Andy DehnartTLC announced this morning a series of specials called Kate Plus 8, revealed that its solo Kate Gosselin series will be called Twist of Kate, and also announced that Kate is “America’s favorite Mom,” at least in the fantasy world that TLC seems to exist in.
On Twist of Kate, which will debut in late summer or early fall, Kate will “[step] into the lives of other women and moms, experiencing first hand their challenges and triumphs.” The network’s press release says she’ll be “meeting real families in the middle of their own extraordinary challenges” will will “try out their jobs…see how their home life runs… see what they’re up against… and find out what they do to let off steam.”
Maybe she can teach them how to use ellipses correctly, too. But seriously, really? Kate, who can barely keep it together on Dancing with the Stars, is going to help other families? Perhaps there will be a heavy amount of humility for her as she discovers her problems aren’t on the same level as other families’ struggles, but this sounds pretty lame, especially since Kate isn’t proving herself to be a TV personality with a lot of range.
Meanwhile, the network says Kate Plus 8 is a series of “limited specials following the lively brood on some fun adventures.” Obviously, those will be adventures without Jon, unless he wins his custody battle, and then the show will have to be called Kate Plus 0.
Finally, as if TLC isn’t annoying enough with this stuff and its Sarah Palin’s Alaska series, it’s announced new shows that seem very familiar, starting with its reboot of the allegedly concluded American Chopper. TLC is also adding another massive family show, Quintuplet Surprise, which follows “34-year-olds Casey and Ethan Jones of Austin, Texas” who “are now learning some brand new ropes in a new kind of life that includes their six-year-old daughter and their five newborn babies who were definitely part of the plan.”
And TLC will also air a spin-off of Cake Boss called Cake Boss College on which Buddy Valastro oversees a competition between “eight aspiring cake-makers” (hello, Chef Academy rip-off), while it will also air a new docudrama about a pair of sisters who run a cupcake shop in DC. It’s called Cupcake Sisters, because why bother with a creative title when you’re just ripping off your own network’s other shows.