week of June 17, 2007

Sunday, Jun. 17, 2007

• Starting Over wins Emmy for editing; MTV's Made wins best Special Class series
  Starting Over was officially cancelled last fall, but it has received one final Emmy. The show won for "Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Editing," the...
• Reality TV suffering from "a dearth of creative ideas" and "self-plagiarizing" producers
  In an essay in Newsweek, Joshua Alston writes that producer Mark "Burnett's string of failures ... nails shut the coffin of reality television's golden era."...
• WE's Bridezillas, History Channel's Ice Road Truckers debut tonight
  Two very different reality series debut tonight on two different cable networks, one of which follows crazy women making others' lives hell to make their...

Monday, Jun. 18, 2007

• NBC wants "teenage couples" to "grow up" and take "their relationship to the next level"
  NBC is searching for teenage couples who are 18 or 19 years old for a new series, according to a casting notice sent to reality...
• NBC pits "cougars" against "kittens" on Age of Love
  Just when you thought that the "gotcha" dating show subgenre had expired, NBC debuts Age of Love tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Thirteen women are...
• Diddy searches for all-male group with MySpace's help on Making the Band 4 tonight
  MTV debuts Making the Band 4 tonight at 10 p.m. ET, the first season of a new series in the franchise. This time, Diddy is...
• Kristy Swanson arrested after confrontation with Skating with Celebrities partner's ex-wife
  The winner of FOX's short-lived Dancing with the Stars clone Skating with Celebrities was arrested this weekend "for allegedly assaulting the ex-wife of her companion...

Tuesday, Jun. 19, 2007

• Australian reality stars drugged at party
  Two Australian reality stars were apparently drugged at a fundraiser this past Saturday. Big Brother cast member Christie Mills "was taken to hospital by ambulance...
• Hell's Kitchen chefs try to serve rancid crab, raw eggs, food from the trash after Aaron leaves
  Rancid crab. Raw eggs. Spaghetti removed from the trash. Just another night in Hell's Kitchen, and another fantastic episode as the chefs went a little...
• WWE's Ashley Massaro joins Survivor China cast
  A WWE wrestler was recruited to join the cast of Survivor China, according to reports. "CBS contacted WWE and asked them to send them someone...
• Coral from The Real World comes out as a lesbian
  Coral Smith, a cast member on The Real World 10 and numerous Challenges, has come out as a lesbian. In an interview with Outlook magazine,...
• Rob Mariano's upcoming reality show Tontine has a $10 million prize
  Rob Mariano has been teasing an upcoming reality TV project since the spring, saying it would be bigger than the two shows he competed on....
• Ice Road Truckers debut beats On the Lot, is the History Channel's most-watched show ever
  The Sunday debut of the History Channel's docudrama Ice Road Truckers was the most-watched show ever on the network--and beat a network reality series. A...

Wednesday, Jun. 20, 2007

• Fired manager sues, says Gordon Ramsay faked scenes on US Kitchen Nightmares
  A New York City restaurant manager who was fired as a result of Gordon Ramsay's advice during production on the new US Kitchen Nightmares says...
• Musical about "cult-like" Clay Aiken fans will be performed Off-Broadway
  Idol: The Musical, a play "based on the idol worship of former 'American Idol' contestant Clay Aiken," will debut Off-Broadway this summer, Playbill reports. The...
• Trump's new MTV series Pageant Place follows Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA
  Donald Trump's post-Apprentice plans include not just one but two reality series. He'll produce Pageant Place for MTV, which Variety reports "will see Miss Universe,...
• Survivor 16 may be another all-star edition
  The 16th season of Survivor may be another all-star edition, according to a new report. Rumors have been circulating on message boards that an all-star...
• John Griffin's death included in well-produced episode of My Life on the D-List
  Twice in six months, a supporting cast member on Bravo's docudrama series has died. While those events were tragic, the producers and editors of those...
• Morgan Spurlock will work as a coal miner for next season of 30 Days
  Morgan Spurlock has starred in one episode during each season of his FX series 30 Days, and for the second season, he'll reportedly be in...
• On the Lot drops to 2.4 million; Burnett says it's a success "from a business perspective"
  FOX flop On the Lot was watched by 2.9 million viewers last week, and last night it lost another half-million viewers. The show was watched...

Thursday, Jun. 21, 2007

• VH1 plans America's Most Smartest Model, The Salt-N-Pepa Show, Danny Bonaduce's Child Star, and Click!
  VH1 has announced six new reality series that will anchor its new night of original programming. The new shows will air on Thursdays and debut...
• Lauren Conrad visited Jason Wahler in rehab; he says he's "embarrassed as hell"
  Fresh out of rehab, Hills star Jason Wahler says he's "embarrassed as hell" about his behavior, specifically his multiple arrests for various drinking-related crimes. However,...

Friday, Jun. 22, 2007

• Planet Earth high-definition DVDs have sold 45,000 copies, the best-selling HD DVD yet
  The high-definition DVD version of the Discovery Channel and BBC's Planet Earth has sold about 45,000 copies. That's "one for every five owners of a...

previous week | next week