Although Jeff Probst is currently in Samoa filming Survivor South Pacific (which started production yesterday) and hasn’t tweeted in half a month, he has apparently responded to an open letter posted on Survivor Sucks that details complaints many viewers have about the CBS reality series, from its increasing reliance on returning cast members to the… continue reading
Archives for May 2011
truTV executives think we don’t care that some of their shows are fake
When Court TV rebranded itself as truTV, the network said it would focus on shows that are “not reality” but “actuality.” That could have meant the network was going to order shows that followed “actual” people and events rather than soft-scripted, heavily orchestrated reality shows. Instead, they use the word “actuality” because “bullshit” wouldn’t work… continue reading
No DVDs for So You Think You Can Dance
On Amazon’s placeholder page for a future So You Think You Can Dance DVD, 75 “reviews” praise the show and beg Fox and the show’s producers to release it on DVD. But SYTYCD will not be released on DVD because of music rights issues. In response to a question on Twitter, executive producer and judge… continue reading
Adrianne Curry, Christopher Knight are separating
America’s Next Top Model winner Adrianne Curry and Brady Bunch star Christopher Knight have ended their relationship and are separating after a five-year marriage, both of which began on reality television. Adrianne wrote on Twitter, “guess you heard about my fucked up life……its ok…we arent fighting…no matter what happens, we will know we put our… continue reading
Summer 2011 reality TV debut schedule
Just as Memorial Day signals the start to summer, the end of American Idol and debut of So You Think You Can Dance is the unofficial start to the reality TV season. From the summer standbys to brand-new shows, there’s a lot coming up this summer to plan your vacation around. This is a frequently-updated… continue reading
Celebrity Rehab’s Jeff Conaway dead at 60
Celebrity Rehab cast member and Taxi star Jeff Conaway is dead after being in a coma for some time, though not from a drug overdose, which might surprise those who watched his drug addiction brought painfully to life on VH1. He was 60 years old, and is the second Celebrity Rehab star to die, following… continue reading
Why American Idol fell flat this year: it focused too much on singing
American Idol 10 has finally ended, and the reaction to the season seems to be a resounding “eh.” However, more people watched this season than last. How is that possible? And how did we go from a strong but familiar start to such a mediocre finale? The answer is simple: American Idol decided it was… continue reading
Lee DeWyze responds to Nigel Lythgoe’s slam by revealing he wasn’t asked to be on finale
A minor controversy arose today when Nigel Lythgoe slammed American Idol 9 winner Lee DeWyze for not presenting the trophy to Scotty McCreery on last night’s finale, but Lee has responded by calling out Nigel on his lousy producing of the show’s final moments, saying that Nigel only decided at the last second to ask… continue reading
Drunk Bachelorette suitor Tim: “I don’t have any excuses”
One of the more notable The Bachelorette was Tim, who was so drunk he fell asleep and had to be led to a car and sent home before the rose ceremony. He talked to reporters today, and refreshingly, did not blame the editing or anything else for his behavior. “I don’t have any excuses,” he… continue reading
Scotty McCreery’s win and confetti eating end American Idol 10
The best moment of the American Idol 10 finale came at the end, when newly crowned winner Scotty McCreery basically stopped singing to hug his family members; dissed Jack Black, who wanted a hug; and then finished his song in a shower of confetti by collapsing dramatically on the stage and, when he stood up,… continue reading
Cheryl Cole dropped as X Factor judge, replaced by Nicole Scherzinger
The X Factor has dropped UK singer Cheryl Cole as a judge, replacing her as a judge with one of its co-hosts, Nicole Scherzinger, according to a report. Cheryl was officially announced as a judge just 20 days ago, and has already been featured in a Fox promo; Nicole was once on Popstars and was… continue reading
American Idol 10 finale live blog: join me tonight and we’ll get through this together
Join me tonight for a live blog at 8 p.m. ET as we celebrate the end of another season of American Idol, watching/mocking/suffering together through two hours of awesomeness. This year, we’ll have trivia and betting for bragging rights, woo. (West coast people: Show up at 8 PT to see a replay and follow along… continue reading
2010-2011 reality shows, ranked in order of popularity
During the 2010-2011 TV season, reality TV shows did well, comprising half of the top 10 shows among viewers ages 18 to 49. Reality TV gave us the most-popular (American Idol) and the least-popular shows (Shedding for the Wedding) this year. EW’s James Hibberd compiled a list of all broadcast TV shows and their 18-49… continue reading
Steeler upsets Disney Channel star on DWTS; Idol finale starts with Lauren, without judges
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward won Dancing with the Stars 12 last night, giving his professional partner, Kym Johnson, her second win. Meanwhile, American Idol 10 aired its final performance episode, with Lauren Alaina performing despite a report that she might be replaced by Haley at the last minute. The show’s judges, however, seemed… continue reading
Brett, Cara out as Biggest Loser adds Anna Kournikova, makes other changes
Anna Kournikova will join Bob Harper as a trainer on The Biggest Loser 12 this fall, replacing Jillian Michaels, the show confirmed during its Tuesday finale, but new trainers Brett Hoebel and Cara Castronuova will not return as part of changes the show is making. A badly written gossip report that called trainers “judges” broke… continue reading