Lauren Conrad’s Laguna Beach spin-off The Hills has been renewed. Unlike her Laguna Beach colleague Kristin Cavallari’s post-MTV career, which ended in quick cancellation, Lauren’s spin-off has been well-received. The series “has averaged more than 2 million viewers in the network’s 12-34 demo,” Broadcasting and Cable reports, underneath the easy Sound of Music joke headline… continue reading
Archives for July 2006
Big Brother 7 slop is “nutritionally fortified porridge mix”
Earlier, I identified the Big Brother 7 “slop” food as oatmeal. Instead, it’s “a just-add-water, nutritionally fortified porridge mix,” according to TV Week, which investigated the food. I was wrong, and I regret the error and the implication that producers just chose oatmeal instead of something so much more complex and fascinating. The houseguests are… continue reading
American Idol producer says movie’s claim they asked Fantasia to quit is “a complete fabrication”
American Idol 3 winner Fantasia Barrino was asked to quit the show by producers, according to the biopic film she starred in for Lifetime. Fantasia: Life is Not a Fairy Tale, which stars Fantasia as herself, debuts in August on Lifetime, and is based upon Fantasia’s book of the same name. According to The New… continue reading
VH1 may be interested in Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List
Bravo has not yet renewed Kathy Griffin’s series My Life on the D-List, and that could lead to the series moving to VH1. Despite the show’s Emmy nomination, Kathy told Page Six, “I don’t know why” it hasn’t been renewed for a third season. Before the show was renewed for a second season, Bravo had… continue reading
ABC’s One Ocean View debuts tonight
Tonight at 10 p.m. ET, ABC debuts a new six-episode docu-soap from Real World producers Bunim-Murray. One Ocean View follows 11 New Yorkers in their 20s who shared a house on Fire Island earlier this summer. But what it’s really done is piss off a lot of people. ABC says the show is “the first… continue reading
Janelle nominates Erika and Mike Boogie as the floater strategy is finally explained
Here’s one of the (many, I’m sad to say) things I dislike about Big Brother 7: the cast members, as alumni of the show, have a sense of entitlement and an inflated senses of their own importance. This works on MTV’s Challenge shows, but here, it’s just annoying, particularly since the producers have done absolutely… continue reading
Real World Denver must “explain their apparent illegal construction of a brick wall”
A brick wall facade constructed outside The Real World Denver house may have been constructed illegally, and the city could force the show to remove it. A memo obtained by CBS 4 in Denver says, “The Lower Downtown Design Review Board has found that … ‘Real World’ is in violation of … design and demolition… continue reading
Upcoming shows: Bravo’s Top Designer, WE’s Unwrapping Macy’s, BET’s Next Level: Vince Young and Christies Committed, and Spike’s Bullrun
In the past few we weeks, both at the critics’ press tour and elsewhere, a number of new reality series–and a few renewals–were announced by various networks. Highlights of some recently announced upcoming reality series: FOX renewed both So You Think You Can Dance and Hell’s Kitchen for new seasons, both of which will air… continue reading
From the live feeds: Mike Boogie, Howie, and the box in the Big Brother backyard
If you’re not subscribing to the live Big Brother 7 feeds, you have no idea what you’re missing. Thankfully, some kind souls have uploaded clips to YouTube, so we can all be part of life inside the house. At first I was going to try to describe this particular video’s content, but it truly defies… continue reading
Katharine McPhee misses Pittsburgh concert after performing on The View
Katharine McPhee missed yet another stop on the American Idol 5 tour, missing the Thursday evening concert in Pittsburgh. Signs posted at the venue noted that Katharine would not be performing. Even though Katharine sang live on The View just hours earlier, her absence was apparently unrelated to her recent illness. The moderator of a… continue reading
ABC cancels The One after four episodes and “the lowest-rated adults 18-49 debut … in modern TV history”
ABC has cancelled The One: Making a Music Star after just four episodes. Despite its insane popularity around the world, the ABC version had “the lowest-rated adults 18-49 debut for a reality show (a 1.1 demo rating/3 share) in modern TV history,” as Variety reports. With the following episodes, ratings “declined even further — and… continue reading
Fear Factor remains popular only among 2- to 11-year-olds
As NBC burns off Fear Factor episodes this summer, the now-cancelled show has continued to slip in the ratings. However, the series remains popular with one group: kids. The series has “continued strength among kids 2-11,” Media Life Magazine reports. “It’s the only demo where viewers are still tuning in in any significant numbers.” Last… continue reading
Striking Top Model 7 writers “have not yet gotten any response” from Tyra
Daniel J. Blau, a story producer/writer on America’s Next Top Model, is one of the 12 striking writers who want their new network, The CW, to let them join a union. In an interview with Television Without Pity, for which he used to write, Blau explains that striking “been an agonizing decision for all of… continue reading
Janelle wins HOH for the second time after Jase is unanimously voted out
Janelle has won Head of Household for the second time on Big Brother 7. She won the HOH competition–and kept the season six alliance in control for a fourth straight week–shortly after Jase was voted out of the house unanimously. Right before he left, Jase joked about George’s t-shirt, saying, “Crazy people make poor decisions,… continue reading
Biggest Loser drops Jillian and casts 50 people, one from each state
For the third season of The Biggest Loser, the show has lost trainer Jillian Michaels, but has picked up about 36 contestants. Yes, The Biggest Loser 3 has 50 cast members, one from every state. That’s one large-ass cast. Together, they weigh 14,384 pounds, or an average of 287.68 pounds each. Assuming the 50 aren’t… continue reading
Katharine returning to the Idol tour today, says rumors are “all untrue”
Katharine McPhee’s conspicuous absence from the American Idol 5 tour was blamed on bronchitis and laryngitis, but her reported appearances elsewhere seemed to suggest she was just skipping out. Now, Katherine tells Access Hollywood that those rumors are untrue. “People said I was lying and I was shooting a movie. They would say ‘She thinks… continue reading
Who Wants to be a Superhero? debuts tonight on SciFi
There are so many American Idol clone competition talent shows on the air now that I’ve stopped caring. But I’m ready to make room in my life for SciFi’s new competition talent show, which debuts tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Screw people with narrow talents or people who think the can dance: Who Wants to… continue reading
Katrina-affected teens will take part in Outward Bound with Real World Denver cast
The cast of The Real World is once again being allowed to interact with minors. A group of teenagers from Katrina-affected areas have “interview[ed] for the chance to be on the show and win an all-expenses-paid trip to Outward Bound in Denver, Colorado for five days and four nights,” The Picayune Item reports. There, the… continue reading
Secret alliance may explain Big Brother 7 drama this week; houseguests don’t want to be sequestered
Besides the alliance of the four Big Brother 6 cast members, there may be a secret alliance of four others inside the Big Brother 7 house. This new alliance was revealed on the live feeds last week, and may help explain the angry reaction of HOH James after George won and used the veto. During… continue reading
Julie Chen owns a TVgasm “Chenbot” coffee mug
Variety reports today, which is apparently a very slow news day, that Julie Chen recently acquired a coffee mug. The mug in question, however, has a silhouette of Julie and says “Chenbot,” and is sold by TVgasm in their online store. Apparently, Julie Chen’s fascination with her “Chenbot” nickname is ongoing, as she recently went… continue reading