started his time as an Olympian during the 2004 Athens games and competed through the 2016 Rio games, he knows a thing or two about the rules and regulations that need to be followed by athletes. During a recent TikTok Q&A led by his wife, Kayla, he was asked about his previous statement which said that Olympians can’t leave the Village, because the commenter has noticed that many athletes do. He replied:

Ah. So, according to Lochte (who generated a lot of controversy during his time at the 2016 Rio Olympics) it doesn’t matter what you may have seen from the athletes of other countries or even other sports within Team USA with regards to wandering freely around Paris as the games are underway. Apparently, those in charge of the US swim team don’t play that mess, and you can only leave the Village (even to hang out with non-Olympian friends/family) if you have an official OK from the head coach.

When speaking with People near the start of the games, Team USA's Olympic Village Director, Daniel Smith, confirmed that while there are basic rules everyone from each country must follow (no weapons are allowed, for example), there are some specific rules implemented by other countries and/or sports to try and keep everyone in the Village safe and focused so that they can perform as best as possible.

He also specifically noted that “athletes can leave the Village and go out to meet with their families out in the city of Paris” because family members aren’t allowed in, so it would seem that the rule Lochte spoke of is specific to Olympic swimming (which you can watch on-demand), if not other sports.

It appears that not leaving unless you can get an OK from an official with your country might be pretty standard, especially if you’re a swimmer. Brazilian swim team member Ana Carolina Vieira was sent home early, on July 28, after leaving her country’s apartments in the Village without permission two nights prior. According to E! News, she was also cited for being “disrespectful and aggressive” when contesting a decision during competition, and those two infractions likely led to her dismissal from the games.

You can take a listen to Lochte's full answer, below:

Even though Smith didn’t note that all athletes who want to leave the Village need to get permission, it seems like it would at least be a good idea to let officials know, right? The whole point of the Village is to make sure competitors have everything they need to stay focused on competition, and if one leaves without letting anyone know and a situation comes up where they’re needed, it could cause some undue stress/confusion that could have been easily avoided.

Whoa! Joey Lawrence had some harsh words for his Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 houseguests, especially the women. The Blossom star was the fourth celebrity to exit the 2019 house, and the third evicted. He had the first unanimous eviction of the season. (The Mooch says he didn't quit, he was a fake houseguest as part of a twist, and I'm not buying it either but whatever.)

Celebrity Big Brother operates on a much faster schedule than the extended summer seasons. There are only four weeks, and the houseguests are always talking about making big moves. However, from Joey Lawrence's perspective, there was too much tension and emotion in the house vs. focus on gameplay.

Bless his heart, but Big Brother fans love drama in addition to gameplay, and celebrities throwing f-bombs at each other is part of the appeal -- at least for some fans. Besides, last season had two quitters. Joey Lawrence is right, though, that this is a particularly emotional group, and he told Entertainment Weekly he believed most of the drama was coming from the women.

You could argue that what we're seeing is good gameplay, even if it comes with high emotion. He's right that the energy in the 2019 house has often been toxic and exhausting, and he wasn't really allowed a word in edgewise. It has been ugly, especially this week. But that can be a strategy on its own.

Disregarding Anthony Scaramucci's exit, the three houseguests who have been evicted so far were legitimate threats to win -- Jonathan Bennett, who won the first competition with Ryan Lochte; then Lochte, who was the first Head of Household; and now Joey Lawrence, who was a smart, savvy guy and certainly a threat to win.

Considering this whole season ends on Wednesday, February 13, you have to move fast to take out threats. It's frustrating when the guys are always seen as the bigger threats, but up to this week the men have also been the HoHs in charge of nominations.

Joey Lawrence hesitated when asked if he had fun. He preferred the word "challenge," although he did get along well with Ryan Lochte. He thinks Tamar Braxton is running the house and has the best chance to win this season, since she's "a very powerful person and likes to overpower you with her emotion." He said Tamar is stronger than Lolo Jones, who "is pretty much out of control most of the time." He didn't think Lolo or Natalie Eva Marie would ever stand up to Tamar.

Joey Lawrence also gave little backhanded compliments to Tamar Braxton and Kandi Burruss, saying they're "very good at manipulating moments" because they know the reality TV world so well.

Ouch. So, yeah, he didn't have the best time. But his job isn't actually done. Celebrity Big Brother does things a bit differently in that the evicted houseguests are all members of the final jury. Will Joey be a "bitter" juror and vote against houseguests he doesn't like, or appreciate their gameplay to get to that point?

Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 has been bouncing all over the CBS schedule in the past few weeks, but it continues tonight (Monday, February 4) at 9 p.m. The big two-hour finale airs Wednesday, Feb. 13 on CBS. Here's what else is airing during the busy 2019 TV midseason.

Ryan Lochte has become almost as big a name in Olympic sports as Michael Phelps, though not for all the same reasons. The swimmer is trying to bounce back from some bad PR, and he's looking to Hollywood to do it. Following a Dancing with the Stars debut that was marred by protest, the olympian has moved on to film, he just signed to play a role in an upcoming Sharon Stone film.

Ryan Lochte will star alongside Sharon Stone, Famke Janssen, and Ellen Burstyn in A Little Something for Your Birthday. The film follows Stone as an aspiring fashion designer who is dealing with an overbearing mother played by Burstyn. Tony Goldwyn plays an attorney who attempts to win the heart of Sharon Stone.

The Hollywood Reporter doesn't explain the role Ryan Lochte will play in the film. Based on the fact that he's about the fifth name down the list of stars, at the most, and the fact that he's never acted before, we're going to guess that he doesn't actually have a lead role. THR does use the word "stars" so we'll assume he's got more than a cameo, but it may just be a couple of scenes interacting with the key characters.

Ryan Lochte made headlines following the Rio Olympic Games, not for his performance in the pool, but for his actions outside of it. Following public allegations that he and some friends had been robbed at gunpoint, the truth came out eventually and it was revealed that had just been drunk and vandalized a Brazil bathroom.

Whether or not Ryan Lochte can act is a question that has yet to be answered. Beyond, of course, his performance in front of news cameras when he claimed that he was robbed and then had to go out and apologize to the public for lying. His actions were not taken well by large parts of the public who protested his performance on Dancing with the Stars which began shortly after the Olympics ended.

Casting swimmers as actors is actually in the classic Hollywood tradition. Back in the 1930s and 40s Johnny Weismuller was a Hungarian swimmer who famously played Tarzan in a series of films. American Buster Crabbe also played the role after winning gold at the Olympics. There was even a possibility that Michael Phelps might have gone on to follow in their footsteps, but that didn't work out too well for him. Perhaps Lochte will have better luck.

A Litte Something for Your Birthday is being described as a coming of age comedy. We'll have to wait and see whether Lochte can be funny. The film will be shopped around to investors later this fall. There's no release date as of yet.

Dancing with the Stars got off to an eventful premiere when Ryan Lochte performed to a crowd that protested his casting in various ways, following the controversy that occurred at the Rio Olympics. A couple of the protesters even stormed the stage, and Ryan Lochte's dancing partner Cheryl Burke just revealed that her partner was injured when it happened. Here's what Cheryl Burke had to say:

If you know much about Dancing with the Stars, you should know that injuries plague some of the contestants nearly every season. A lot of times the competitors will dance through minor issues---presumably like ankle injuries---but sometimes the issues are bad enough that those involved with the show have had to drop out. Obviously, this ankle injury doesn't seem to be a game changer for the Season 23 dancing duo, but it still sucks for Ryan Lochte as a contestant that he was injured this early in the game. It's also no good that he was injured in a way that totally could have been prevented.

Cheryl Burke told People that the whole experience during Monday night's episode was pretty crazy. She also mentioned that what happened isn't really what Dancing with the Stars is supposed to be about. In fact, it's supposed to be a safe space for competitors and viewers at home. It's supposed to be family-friendly programming. That's not exactly what happened this week.

During Monday night's episode, a slew of people got tickets to the Dancing with the Stars taping. They sat quietly through most of the performances, but after Ryan Lochte finished competing, they revealed anti-Ryan Lochte t-shirts they'd hidden under their clothes. Booing and jeering ensued, and a lot of the brouhaha happened when Carrie Ann was trying to give her critique. As noted prior, two men even stormed the stage and attempted to take down Ryan Lochte. The men were later arrested. Although, things settled down after the protesters were removed, it was unexpectedly scary.

Although both Cheryl Burke and Ryan Lochte were clearly shaken, it looks as if they are already practicing their quickstep for next week and are doing everything they can not to let the incident get them down. You can find out how they do when Dancing with the Stars airs on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET, only on ABC. To find out when the rest of your favorite shows are returning, head here.

We knew that Ryan Lochte was a bit of a controversial casting on Dancing with the Stars following the events that occurred at the Rio Olympics, but we didn't realize how crazy things could get. At least, we didn't realize how crazy things could get until people began verbally attacking the Olympian and interrupting the judges, not to mention attempting to crash the live series broadcast during last night's Season 23 premiere. Now, it looks like the two men who crashed the ballroom floor were arrested for their efforts. Here's what we know.

If you caught last night's incredibly epic live TV broadcast, you should know there were several people in the audience who started with anti-Ryan Lochte chants after the broadcast. The two men who stormed the stage and were later caught by cameras were revealed to be 48-year-old Sam Sododeh and 40-year-old Barzeen Soroudi, who both live in Los Angeles. As early as last night, we had footage of the two men wearing anti-Lochte t-shirts and sitting quietly with their hands tied behind their backs.

ABC 7 later tracked the men as police took them into custody. The were booked in Los Angeles for trespassing. LA police stated that the two men had legitimate tickets to the taping before their outburst. You would think someone would have noticed that anti-Lochte t-shirts, but the LAPD also says they hid them under their shirts before the Olympic swimmer appeared on the DWTS stage.

During the taping, Dancing with the Stars had to take an early commercial break to handle the incident. When the show returned, Tom Bergeron made the following, succinct comment:

By incident, he really meant two men were arrested and an additional, 4-5 individuals had to be forcibly removed from the taping. Actual footage from last night's episode is available to view, as well.

The live TV stunt was really pretty crazy. A lot of people had opinions after Ryan Lochte announced he had been robbed in Rio and the Rio police found holes in the story he and a few other Olympians were spouting. However, just the idea that all of these people came together in a room and decided to protest Ryan Lochte's right to appear on a reality TV series is pretty absurd. They made t-shirts. Two of them got arrested, actually arrested. I mean you look back to individuals getting arrested for protesting in the Civil Rights movement and you know exactly where those people were coming from. However, this Ryan Lochte protest is totally ludicrous in comparison.

I can't wait to see how the rest of Dancing with the Stars Season 23 shakes out. You can catch new episodes of the long-running reality series on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, only on ABC. To find out when the rest of your favorite shows are returning, head here.

We knew Ryan Lochte's Dancing with the Stars debut would be controversial, given how people's opinions of him flipped so intensely over his Olympics scandal, but wowzers! His judgment was actually interrupted by people storming the stage.

After Ryan Lochte and Cheryl Burke performed, they were, as all the couples are, sent over to host Tom Bergeron to talk about the experience and get opinions from the judges. The first judge, Carrie Ann Inaba, was beginning to critique their performance when all hell broke loose. There was obvious yelling off screen, and Inaba was trying to quiet people down by yelling "Excuse me!" and "Back off!" at the perpetrators, but the commotion didn't end. Within seconds, what appeared to be security personnel rushed in front of her to take care of the scene off screen. Take a look at how it transpired on live TV.

Yeah, I'm sure that was shocking for all involved. You can also hear host Tom Bergeron utter a surprised "Alright...Wow...OK" while things are going on, before finally announcing to the audience that DWTS is going to a commercial break. Toward the middle of the whole kerfluffle you can hear, what seems to be protestors yelling, "He's a liar!" at Ryan Lochte. I can only assume that security wouldn't have passed in front of the camera the way they did unless the offending parties actually got onto the DWTS ballroom floor, and, according to ABC 7, the men did indeed walk onto the floor and had to be tackled to the ground and forcibly removed from the taping. Which, yeah, forget shocking, that would be downright scary.

Thanks to ABC 7 entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, we have a look at the two men who interrupted the judging of Ryan Lochte's inaugural dance.

There you have it. Yeah, these guys clearly have a big bone to pick with Ryan Lochte. You have, I'm sure, noticed the NO Lochte t-shirts that the two men took the trouble to have made. It's a good thing their hands are tied behind their backs, or we might not be able to see that very telling detail. I suppose it wasn't enough for them to just sit in the audience wearing their damning shirts. ABC 7 also noted that there were four to five women from the audience who had to be removed from the taping for chanting against Lochte during the taping as well.

As you may remember, Ryan Lochte got caught in a bit of a lie during his time in Rio for the 2016 Olympics a few weeks ago. He claimed he and some of his swimming teammates were robbed at gunpoint by men pretending to be local cops. It turned out that he and his teammates allegedly turned up drunk at a service station, possibly trashed the bathroom and were then asked (at gunpoint, yes) to pay for the damages by a security guard.

Sure, Ryan Lochte made up a story to cover his bad drunken behavior, but that's no reason to try to attack the guy. And, it's no reason to interrupt Dancing with the Stars. But, honestly, thank goodness they did. Who knows what might have happened if they'd tried to go after Lochte on his own time with no security around to help the man out. As judge Carrie Ann Inaba said after the show returned from its commercial break, "We are only here to judge your ballroom dancing, I want you to know that." As it should be, Carrie Ann. As it should be.

Ryan Lochte can't outswim the drama surrounding his high profile controversy at the Rio Olympic games this summer. Last month, the Olympic swimmer went from national hero as a part of the gold medal-winning U.S. swim team to scandal-ridden spectacle after it was revealed that he lied about being robbed at gunpoint in the Brazilian city, and now Lochte is facing the music.

Lochte's official punishment from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and USA Swimming was delivered Thursday, and the ruling is going to have him being a fish out of water for almost a year.

For his highly publicized lie, Lochte will be banned from swimming competitions for 10 months, making him ineligible for the 2017 National Championships and World Championships, and he must forfeit all the prize money he took home for his Olympic gold this year, reports USA Today's Nicole Auerbach.

The official punishment (listed in the Tweet above) also bans Lochte from an upcoming visit to the White House with Team USA and sentences him to 20 hours of community service.

The ruling sees similar but less severe punishments for Lochte's teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jame Feigen, who corroborated Lochte's lie about being robbed in Rio. They will be banned from swimming competitions, but only for 4 months, and they'll also not be included in the Team USA White House visit.

Want to know what's behind these punishments? Here's a #Lochtegate refresher: Back in August, Ryan Lochte claimed that he and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint during a night out in Rio de Janeiro. Soon afterwards, video surfaced that showed Lochte was indeed held at gunpoint, but was not being robbed. In actuality, Lochte and his teammates had vandalized a gas station, and the owner was demanding they pay for the damages.

The scandal went on to cost Lochte major endorsement deals with Speedo and Ralph Lauren after he made a public apology on social media and on air with Matt Lauer.

So it turns out you won't be seeing Ryan Lochte swimming anytime soon, but you will be seeing him hit the dance floor instead of the pool as a contestant on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars.

You could almost hear the cackling coming out of the production offices of the Baywatch reboot as the Ryan Lochte scandal evolved. The Olympic swimmer, as most of you know, was embroiled in an embarrassing scandal following his events in the most recent Summer Games. Lochte claimed that his group was robbed at gun point, but then he backtracked on his statement and said he might have embellished the extent of the crime. In the process, he became a laughing stock on the global scale, but Lochte's loss is Baywatch's gain, for this specific reason.

Sources close to the Paramount Pictures comedy have told The Wrap that the character Zac Efron is playing in Baywatch, named Matt Brody, is modeled after Ryan Lochte, and not just because he's handsome and not very bright. The trade Web site reports that the plot of the movie will find Efron's character -- an Olympic medalist, just like Lochte, and a world-record holder -- having to serve community service after committing a crime. He's sentenced to the famous beach from the show, where he proceeds to get under the skin of the chief lifeguard, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

An Olympic swimmer, whose reputation is tarnished, is seeking ways to repair his image after a worldwide criminal debacle? Yep, it sounds like the Baywatch movie will be a fascinating example of life imitating art -- or vice versa.

There's no way that the Baywatch team could have figured out what would happen with Ryan Lochte. The production wrapped earlier this year, long before the Olympic Games in Rio, and the script for Baywatch, penned by Justin Malen and three other credited writers -- would have to have been locked down before Lochte and his teammates got swept up in whatever happened in a Brazilian gas station.

Now we're dying to see a trailer, or a TV spot for Baywatch. The movie doesn't come out until 2017, but with Lochte in the headlines for his alleged gun play and his recent addition to Dancing With the Stars, this is a prime opportunity for Paramount to capitalize on the prescient planning of Zac Efron playing a basic Lochte type.

Baywatch will be lead by The Rock, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario and Priyanka Chopra. Directed by Seth Gordon, the remake also finds space for original TV stars David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. Paramount will have it in theaters on May 19, 2017. Now, who will play the Michael Phelps to Efron's Ryan Lochte?

Dancing with the Stars is set to return to the schedule in just a couple of weeks. It's hard to believe that the ABC competition series is headed into Season 23 and that the show is still attracting fairly big talent. Likely this has to do with the fact that every season of Dancing with the Stars is incredibly different, thanks to the format of the series and the cast change-ups that always occur. This morning, the full Season 23 cast list was announced on Good Morning America and there are quite a few Olympians involved. Here's the lineup, complete with who each celebrity will be dancing with:

We've known for a few days now that Ryan Lochte had plans to make Dancing with the Stars his next move. There have been a lot of athletes that have competed on DWTS over the years. Some of them have been great dancers and some of them have been total disasters. I have no idea which side of the line athletes Ryan Lochte, gymnast Laurie Hernandez, former Detroit Lions player Calvin Johnson and Indycar driver James Hinchcliffe will be on, but half the fun is finding out.

Speaking of Laurie Hernandez, we're a little surprised to see the Olympian on the list. Not because she would make for a terrible dancer---her floor routine during the Rio trials was certainly watchable---but because we already knew Simone Biles had been asked to be a part of the competition. Prior, she had said she would be happy to join if her schedule would allow it, and obviously it didn't work out. What doesn't work for Biles is good news for Hernandez, however, and we're guessing the 16-year-old gymnast should be one to watch.

There haven't been a ton of changes to the series heading into Season 23. Maksim Chmerkovskiy will be back as a professional dancer on the series, which is really exciting, and the judges panel will be comprised of the usual suspects, including Julianne Hough--which is a little surprising, considering statement she made earlier. The new episodes are expected to begin airing on Monday, September 12 at 8 p.m. ET. In addition, a slew of brand new and returning TV shows are expected to begin airing over the next few weeks on network and cable channels. You can find out when your favorites are returning with our fall TV premiere schedule.

The 2016 Olympics in Rio have come to an end, but discussion of the Ryan Lochte situation is bound to continue. An awful lot of the post-Olympics buzz has been more about Lochte's now-refuted story about being robbed in Rio than about all of the athletes who took home medals. Stephen Colbert of The Late Show has his own take on the fiasco, and it's way funnier than a lot of the other news coverage. Jeah!

The Ryan Lochte story - dubbed #Lochtegate on Twitter - is weird enough that a lot of us may have really needed the laughs from the Late Show clip. What started as an account of an unfortunate robbery snowballed into a scandal as Rio officials poked more and more holes into Lochte's claims. The big question has been: Why on earth Lochte would lie about a gunpoint robbery when it would be super easy for the story to fall apart? Well, we have the answer: he wasn't lying. Lochte said that he was actually "over-exaggerating." Luckily, he said it in time for Stephen Colbert to mock the answer perfectly on The Late Show.

Stephen Colbert had been on vacation for a couple of weeks, so we didn't get to see his reactions to the Ryan Lochte situation as it unfolded from the beginning. Considering that NBC was bound to dominate the ratings during the Olympics, the timing must have been perfect for CBS to air Late Show reruns and give Colbert the time off. I'm just glad he came back in time to jab at Lochte's protest that he had only been over-exaggerating.

My favorite part of the clip might actually be that a comedian as experienced as Stephen Colbert didn't have to do much more than crack a grin to make his commentary worth a few laughs. Ryan Lochte set up the joke himself; Colbert just had to deliver the punchline. All the hair dye in the world couldn't have stopped Lochte from becoming the butt of all manner of late night jokes, and Stephen Colbert's are definitely worth a re-watch.

Unfortunately for Ryan Lochte, his "over-exaggeration" about the Rio incident is bound to overshadow the gold medal that he took home after taking part in 4x200 meter freestyle relay. Americans can at least be relieved that Lochte was only one of many U.S. athletes to take home medals. There were still plenty of U.S. highlights at the Rio Olympics that weren't ruined by the Lochte lowlight. Other countries had some more serious mishaps that cost them potential medals, as well. Check out this diver who literally flopped and this weightlifter who snapped under pressure for looks at athletes whose misfortunes actually happened during the Games. The new supercut of Olympics news bloopers deserves a look, as well.

The 2016 Olympics have concluded, so take a look at our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you'll be able to watch on the small screen in the near future. You can see more of Stephen Colbert as host of The Late Show on weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET.

The 2016 Olympics in Rio have resulted in tales of triumph and laments of loss for all the athletes competing for their countries. One of the most bizarre stories, however, has very little to do with athletics. Famed swimmer Ryan Lochte was reportedly robbed at gunpoint last weekend along with a few of his teammates. The robbers allegedly took Lochte's money, but left his cell phone and Olympic credentials. Now, Lochte's story seems to be unraveling, and it just keeps getting weirder.

Ryan Lochte's original account of the robbery was a narrative of badassery, heroism, and magnanimous acceptance. His first story included an assertion that he said "Whatever" to an armed gunman who demanded that he get on the ground after forcing himself and his friends out of their taxi. It was a scary piece of news coming out of an event that is meant to be an international celebration of all things athletic, and Lochte understandably received a lot of attention from press and well-wishers in the wake of his scare.

Then, things started to get strange. Ryan Lochte changed his original story to omit the gun when he chatted yesterday with NBC's Matt Lauer after news started trickling in that authorities hadn't been able to locate the taxi driver who would have been a key witness to the crime. Even worse, the swimmers were caught on camera after the alleged robbery seemingly still with their wallets on them.

Brazilian officials considered their story more than a little bit fishy as more and more details didn't seem the match their stories. A judge made the decision that Ryan Lochte and the other swimmers were to stay in Brazil until the matter could be settled. A warrant was even issued for his passport to prevent him from returning to the United States. The warrant was not issued until after Lochte had already made it out of Brazil, but two of his fellow swimmers did not leave the country before their warrants could be executed. Lochte's teammates Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were actually removed from a plane at the Rio airport before takeoff. Deadline confirms that Brazilian police have come to the conclusion that the robbery report was in fact faked and the athletes had made up the story entirely.

On the one hand, it seems far-fetched that anybody would fabricate a story that could so easily be refuted. Ryan Lochte's story was fairly elaborate and indicated multiple attackers and a driver who could serve as witnesses. On the other hand, if Brazilian officials are proved correct about Lochte's report, the reason may lie in an incident that occurred prior to the alleged robbery. Police have said that the swimmers stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom. When they could not get the door open, they broke it to get inside. An armed security guard stepped in, but it seems that the confrontation ended without violence. The swimmers paid for the damage and left. If Lochte and his teammates theoretically wanted to cover up news of the gas station tiff, they might have considered a false story as a good option. It would be akin to lighting a bigger fire to pull attention from a much smaller fire. Still, it's one possible explanation.

Only time will tell whether the Brazilian authorities will be proven correct about Ryan Lochte's story of the Olympic robbery. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you'll be able to catch on the small screen once the Olympics and all the related drama have come to an end.

Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has officially landed his very own television series on E! The network has ordered 6 episodes of What Would Ryan Lochte Do? in the hopes that audiences are in fact interested in the answer to that question.

Lochte has been talking about his desire to star in a reality show pretty much since he became a household name during the London Olympics. He picked up a guest appearance almost right away, appearing on 90210 and originally talked about doing Dancing With the Stars or The Bachelor. Then in August he announced that he was in talks with E! for his very own reality series, meant to follow him around during his daily life and also as a less-than-subtle method of promoting his new line of clothing. Today the news is official, EW says that E! has gone ahead with the planned series.

What Would Ryan Lochte Do? will, as originally suggested, follow him as he trains in the pool and goes about his business, but it’s also about his search for love. E! is clearly counting on his sex appeal to bring in the viewers, since it appears clear it won’t be his wits. E! President Suzanne Kolb put it this way: “How many people fall in love with the smartest guy in the class? They fall for the fastest swimmer.” Well, the shallow ones anyway. Apparently the sneak peek of the show made it obvious that he either isn’t that bright or is playing the role really well.

The series, which is set for an April premiere, promises to add more awful catchphrases to the American vernacular, such as the term “Jeah” which it seems is Lochte’s favorite non-word. Despite having a male rather than a Kardashian female as the center of the show, it sounds like this one will fit right in on E!

30 Rock premiered it’s seventh and final season just a couple of weeks ago, and things have been a bit slow-going thus far. Next week, NBC’s comedy has plans to shake things up a bit by introducing a few new guest stars, including Olympic gold medal winner Ryan Lochte, who has been gearing up for television for several months now. Lochte will play himself on the show, and in NBC’s clip from the episode, the words coming out of his mouth are already managing to irritate Jack, who is working on his dating game.

After Thursday’s pretty non-eventful episode, maybe all the writers need is some rock hard abs to shake things up. “Hello Ryan Lochte” only features a tease of those abs, but you know they’re coming. The 30 Rock cameo is just a tease for the Olympic swimmer, who will pull out his big guns at the end of the month, when he partakes in his first ever ‘real’ acting role. Lochte will guest on the CW’s 90210 on October 29th.

Also guest starring in next week’s episode is actress Nina Arianda, who recently appeared in Win Win and Tower Heist. The actress may be the lesser known of the celebrities in the clip, but she certainly gets the winning line when she refers to Lochte as her “sex idiot.” That’s why NYU gave her an MFA in acting, people.

NBC’s 30 Rock airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.

Olympian Ryan Lochte is in talks to get his very own reality series over in Kardashian land – E! that is. The medal winning swimmer is looking to bring his everyday life to television, while promoting his fashion line, which was made clear by his repeated mentions of said line. Is anyone interested in Lochte’s life? Or his clothing line?

Lochte has already started to make his way into television; he filmed a guest appearance on 90210 and also mentioned an interest in doing either The Bachelor or Dancing With the Stars . But it seems he has his designs (yes, did we mention his very own clothing line?) on being the star of the show rather than just a short-lived appearance. He told CelebBuzz on The Daily Buzz that he is in talks with E! to bring a reality series about his life to television.

That might be the least descriptive description of a reality show I have ever heard. What precisely does Lochte do all day? How much time can a reality show really spend watching him jump in and out of the pool – ok, well there might be a female viewership there – and hawk his clothing line? The show will need a better hook than that. Lochte isn’t the first Olympian to move towards television. Michael Phelps, who is probably the world’s biggest swimming star, has already signed on for The Haney Project on The Golf Channel. Lochte’s show sounds like it will be considerably different. Because he has a fashion line, after all. That could even attract E! mainstays the Kardashians his way for a guest appearance.

Ryan Lochte has a lot to celebrate. The 2012 London Olympic Games yielded the swimmer five medals, several of which were a pretty gold color. Now that the games are over, Lochte would just like to take a break from training, have a little fun with his friends, and maybe even meet the right sort of girl.

This weekend, the 28-year-old headed to Las Vegas with his friends, with every intention to relax poolside. The Olympian did manage to have some fun in the sun, but he also spoke to People about his plans for the next several weeks. As if the swimmer didn’t make it apparent by his random Vegas adventure, he really just wants to have a little fun.

Despite wanting to party with his best buds, including fellow swimmer Cullen Jones, Lochte is always looking for something a little more serious in his relationships. Although he wants to find a nice girl to date, it doesn’t seem like the man has marriage on the brain, yet.

It’s that “a bit” part that speaks worlds, but it is nice to know the medal winner has his mind on the future and not simply his past achievements. From the looks of things, he’s still pulling pretty hard to get into acting, even appearing in the upcoming season of 90210. With a little luck, any number of these goals may pan out over the next couple of months.

With the Olympics wrapped up, what does a multiple medal winner do next? Well if you’re Ryan Lochte, a career in television is apparently the way to go. Not only does Lochte want to get involved in reality television, he’s already landed a guest role on 90210.

Lochte, who was one of the stars of the U.S. Olympic team in swimming during the just-closed London games, is ready to move on to a new career in television. He’s picked up a role on the upcoming season of 90210. His episode, which airs on October 29th, won’t be too much of a chance to flex his acting muscles; he will be playing himself. Lochte will appear as a guest at a resort where two of the regular characters are staying, says TVLine.

It seems he is also looking to play himself in a reality project as well. Lochte already expressed an interest in appearing on either Dancing With the Stars or The Bachelor. I imagine there will be a long line of women wanting to get a chance at being on the latter with Lochte as the prize. If you can’t win an Olympic medal, then winning an Olympic medalist is surely the next best thing. Plus, you don’t have to go through all that training.

Lochte also played himself on a Funny or Die clip, shown in the interview video, where he quipped about peeing in the pool. Perhaps a career in comedy is ahead for him? I imagine Emmy gold would look lovely on the mantle next to Olympic gold.