Season 1 (2023)
And now we are in-universe. In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
“In Burbank, the forecast is always shady. The newsboys don’t break news… they break each other and spill the tea. Where the teleprompter ends, the read begins.”
Flaming Bros Burbank premiered on July 16, 2023, consisting of 16 episodes. DAMN! That's... a lot for a debut season. But we were all in for a treat, that's for sure.
The inaugural main cast consisted of Romeo Escobar, Chris Holmstrom, Carlos Saucedo, Karl Schmid, Alex Rozier, Robert Puente, David González, and Nick Amador.
And by the end of this season, you'd be asking yourself, "So, who's friends with who? And who doesn’t like who?"
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Kicking off our inaugural cast is pageant coach and entertainment producer Romeo Escobar of KTLA. Romeo is a rather polarizing firecracker who is no stranger to reality television, being a Survivor 42 contestant. Anyone who watched the 39-year-old oddball on Survivor already has this idea that he uses his religion (which he has yet to clarify to this day) as an excuse to get what he wants. And because of this, fellow flaming bros are not really quick to believe everything that he says. Still, Romeo calls himself the “secret ingredient to this group,” but it’s his alleged on/off-camera actions on Survivor that ends up being the very thing that fellow cast member Nick Amador (oh, don’t worry we will get to him later) uses against Romeo.
Romeo literally grew up a survivor in life. He and his brother were born in Central America, and sometimes their family and even their neighborhood didn't have water or electricity. It wasn't much better immigrating to the United States in 1991 (when Romeo was seven years old) and growing up in South Central Los Angeles with gang violence, day in and day out. He knew that he and his family would not get special treatment as immigrants. But the entire Escobar family did whatever they needed to do to make ends meet and live a decent life. And Romeo, who grew up wanting to work in television, and fashion, was determined to live a better life; failure was not gonna be an option. He graduated from CSUN in 2007 and shortly moved to Burbank, California and worked in television/entertainment production for Entertainment Tonight for nearly a decade. He also worked in TV production for Hallmark's Home & Family, and most notably continued his career in KTLA after joining the news team in 2015 as a entertainment producer. He became a pageant coach in 2016, where his job is to prepare women for the "Olympics of beauty pageants" - Miss Universe. What that entails is making the his students the best that they can be as Miss Universe.
Despite coming off very braggadocious to his castmates' faces, Romeo also appears to be a tortured soul. We see him hang out with his supposed friend Nick, and he tells Nick about the great degree of listlessness and dissatisfaction with life, admitting to Nick (and to us viewers) that despite managing to place 3rd in Survivor, he felt like a failure because he did everything he had to do to get through the audition process and always found a way to get whatever he wanted. Nick would eventually use this implicit revelation against Romeo at the Bob's Big Boy restaurant. But it's clear that if Romeo doesn't win at something or doesn't achieve something, he may as well have failed. So, somedays he would emotionally give up, and give into the party/nightclub lifestyle, not wanting to explain himself to anyone.
With the group, he seems to revel in his "confusing asshole" reputation, defending himself by just saying anything that made zero sense until Carlos Saucedo was there to explain what the Hell Romeo was meaning to say.
I don’t know. I do believe that in different circumstances, Romeo would indeed have a lot of potential as a flaming bro. But in these circumstances in particular, this may not be the best group for him. He seems to be in his head a lot, and not really interested in opening up with most of the cast – at least until Nick picks his brain. Fellow KTLA team member Carlos Saucedo believes (as he states in his confessional) that it may be a common situation where Romeo may not really mesh with the group and gets anxious, defensive, and super reactive, which could further the divide between Romeo and many others. Romeo doesn’t really have a natural chemistry with any of the cast members (except maybe Carlos), where a viewer would really buy that he would hang out with them if it weren’t for the show. Then again, we do see throughout the season that most of these news gays don’t really like each other; a lot of them are very hierarchy-driven to a very nasty degree.
Outside of Nick Amador (before Nick infamously threw him under the bus during the cast’s lunch from Hell, more on that later) and Carlos Saucedo, Romeo is not great at communicating how he feels in a way that doesn’t feel like an attack against others if they’re not reading his mind accurately. When Nick makes the foolish mistake of attempting to face off Romeo (who’s trying to ignore him) during the finale party, hatred on Romeo’s end is just evident. Romeo is cold as ice and more vicious than resident mean girl Nick is used to, threatening to beat Nick’s ass if Nick doesn’t keep away from him. Carlos and Karl end up having to physically separate the two before things got worse. In his chilling finale confessional, Romeo says that if Nick wants to be the top dog, he can have it.
Most cast members are torn on where they stand with Romeo as he’s such a confusing and inconsistent person. But it’s clear to people that if Romeo did indeed go through something before/during/after Survivor, they don’t wanna sound like assholes, hence why none of them thought that what Nick did to him during the lunch from Hell was right. It’s likely that no one ever confronted Romeo harshly due to the fear factor. It’s not really worth it to go up against someone is reactive as Romeo, so the cast (sans Nick) will put their feelings of annoyance and resentment aside, if it means that Romeo can just be quiet. However, Karl Schmid has no problem calling Romeo out on anything that may be bullshit, telling Romeo in Puerta Vallarta, “Mate, I really tried to be patient with you, but you are not fun to be around, okay? You’re manipulative, super reactive, and boring.” Oh my. But regardless of where most of us stand with Romeo, he’s proven to be a rather fascinating enigma, and has gained the underdog status, especially against Karl and Nick. But that can only last for so long.
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Next up we have a conservative anchor representing KCAL, 38-year-old Christopher Victor Holmstrom, an army brat from Phoenix, Arizona. Married to Joshua Crandall, Chris ends up being the cast member that most viewers most baffled by. Outside of his... friendship/flirtationship with David, Chris doesn’t really share much about his personal life, and is mostly remembered for being the judgmental one in the group. You get the impression that he wants to see other people fail because they don’t live up to HIS or David's Christian values. He gradually becomes even less comfortable sharing his personal life, often choosing to be private, even during the cast trip to Puerto Vallarta, which makes you wonder why he would even sign up to be on this show to begin with. Yeah, he’s pretty boring. But his best friend and fellow flaming bro David is rather interesting. And while Chris isn't much of a sharer of his personal life, you can bet your bottom dollar that he STAYS commenting on other people's views and lifestyles.
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Moving on, we have news anchor, photographer, UCLA alumnus, and Dodgers fan Carlos Saucedo (my personal favorite cast member and news anchor). 39-year-old Carlos grew up in the Montebello area as the youngest of four boys in a 2-bedroom home. His parents were immigrants from Mexico, and Carlos inherited their hard work and determination. Carlos cares a lot about people, always gives back to the community, and was even a council member at UCLA, helping to create the campus’s very first gender-neutral restroom.
He was a news junkie growing up, mainly watching the legendary “KTLA 5 News,” and began to develop an interest in journalism following the real-time events of 9/11. He was determined to become an anchor for KTLA, and finally got the chance to do so in March 2019. And as of now, he is still a huge part of KTLA’s family. But before that he had become a news anchor in 2010, reporting in Texas and Northern California, before moving back to Southern California, settling in Burbank shortly after being hired by KTLA.
Although he’s still close with his family, his father (who always held conservative views on homosexuality) was not very thrilled about Carlos being gay. Carlos came out to him on Father’s Day 2019, and the reaction was quite negative and not what Carlos had hoped it would be, even if it wasn’t surprising. Carlos came out to him on Father’s Day 2019, and the reaction was quite negative and not what Carlos had hoped it would be, even if it wasn’t surprising. In a confessional, Carlos explains to us, “You know, my family was always very close when I was a kid, and I always thought that we could get through anything. But I’ll never forget when I was around… maybe five years old… my Dad said something very… [deep breaths] insensitive… to his friends at a barbershop while I was getting my haircut. He said that he was glad that none of his sons were… excuse my language… faggots… because he wouldn’t want anything to do with that ‘garbage.’” As Carlos is telling us this, we see a montage of family pictures throughout his childhood and adolescence. And he continues, “That always scared me because before I knew that I was gay, I was already feeling different from my brothers. And with each passing time, I was becoming less and less… close with my Dad. I just knew that I couldn’t trust him, as much as I loved him. I think my Dad always knew that I was gay, and just didn’t wanna believe it. Because… when I finally came out to him 2019… he wasn’t surprised. But he certainly wasn’t having it either. While there’s still issues in our relationship, I want to believe that he loves me.”
As a cast member, Carlos often clashed with Nick Amador, Chris Holmstrom, and Romeo Escobar, respectively, but he managed to get along with everyone else for the most part; he’s very easy to talk to and get along with, has a forgiving heart, and is very patient, all of which eventually work against him. Many viewers, including myself, consider him to be the nicest and sweetest person on the show, and most importantly THE moral center of the show. But that doesn’t mean he’s perfect; he just has enough common sense to not make the same mistake twice. Despite his issues with fellow KTLA team member Romeo, Carlos gives him the most grace and is even a good translator of sorts for Romeo during group scenes and confessionals, showing how much care and respect Carlos gives, even to people who may not deserve it.
Case in point, Carlos lets us into his emotional world through his personal storyline, in which he opens up about the social anxiety he often felt as a gay kid – and later adult – who happened to be devoutly Catholic, as well as the guilt he still harbors to some degree after coming out to his father in 2019. Their dynamic is… not good. In fact, it’s very complicated, and while Carlos never yells at his Dad – having too much respect to do that to either of his parents – his Dad is rather cruel to Carlos and nothing gets resolved by the end of the season, which breaks Carlos’s heart (he hates crying) and shakes his confidence. It’s truly heartbreaking.
What’s also heartbreaking is when Chris (a fellow gay man) questions Carlos’s “obsession” with wanting to build UCLA’s very first gender-neutral restroom, saying “That was unnecessary. If someone’s clearly a guy, he needs to go to the men’s restroom. It’s not rocket science.” That comment is very disheartening, and it’s a true reminder that not all queer people are truly pro-Human-Rights or pro-Civil-Rights.
In one scene, some of the cast members have a meeting in Hotel Café + Bar, which is located within the Hotel Burbank in East Angelino Avenue. The attendees of this meeting (which takes place prior to the group’s trip to Puerta Vallarta) are Chris, Karl, David, and Carlos; the anchors, basically. Chris says in his confessional, “I actually want to have this opportunity to talk to Carlos, and just lay everything on the line, with the hopes that we can put our conflict to rest and start fresh,” which is a lie. David says to everyone, “So, I’m really glad that we got together tonight, fellas.” Chris happily thanks David (in a rather flirty tone), and both Carlos and Karl stay silent but look confused by David and Chris's exchange. Karl says in his confessional, “It’s a trap. You can smell the bullshit immediately. And then it begins. David says, “Now, I feel like there’s some issues that need to be hashed out before we go to Puerta Vallarta because I don’t like that most of us don’t like each other. So, let me start with you, Chris, and you, Carlos. And, uh--” Carlos cuts David off by saying, “Well can I at least drink something first? Damn. Like, I'm already nervous.” And he says in his confessional, “Uh, hello to you too, David. I mean, he and Chris just *wanted* to go in on me. I swear, I didn’t even have my napkin in my lap, and David’s like, ‘Alright, let’s work out our issues. Go!’ basically.” Back in the scene, David says to Carlos, “Chris and I noticed that you looked really offended and uncomfortable over Chris having an opinion about the fact that you helped build an all-gender restroom for UCLA. You didn’t have to agree with Chris, but I don’t think you were being respectful of his view.” And then he says to Chris, “Okay, Chris, you can chime in,” And Chris happily does so: “Yeah, I—I basically just wanna say that I don’t wanna hear what you have to say because everybody’s not gonna see things your way. And it’s irrelevant to me. So, we can move on to the next topic, if you don’t mind, Carlos.” Both Carlos and Karl gives David a confused look, and then Karl rolls his eyes and says, “Well, that was pretty clear. And typical.” And in his confessional, Karl says to us, “Anybody who knows Christopher Holmstrom, knows that he doesn’t like to talk about himself. Nor does he appreciate anyone talking about him or what he does in his private life. So why is it that he’s getting butthurt over Carlos making a difference for the trans and non-binary community, yet stays quiet when David literally overshares his blatantly sexual dynamic with Chris and Joshua? Why?” Back in the scene, Carlos asks, “Why are you being so defensive? I mean, you started it by bringing up the whole restroom situation out of nowhere. So, that’s on you for being offended by that.” That statement takes Karl by surprise. And Chris gets heated and asks, “Seriously? You’re saying that this is *my* fault?” And Carlos bluntly says, “Yes. I’ve always respected your privacy, Chris. But you love sticking your nose in other people’s business to make yourself look less dull.” Karl gasps and give on "ooh" look; he is stunned by Carlos’s polite reading of Chris. But Chris says with a whiny tone, “Dude, you are just too polite for my liking,” which makes David laugh out loud, and Chris says to Carlos, “Seriously dude, you sound like a nerd. Just be quiet,” and says to David, “Can we move on to the next thing?” Carlos – who’s clearly hurt by Chris’s insults, but tries to not show it – says to Chris, “You are so immature Chris. Grow up.” And Karl says in his confessional, “David was loving it the whole time, watching his boytoy Chris treating Carlos so unfairly.” Back in the scene, Chris says to Carlos, “Grow up? This whole nice guy thing you got going on just makes me wanna throw up. Like, honestly, I really wanted to like you and start over, but you're really showing your true colors. And now... I’m ready to go.” Carlos smiles, fights back a laugh and bluntly says, “Thank you, and bye,” which quickly becomes a meme. And Chris gets up and leaves, and Karl just shakes his head. Miraculously, David stays. And David says in his confessional, “Don’t get me wrong. I felt bad for Carlos. But at the same time, Chris was *hilarious*. It was mean of me to laugh. But Carlos needs to take a joke.” And back in the scene, David gives Carlos some rather weird words of wisdom when he says, “We’re all new to this format. We don’t all know each other. But, I mean… if Chris says, ‘This is how we do things,’ we just gotta learn to do things his way, so that everyone’s happy. You know? But you and I are cool.” David is truly bizarre. And Carlos gives him a side-eye while fighting back a laughter, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Karl looks away and shakes his head in annoyance after David gives that horrible advice. Karl says in his confessional, “So this is why I think that bitch David is completely bipolar as fuck. He was literally Team Chris and laughing at Carlos. But as soon as Chris gets up and leaves, all of a sudden David’s cool with Carlos? Okay. But Carlos knows better, so I’m not worried about that. David is just gonna keep exposing himself, to the point where nobody is gonna like him or take him seriously. And I cannot wait to somehow make things worse for him because he looks like a completely moronic pick-me. Yes he does.” Back in the scene, as Carlos (who is clearly over it) is getting ready to leave, he says to David, “Whatever, I said what I needed to say, and you and Christopher wasted my time. Have a good night.” David looks so awkward and dumb when Carlos says that. Carlos says in his confessional, “I’ve never been around a group of men like this one. The group is very unique, and very much against each other. And right now, I’m not convinced that these are my type of people.”
Other than that, Carlos has all the chops to be THE top tier cast member. He may not have the spicy or outrageous personality that most people look for, but he remains the most evolving, consistent, and sincere person throughout the whole season. He definitely has the most potential to be the alpha of FBBurbank. He’s very entertaining, naturally funny, smart, progressive, and has a star quality that draws your eyes to him whenever he’s onscreen, through the good times, bad times, and everything in-between.
One thing that many viewers appreciate about Carlos is that no matter how much you may piss him off or trash his passions, he never changes to make haters or naysayers feel comfortable. And he can easily move on from conflict unlike the rest of the inaugural cast. And even when something has absolutely nothing to do with Carlos, he's arguably the most important and reliable cast member in so many countless ways (his occasional absences during certain scenes - especially group scenes - would be the most noticeable right away). Even Romeo doesn't stop Carlos from correcting him or speaking for him (the latter only happening when somebody doesn't understand Romeo’s delivery). The problem is that Carlos can't be the hero all the time, and even doing the right thing can have negative consequences.
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Representing the HIV-positive community within the world of journalism and activism is the most vocal and sexiest cast member alive, 43-year-old Karl Jeno Schmid of KABC, who found out that he was poz back in 2008. The oldest in the group, this Aussie bombshell is perhaps the only anchor who has never been afraid to go naked (LITERALLY) while managing to keep his career as an entertainment reporter for KABC. In fact, he actually points out the unfair firing of Erick Adame, a meteorologist who was formerly a part of Spectrum News NY1. And unlike most news anchors, Karl is also never afraid to share his disdain for President Donald Trump, even calling him a cunt on an IG story on one occasion, which immediately causes conflict with our conservative voice Chris Holmstrom.
Founder of Plus Life Media, Karl continues the fight to end the stigma of being HIV-positive. Karl has lived in the City of Burbank for about 15 years, having relocated to the city from Geelong, Australia in 2008. Outside of reporting, Karl has also been a TV host and red carpet host which helps him shine as he’s incredibly smart, funny, and quick with his words, no matter how messy he can be. Early on, we see Karl feuding with Alex over Alex’s friendship with Nick. And later on while in Puerta Vallarta, Karl and Alex fight over Alex’s supposed lack of a backbone when it comes to Nick. It also became very clear that Romeo absolutely despised Karl, though it wasn’t super clear why. I guess it’s because that would require Romeo to actually open up to Karl, the rest of the cast, and us viewers. This comes to quite the head when the flaming bros take their trip to Puerta Vallarta and Romeo and Karl get into it at the dinner table. Karl literally earns fan support when he says to Romeo that he’s not fun, and is manipulative, super reactive, and boring, leaving Romeo to look like a fool.
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Then we have the most adorable addition to the show, 34-year-old Alex Rozier from Virgina, Minnesota. If FBBurbank were a boy band, Alex would be the heartthrob, without a doubt. but looks can be deceiving.
He is a news anchor for KNBC, but like many anchors in this cast, he’s been an anchor from one station, to another, to another, ultimately becoming one of the YOUNGEST news anchor when he started at age 18 in KOMU in Columbia-Jefferson City, Missouri. He often clashes with Karl and Chris, respectively. When he first appears on the season premiere, it’s already known that he is close friends with Nick Amador. And they seem to be thick as thieves. But during the midseason cast trip to Puerta Vallarta, Alex is completely backstabbed by Nick. And the two constantly butt heads for the rest of the season, and the rest of their time on the show.
Nick tells us in his first appearance that outside his journalism career, he’s also a socialite in Burbank and the greater Los Angeles, and even Robert Puente tells us that the Rozier family is well-known for their philanthropy work. Early on, it seems like even the oldest cast members, like Carlos and Karl, defer to Alex a bit for his legacy, but it doesn’t take too long for the façade to crumble. Alex is a pretty complex young man. While he comes from a prim and proper background, he has grown to be more comfortable with his average body and sexuality once he had reached his 30s. When he’s not dressed up for social gatherings, church, or the news, he’s wearing see-through shirts and short shorts.
We see that he is in a relationship with his 31-year-old boyfriend of two years Kris Hardin, an African-American singer, dancer, and actor who becomes a funny and welcomed presence. Alex’s main personal storyline covers Alex and Kris living together for the first time and we see the many pros and cons to living with your significant other, and we see their relationship featured quite prominently on the show. Kris manages to bring a lighter, softer, and funnier side to Alex who can come off a little standoffish and mean, and take himself too seriously without Kris’s presence.
During the Puerta Vallarta trip, Karl makes a comment to Alex about Alex’s apparent lack of a backbone when it comes to Nick, which triggers Alex in a major way. His harsh and not-so-kind reactions to Karl’s comment shows that Alex is not afraid to fight dirty. And Alex is certainly NOT above standing up for himself.
And if he has to, he will take a stand against anyone he may consider a friend. One of those friends, Nick Amador, gets under major hot water with Alex when Nick throws him under the bus at Puerta Vallarta, accusing Alex of also wanting to dig up dirt on Romeo and David, respectively. This comes to a head when the cast returns home from Puerta Vallarta, and Alex and Nick go at it. From that day forward, they’re no longer friends, leaving Nick on an island alone by the end of the season.
I don’t know what it is about Alex Rozier, but I just find him fascinating and very easy to watch, much like Carlos. He and his family have led such an interesting life, and Alex certainly has a lot of reasons to stay on the show, as long as he wants to. However, we do start to see a much darker side of Alex creep in following his conflicts with Nick and Karl. To be continued...
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Another entertainment producer for KTLA is our rough-around-the-edges cast member 27-year-old Robert Puente. He might apologize for what he says (which never happens), but never for who he is. The youngest of the group, he causes quite a stir after calling David, Karl, Carlos, Chris and Romeo “boring grandmas” during a group dinner in the season premiere, while getting on well with Alex and (once upon a time) Nick.
In a cast that’s largely dominated by (seemingly) classy-looking men, Robert came in as the bad boy from East LA with an edgy vibe. His tattoos become a point of contention with David, who Robert effortlessly reminds, “You have tattoos and a nose ring, dude. Calm down.” His dynamic with David is actually pretty interesting albeit strained as Hell as they fight over mundane societal situations – from tattoos and piercings, to David’s… escapades.
Another notable conflict Robert has is with Carlos. During the lunch from Hell at Karl’s house, Robert goes hard for Carlos – his biggest gripe being that Carlos allegedly went maskless while working in the cubicles of KTLA during the Covid pandemic, pre-vaccine. But Carlos denies this, saying, “You were there; you always saw me with my mask on, and the only times I wouldn’t show up to work was if I tested positive or was exposed to someone else with the symptoms. You have people still gravely ill from the disease, and you think I wouldn’t worry about anyone else’s safety but my own?” Once the accusation against Carlos finally aired, a lot of KTLA coworkers came to Carlos’s defense, saying that he was never maskless at any point while on the clock, with one KTLA producer anonymously saying online, “And this is why Robert is stuck doing office work and has very little screentime on KTLA. He’s lucky to still be working with us.” Oh my. Robert also goes on an unhinged tirade against Karl. He’s beyond rude to Karl, ignoring him for seemingly no reason, and then brings up a podcast in which Karl apparently spoke negatively about all the other cast members. But when Karl played a large chunk of the 20-minute podcast on YouTube to the rest of the cast, it turns out that Karl was only talking negatively about Romeo, Robert, and David, NOT the entire cast. Days later, Karl then says to Robert, “The one thing I should’ve said on that podcast is that you’re pathological liar, Robert,” which launches Robert into another unhinged rant where he makes some pretty vicious attacks at Karl, with standout being, "Stay protected next time, you fuckin' slut." And uh... Karl doesn't take kindly to insults directed towards his HIV status, and he says to Robert, "Why don't you go commit another grand theft auto, jailbird?" Yeah, rumor has it that Robert was involved in illegal street racing when he was a teenager in high school. Without anything to back up that allegation, it's just simply a rumor, started by none other than Nick Amador.
There’s a moment where after Alex and Chris had gotten into an incredibly heated argument on Alex’s inability to stay in one news station whereas Chris has been a part of KCAL for five years and counting and is therefore "more reliable and consistent," Alex vents to Robert about what has happened. Robert seems almost excited to hear this, but Alex (following his Puerta Vallarta falling out with Nick Amador) just needs a friend.
It seems like Robert is meant to be an in-your-face type of flaming bro, wanting to set up certain people to fail, and presenting himself as someone who wouldn’t be forgivable to the audience. But what I find hilarious about Robert Puente is that in his confessional during the season finale, he says (and I couldn't make this up even if you paid me), "This was a great season for me; I met some really cool and really nice people." Girl, WHAT?! LMAO! WHERE?! AND WHEN?! I mean, yeah, Carlos is nice - and arguably THE nicest - but you hate Carlos. And a great season? What exactly do we know about you outside the group? Not a whole lot. You said in your finale confessional that you were going through a lot - your mom was sick, you got out of an open relationship, to name a few. So how come we didn't know about this earlier in the season? All you did was talk shit every episode, and even try to throw a chair at Nick in Puerta Vallarta after you exposed Nick for talking even more shit about Alex. That was it. If anything, we were left wondering, "Who in the Hell is Robert Puente?" And even Karl asked that question VERBATIM during the season finale!
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Phoenix native David González is a 36-year-old anchor for KABC, and the only one in the station to have a nose ring, which helps him stand out from most news anchors. He comes in as a free-spirited and naughty rebel of a Christian. Personality-wise, you could say that in a way, David is the "Buddy Love" to Christopher's "Sherman Klump" even though Chris is actually fit and a gym bro, too, and they both like each other. Not only that, but David is HOT, which of course triggers the self-proclaimed "hottest bitch in Burbank" Nick Amador. Nick doesn't make that jealousy known right away, and David often dismisses the "immature little shit."
Outside of his work, David is known to… get around at the gym, which became a point of discussion and vulnerability for him. He started as mostly neutral but often clashed directly with Robert, Karl, Carlos, and Nick, respectively. He was introduced as a very close friend of Chris Holmstrom, and the two have been best friends since 1999 when Chris was 14 and David was 12. And they were both raised with Christian and conservative values that continue to contradict their (in Nick's words) gossip-worthy friendship. But while Chris proves to be a yawn to the viewers, David is probably one of the more entertainingly bizarre additions to the show. He and David have even admitted to have also uh... gotten with each other occasionally, and even Nick's nosey ass says to them that it was bound to happen because those two are also Coachella buddies, gym buddies, Church buddies, and occasionally each other's dates when they hang out.
There’s a lot that can be said about David but he surely isn’t afraid to go against the grain, not caring about the ramifications. Right from the get-go David doesn’t click with Robert who is immediately thrown off by David’s sexual activity. But things go absolutely haywire when Robert makes a failed attempt at reconciling with everyone during the season finale party. In this party, some thirsty-ass friends of Robert started antagonizing David who suspected the whole thing was a setup to make David look bad. And David went off on Robert, proving what even Chris knew, which is that David will go straight for the widest part of a person’s meat; most notably when he says to Robert, “This is why nobody wants to work with you, Robert! You’re just a dumb wannabe Cholo and I can’t wait til KTLA fires your ass because your bullshit is NOT acceptable!”
David is also at odds with fellow KABC team member Karl Schmid. The two knew of each other when David moved from Orange County to Burbank in 2022, and they never felt like they were in each other's level. David was already a proud hater of "that annoying-ass Karl," and Karl has some degree of tension with David's disparaging comments about Karl being "carelessly poz," which Karl does not take well and rips David a new one and throws him under the bus when he says during the Puerta Vallarta trip in front of everyone, "I know you're the boyfriend of Chris and Joshua, but I'm starting to think that you and Chris don't like Joshua at all,. Seeing as how you both fucked each other's brains out in high school, I'm not surprised" which gets Chris and David angry and David yells at Karl, calling him a stupid fuck in Karl's face - and even Carlos face palms in annoyance when Karl makes that accusation of David and Chris having slept together since high school. The fact that Karl doesn't flinch at David getting in his face and just smirks makes me inclined to agree that Karl won that fight.
Karl and David just grate on each other's nerves, and there is absolutely no respect between the two, showing that just because you may work for the same newsroom, doesn't mean you'll be buddies. The KTLA coworkers Carlos, Romeo, and Robert are living proof of this, as are KNBC team members Nick and Alex. David and Chris are also the true definition of conservatives with skeletons in their closet.
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If you hadn’t figured it out yet, 31-year-old Nick Amador is… the biggest troublemaker of the group. On the surface, Nick is a lot fun, and perhaps the biggest partier especially in the gay scene of North Hollywood and West Hollywood. And he quickly carved out a niche for himself as - say it with me now - "the hottest bitch in Burbank." Romeo, who still struggles to warm up with everyone else in the cast, really takes to Nick as they're both party gays who love to turn it up.
This transplanted Jersey Boy has been a platform manager for KNBC for about a year, with an unhealthy obsession with reality TV, positioning himself as the feisty queen bee. He’s also perhaps the most condescending cast member that FBBurbank has ever had (he literally has his last name tattooed across his back shoulder) though that could be debated. As a member of the cast, he comes off charming, flirty, and charismatic. But pay close attention, and you’ll see that he’s often manipulating situations, and trying super hard to control the narrative. He also tends to seek attention deliberately by oversexualizing even himself to a very forced and cringey degree; he’s no Karl Schmid or David González, that’s for sure. He pretty much has a conflict with the entire cast. He learned from the best: Lisa Barlow, Phaedra Parks, and Tamra Judge. So, it makes sense that he is a platform manager, as he is VERY strategic. He is literally an all-out superfan of reality TV villains and always saw himself as one, clearly.
Outside of the group, Nick brings an interesting storyline with the tension between himself and his sisters Brittany and Jessica; the classic family drama that typically dominate reality shows based in the East Coast, and lets you know that the siblings are clearly from the East Coast - Belleville, New Jersey. Jessica is older than Nick, while Brittany is younger than Nick, making Nick the classic middle child. According to Nick himself, he was always a shameless rebel growing up; having his eyebrow pierced at the age of 13 (he removed them when he was 20), getting his last name tattooed across his back shoulder, being a slacker during his 9th and 10th grade years in high school, and smoking pot (during a time when pot was illegal) by the time he was 15. Jessica would ay that Nick was definitely out of control. It doesn't help that their mother more of a pushover and less of a disciplinary figure, and their father wasn't ever around. Nick is definitely not afraid to bare it all, showing the messiness of his personal life.
Although the entire cast is attractive in their own ways, Nick literally labels himself, “the hottest bitch in Burbank.” But what he forgets to say is that he’s also a “mean girl,” due to the unfortunate fact that he makes it his mission to take down reality show veteran Romeo Escobar. And Romeo – bless his heart – falls for it quite easily. The rest of the cast is unsure how to approach Romeo because his attitude can be pretty overwhelming and uncomfortable, and he’s already shown to not be a trustworthy person. Because of this, Romeo is as private and introverted as he’s ever been, but is still far more expressive than Chris, that’s for sure. And at the time, Nick makes the controversial decision to actually befriend Romeo and manages to be sweet to Romeo’s face, while talking shit via confessionals about how much Romeo is a liar, a cheater, a con artist, and a professional victim. Nick knows that he doesn’t know Romeo well enough to say these things, but he’s watched Romeo on Survivor it’s clear to him that everyone else doesn’t trust Romeo for a multitude of reasons. So, Nick is hellbent on doing whatever he can to reinforce that narrative of Romeo and make him out to be a genuinely horrible person, even if whatever Nick finds, hears, or says, may not actually be true about Romeo. It makes Nick come off very weird, creepy, and obsessed. And at first, the rest of the cast is unaware of what Nick is doing because they’re too wrapped up in their interpersonal drama to really notice.
That is until Nick – out of nowhere – while dining with the rest of the cast in a local Bob's Big Boy restaurant asks Romeo, “Did you have to do certain favors to get on Survivor?” It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to understand what exactly Nick meant by “favors.” The cast is shocked and confused by that question (remember, they didn’t know that Nick was ever plotting behind Romeo’s back), except for Romeo who doesn’t get it the first time, answering, “Yeah, I just had to apply and audition, basically; the usual TV stuff,” which makes Nick chuckle at Romeo being clueless. Romeo’s confused by Nick’s amusement and everyone else looks uncomfortable and concerned. Carlos – the voice of reason – tells Romeo, “Actually, Romeo... Nick is asking if you had to… perform… sexual acts… to be on Survivor.” Once Romeo hears "sexual acts", he is shocked, embarrassed, and angry, and says to Nick, “What the Hell? Of course not!”
And with that, the infamous Nick vs Romeo feud is born, and it gets very nasty between the two for the rest of their time on the show. This will be the only season where Nick is friends with someone (due to coming off sweet, bubbly, playful, and funny) before that person realizes eventually that he’s been talking mad shit, lying about them, and/or making fun of them for his own entertainment. This is just terrible and indefensible. And really… nothing Nick does is ever defensible.
There was a lot of pressure for Nick to give us a show, and for anyone who’s a fan of trash TV, Nick more than succeeded. It wasn’t without backlash, of course. In fact, when the season started, a lot of people were shockingly “Team Nick,” because of his reality villain role. But as the season progressed and he tried desperately to double down on his “Romeo Takedown” era starting with that 'favors' question, his popularity started dwindling by the time the group returned home from Puerta Vallarta.
And since the lunch from Hell, the only person who had Nick's back (or at least tried to) was Alex until that fell apart in Puerta Vallarta. Nick was just being so fake, messy, and mean to people that he didn’t even know, and it was exhausting to watch.
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Speaking of sitting together, the reunion (Episodes 15 and 16) didn’t resolve anything either, so… not really worth talking about.
Well, actually, one moment that stood out was when Romeo yelled to Nick, “WHAT DO WANT FROM ME, NICK?!” and Nick said in a stern tone, “I want you to be honest for once in your life!” And Romeo goes, “About WHAT?! A show that I did over a year ago? WHO CARES?!” And Nick gets smug when he says, "My God dude, you're such a fucking victim." And Carlos yells, "JESUS CHRIST, NICK, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" which shocks Nick And Romeo says to Nick, "And you'll always be garbage, Nick AmaWHORE." GASP! And from that day forward, viewers would continuously refer to Nick Amador as Nick Amawhore. Nick did not know what else to say after that, but you could just tell from his body language that he hated being called a whore. If he comes back for Season 2, he’s gonna need an ally, and fast. But one thing's for sure, his "hottest bitch in Burbank" label never stuck or landed, but the "Nick AmaWHORE" nickname is forever embedded in viewers brains. Thank you Romeo!
Season 1 Reunion Seating Chart
At the reunion, the cast is seated from left to right as follows: Chris Holmstrom in the fourth chair, Alex Rozier in the third, Carlos Saucedo in the second, Romeo Escobar in the first, host Ross Matthews in the center, then Nick Amador in the first chair on the opposite side, followed by Karl Schmid in the second, and David González in the third.
Robert Puente was allegedly not invited to attend the reunion. Ross Matthews actually said on-camera in the beginning of Part 1 of the reunion that Robert was asked to attend but declined, but Karl immediately – and quickly – said under his breath, “He wasn’t invited. Good riddance.” Karl! That shit was funny though. Either way, I think we can already guess that Robert’s run as a Flaming Bro has officially come to an end, especially after Robert tweeted, “fuq flaming ho’s!” shortly before the reunion taping
Yeah… he’s not coming back.
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So, not a bad start for the first season. But one thing’s
for sure: even. LA’s most devoted fans of the news could not believe how much
drama these 8 men had with each other. Going back to that "who's friends
with who"/"who doesn’t like who" question, it becomes clear that
if you take Carlos, and even David and Chris, out of the equation, NOBODY likes
each other. Nobody.
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