Andy DehnartThis is the summer of reality talent competitions; there are at least six American Idol rip-offs currently airing, and six Project Runway-style series will air by the end of the summer. You’d think that producers and networks had run out of ideas.
Two of the stage/judges/audience series debuted on ABC last week: The Next Best Thing, a celebrity impersonator competition, which airs at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the second season of American Inventor at 9. Both are still in their audition rounds. On the latter show, the host and judges were fired, except judge Peter Jones. Joining him are new judges George Foreman, Pat Croce, and Sara Blakely.
Tonight, NBC kicks off the fifth season of Last Comic Standing with a two-hour premiere, which airs at 9 p.m. ET. It features a new host, Bill Bellamy, plus new judges, Alonzo Bodden, ANT, and Kathleen Madigan, all of whom were previously on the show. The show searched for comics internationally, and will award one a new prize of $250,000.