reality blurred + archives + January 10 to January 16, 2010

week of January 10, 2010

CBS "high on" Survivor 20, Undercover Boss; Amazing Race, Big Brother "continue to succeed"
CBS' entertainment president Nina Tassler said Saturday she's "high on" both Undercover Boss, which will be launch after the Super Bowl, and the 20th season...
Howie Mandel replacing the Hoff on America's Got Talent; Tom Papa hosting Marriage Ref
Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel is joining America's Got Talent as a judge for its fifth season, replacing David Hasselhoff, who quit to...
Survivor's 10-year anniversary party: from 20-season buffs to season 20 details
Saturday night, well over 200 of the 301 Survivor cast members--plus crew members, press, and members of the Television Critics Association--gathered in Los Angeles to...

Gail Simmons will host Top Chef Just Desserts; Bravo renews several shows
The second spin-off of Top Chef, the pastry chef competition called Top Chef Just Desserts, will be hosted by one of the series' regular judges,...
Glee will audition, find new cast members, and Fox will that as a mini-reality series
Fox will search for new Glee cast members via an audition process that will be broadcast as "a multi-part special" next fall. In other words,...
Simon Cowell will quit American Idol after this season, but will judge his X Factor in 2011
American Idol 9 is Simon Cowell's last season with the show, he just told TV critics, although he will judge The X Factor, a show...
Rozlyn Papa feels "betrayed" by Bachelor producers' "blatant lie," denies sexual affair
Ousted Bachelor 14 contestant Rozlyn Papa says she feels "betrayed" by the show that portrayed her as having a sexual relationship with a producer, which...

American Idol 9 debuts tonight, but what will X Factor mean for the show's future?
Tonight, American Idol 9 debuts at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. While it's the beginning of Ellen DeGeneres' at least three-season run as a judge,...
Bachelor Pad spin-off will feature all-star Bachelor, Bachelorette contestants competing
ABC is taking another page from VH1's playbook and spinning off an all-star edition of The Bachelor called The Bachelor Pad. The Chris Harrison-hosted series...
House for Real World's return to New Orleans identified
The house that will likely be used for The Real World's return to New Orleans for its 24th season has been identified. Based on work...

American Idol 9's debut falls kind of flat with no real standouts; Paula who?
American Idol 9 began its four-month run last night with an episode that was very, very familiar, that sometimes worked but sometimes showed its age...
American Idol keeps its audience without Paula Abdul, adds viewers 18 to 34
After losing viewers every year, American Idol returned last night with about the same number of viewers who tuned in to the first episode last...
Kelly Clarkson leads a (surprising group of) American Idol alumni in radio airplay
Among American Idol alumni, first-season winner Kelly Clarkson has had the most radio airplay over the past seven years, from 2002 to 2009. That's not...
Richard Hatch insists he'll be "exonerated," will return to TV
Despite spending years in prison, from which he was recently released, Survivor Borneo winner insists he'll be "exonerated," either legally or just in the public's...

Lifetime tries again to find Project Runway's soul
After the limp and unmemorable sixth season of Project Runway that concluded last fall, Lifetime tries again. Season six proved Lifetime and Bunim-Murray can get...
American Idol leaves its pants on the ground with "cheap dramatization"
All together now: "Pants on the ground/Pants on the ground/Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground." Yes, the final auditioner on last...
Animal Planet will broadcast The Cove, the documentary about dolphin slaughter
Animal Planet will broadcast the acclaimed documentary The Cove this summer. Louis Psihoyos' film debuted last year and followed former Flipper trainer Ric O'Barry's efforts...
What Magical Elves think of Lifetime's version of Project Runway, the show they created
Besides having the best name in the reality TV production world, Magical Elves are responsible for a lot of other compelling series, from Bands on...
2010 televised documentary schedule
The kinds of documentaries that interest me most are like reality TV: they focus on people, and find narratives and drama in real lives and...

American Idol's second episode ratings suffer
While the return of American Idol did well on Tuesday--ratings were even up in some categories--Wednesday was a different story, as the show lost viewers...
Padma Lakshmi's delivery explained: she's a robo-host
Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi has often been accused of wooden delivery; while it's not quite of early Big Brother Julie Chen proportions, it can...
Details about Survivor Heroes vs. Villains challenges revealed
Details about the Survivor Heroes vs. Villains challenges have emerged recently. (This story doesn't reveal anything about outcomes, but stop reading if you don't want...
Next week: little people and pit bulls, Johnny Weir, and Jersey Shore's finale
This week, I and a lot of other TV critics have been engaged in an orgy of publicity, breaking news, and crazy shit, like Legacy...