Skip to Content
reality TV reviews, news, and analysis since 2000

NBC casts Celebrity Circus with has-been reality stars; VH1’s Celebracadabra! cast is similarly lame

NBC has announced the cast of its summer circus competition series Celebrity Circus, and with ABC cancelling plans for its own similar show, NBC has gone after the big celebrities: has-been reality stars.

The cast “includes several celebreality veterans,” according to Variety. They are “Christopher Knight (‘My Fair Brady’) and Rachel Hunter (‘Dancing With the Stars’), plus “Antonio Sabato Jr., Grammy-nommed neosoul singer Blu Cantrell (‘Hit ‘Em Up Style’), Olympic swimmer Janet Evans and Jason ‘Wee Man’ Acuna (‘Jackass’).”

The show, which debuts June 11, will be hosted by Joey Fatone, no stranger to reality TV himself. So, out of that group, we basically have three people who aren’t reality whores, and of those, if you’re going by the definition of “celebrity” that everyone used until recently until all of this faux-celebrity craziness began, there’s basically just one.

Meanwhile, VH1 has announced the cast of its celebrity competition Celebracadabra! who will “will vie for the title of ‘Best Celebrity Magician’ when they attempt to learn and perform tricks normally left to the professionals.” The network says it has cast our “favorite celebrities,” but alas, has lied to us.

Instead, those who will appear on the show when it debuts Feb. 27 are Ant, Carnie Wilson, C. Thomas Howell, Chris ‘Kid’ Reid, Hal Sparks, Lisa Ann Walter, and Kimberly Wyatt. I’d make a joke about the actual celebrities having already disappeared, but that’d be easier than re-casting Ant for yet another reality series.

NBC reveals ‘Circus’ folk [Variety]
VH1 Gets Magical With its New Series ‘Celebracadabra!’ Premiering Sunday, April 27 at 9PM ET/PT [VH1 press release]

All reality blurred content is independently selected, including links to products or services. However, if you buy something after clicking an affiliate link, I may earn a commission, which helps support reality blurred. Learn more.

More from reality blurred

About the author

  • Andy Dehnart

    Andy Dehnart is the creator of reality blurred and a writer and teacher who obsessively and critically covers reality TV and unscripted entertainment, focusing on how it’s made and what it means.

Discussion: your turn

I think of writing about television as the start of a conversation, and I value your contributions to that conversation. We’ve created a community that connects people through open and thoughtful conversations about the TV we’re watching and the stories about it.

To share our perspectives and exchange ideas in a welcoming, supportive space, I’ve created these rules for commenting here. By commenting below, you confirm that you’ve read and agree to those rules.

Happy discussing!