Today’s the fifth anniversary of the beginning of a new era in primetime network television. At 8 p.m. on May 31, 2000, Survivor debuted, and changed network television as we know it. Of course, Survivor wasn’t the first reality show (PBS’ An American Family, MTV’s The Real World, and MTV’s Road Rules are its great-grandparent… continue reading
Archives for May 2005
Contender renewal, rematch fight both may be announced this week
Although The Contender is not on NBC’s fall schedule, it hasn’t been officially cancelled. According to the New York Times, “An NBC spokeswoman said that while it did not have the show on its fall lineup, the network had not passed on ‘The Contender’ altogether.” Producer Mark Burnett confirmed “that if NBC was not interested,… continue reading
Four of the season’s top 10 shows were reality.
Ratings are in from the 2004-2005 television season, and although drama made a resurgence thanks to Desperate Housewives and Lost, reality TV still delivered. Last year, “Half of last season’s top 10 new programs were reality series,” but this year, “No unscripted show cracked the top 10 among new series,” USA TODAY reports. However, along… continue reading
Nashville Star final four will tour.
The final four Nashville Star 3 contestants, including winner Erika Jo, will start touring the country in mid-June. Currently, 17 cities have been announced–including three performances in Canada. Stops are still being booked, and eventually, “the tour is expected to hit as many as 40 markets,” Billboard reports. Billboard says, “The artists will perform together… continue reading
Janice Dickinson quits Top Model, will be replaced by Twiggy.
America’s Next Top Model is losing its most critical, entertaining, and well-preserved judge. Janice Dickinson, who will appear on this fall’s Surreal Life 5, is leaving to work on a book and other TV projects. In a press release, executive producer Ken Mok gives some empty, standard replies, saying that the show “wish[es] her well… continue reading
The Contender may move to ESPN.
The Contender isn’t knocked out yet. Executive producer Mark Burnett, who has previously said that this is “my favorite work of my career,” told reporters after the finale, “I’ve never had such pats on the back as I’ve had for ‘The Contender.’ I’m totally committed to it. If NBC doesn’t want to do it, we’ll… continue reading
Fear Factor sticks with couples, will shoot “home invasion” segments.
NBC’s Fear Factor is ditching its single-person format; instead, teams of two–which have been increasingly prevalent on the series–will now compete for the prize. As the AP reports, this “is just one of several changes in a retooling of the gross-out reality show.” Additionally, a new segment on the show called “Home Invasion” will feature… continue reading
Kendra will earn less with Trump than she normally does.
Donald Trump’s first female apprentice is taking a pay cut for the privelage of working with him. Kendra “Todd says she’ll definitely be making less money than she has been running My House Real Estate,” the Palm Beach Post reports. But she’s still excited, saying, “$250,000 is a base salary. But I think it’s a… continue reading
Corey’s spokesman issues a statement about Idol finale bit.
While I hate to give him even more attention, this is too pathetic to ignore: Corey Clark has had his people/person release a statement about the American Idol 4 parody of his claims. Corey’s spokesman, Jed Wallace, says that “By choosing to spoof such a serious situation on last night’s final episode, FOX and American… continue reading
Carrie Underwood wins American Idol 4; half a billion votes were cast this season.
Carrie Underwood is the winner of American Idol 4. More than 500 million votes were cast throughout the season, although of course we didn’t hear nor how close last night’s vote was. In addition to touring with the other finalists starting on July 12, Carrie will release “Inside Your Heaven” on June 14. And Bo… continue reading
Britney and Kevin: Chaotic reportedly faces cancellation, Britney’s mother’s wrath.
Although the first episode of Britney and Kevin: Chaotic pulled in 3.46 million viewers, it landed in 81st place for the week, and the only record it broke for UPN was being the network’s “most watched broadcast in the [9 p.m., Tuesday] time period with regularly scheduled programming since March 2004.” As E! Online reports,… continue reading
Tana was offered a job by NYC 2012 CEO, says producers had to “knock [her] down.”
The Apprentice 3‘s runner-up says that, although her performance on the final task was maligned, she impressed the executives. “I got a job offer from the CEO of NYC 2012 and I got a job offer from the AVP human resources project manager,” Tana tells The Iowa Channel. She also says that the Pontiac brochure… continue reading
Donald “Trump’s desperation is almost as compelling as his success.”
Slate’s Daniel Gross examines, in great detail, Donald Trump’s slide, arguing that The Apprentice mogul “has engaged in increasingly strange publicity stunts that don’t bring him any income at all and that may end up costing him money.” His newest embarrassment might be Trump University, first revealed by The Smoking Gun last August. The online-only… continue reading
Amazing Race coming to DVD.
The first season of The Amazing Race is coming to DVD, according to the series’ co-creator. After the most overwritten paragraph ever, Reality Reel Media reveals that the show “will be officially released on DVD in the Fall of 2005. Elise Doganieri, Co-Creator and Supervising Producer of The Amazing Race, has confirmed this via telephone.”… continue reading
Sergio Mora wins The Contender.
The final two fighters left on NBC’s The Contender faced off live at Caesar’s Palace, and Sergio Mora beat Peter Manfredo after a unanimous decision (69-64, 68-65, 70-63), keeping his undefeated record intact. With his million dollar prize, “The Latin Snake,” who reads Oscar Wilde, Nietzsche, Sun Tzu, pledged that his 60-year-old mother wouldn’t have… continue reading
E! Online retracts story that Newlyweds Nick and Jessica are divorcing.
In the short time since the end of their series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, part of The Joe Simpson Hour of Exploitation, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey have reportedly decided to split. Maybe. As this screencap of an E! Online story shows, E! reported that they “confirmed that Simpson filed for divorce Tuesday in Los… continue reading
reality rejects deal with sequestration, homecomings, lying, and publicists.
After being eliminated from a competition-based reality show, but before living a life as a perpetual media whore, reality show contestants face a weird kind of limbo. The AP reports on everything from various “loser islands” (where booted contestants go before returning home) to dealing with publicists (shudder). Those fired from The Apprentice go to… continue reading
Dave Navarro, Brooke Burke will host CBS’ Rock Star: INXS, which will air three times a week.
Having spent time recently hanging out in front of MTV cameras for his show Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen + Dave, Dave Navarro will now spend time in front of CBS cameras, as he hosts the forthcoming Rock Star: INXS. He’ll be joined by Brooke Burke, the host of Wild On. A CBS press… continue reading
live Contender finale airs tonight.
The final two fighters left on NBC’s The Contender are Peter “The Pride of Providence” Manfredo, Jr., ironically the first fighter to be eliminated from the competition, and Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora. Tonight, we’ll find out live at 8 p.m. ET which one has the most heart–when they beat the fucking shit out of… continue reading
American Idol 4 finale begins tonight.
Tonight is the beginning of the end of American Idol 4, as Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice enter the ring and punch each other in the head. No, wait, that’s The Contender. As they sing their final songs of the competition, you’ll notice that there are dramatic differences between the two remaining contestants: one has… continue reading