NBC’s Ready for Love will be burned off online, with an episode being broadcast each week for the next six weeks. The show was effectively cancelled after suffering from low ratings; Tuesday’s episode had just 2.86 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in 18-49. New episode will appear online, such as on NBC.com, Hulu, and… continue reading
Archives for April 2013
Queen of Versailles: this is must-see reality TV
The Queen of Versailles is an exceptional, must-watch film that’s better reality TV than most reality television. We need more documentaries–and more reality television–like this. Bravo’s broadcast of the film tonight and again on Friday makes surprising sense, since the network almost exclusively now traffics in dramatizing and mocking the lives of the rich, making… continue reading
Orange County Choppers casting/hiring for on- and off-camera job
A new show following Orange County Choppers and Paul Teutul, Sr., is casting for someone who will actually be hired to work for the company off-camera, but will also appear on the new series. That’s an interesting approach to casting–or at least, it’s interesting to see a show looking to hire someone to both work… continue reading
America’s Got Talent drama: contestant accused of stealing bit from comedian who was at the audition
Actual drama erupted at a taping of America’s Got Talent on Thursday night in Hollywood, when Howie Mandel called out a comedian for doing an act similar to one he’d previously seen performed by another comedian–who just happened to be the warm-up comedian at the audition that night. /Film’s Peter Sciretta was in the audience… continue reading
Bachelor Sean sex; Duck Dynasty crushes Idol; Ryan Lochte Bachelor confusion; history of MTV’s Buzzkill
Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici had sex during filming of The Bachelor, according to a tabloid, which says his born-again virgin thing wasn’t real. A&E’s Duck Dynasty continues to be an insane hit: its season finale Wednesday was watched by 9.6 million viewers, making it “the most-watched series telecast in network history among all key… continue reading
American Idol’s “shocking” results, disguised amid gibberish, just like the episode
American Idol resolved what it’s doing with the extra week it has since the judges’ save wasn’t used: no one was eliminated this week, though Ryan Seacrest didn’t reveal that until the end of the episode. As a result, the results show seemed like even more of a waste of time than usual. There’s nothing… continue reading
Survivor was peanut butter-licking good, blindside and all
That was a flawless episode of Survivor, and here’s why: for the first time all season, I felt like I was watching something new and surprising. Yes, there have been several surprising moments so far, and yes, it followed the same template as usual, but there was no repetition. Malcolm exited saying, “I need a… continue reading
Secret plan to dump Mariah Carey from American Idol called “ridiculous” by Fox
American Idol is experiencing its lowest-ratings since season one, despite a pre-season feud, and Fox and the show’s producers came up with an innovative plan, according to a report: Fire Mariah Carey and replace her with Jennifer Lopez, who judged last year and then quit, but that didn’t happen because Mariah threatened to sue. The… continue reading
Survivor Lego musical: “Hold Up, Bro” is a must-watch
A scene from a dramatic Survivor Caramoan Tribal Council has been turned into a musical number starring Legos, and it is unbelievably awesome, as is an all-Lego recap of last week’s episode. Lisa Ferreira recreated last week’s episode in Legos, showing how three idols led to Phillip’s exit. It’s fantastic and kind of shocking that… continue reading
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s eloquent defense of Real Housewives, reality TV
Retired NBA player and current Splash contestant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has written an incredibly smart and eloquent defense of Bravo’s trashy reality soap opera franchise The Real Housewives, and a defense of documentary-style reality TV as art that has great value. He also argues that the housewives are undermining feminism and equality for women. His Huffington… continue reading
Ready for Love cancelled but still airing a new episode
NBC cancelled Ready for Love last week after just two low-rated episodes were broadcast, but it will still air a new episode Tuesday night, the network confirmed to me. When I saw Eva Longoria, the show’s executive producer, tweet about tomorrow’s episode, I suggested someone might have forgotten to tell her that her own show… continue reading
I can’t help falling in love with this awful X Factor New Zealand audition
An X Factor New Zealand auditioner delivered a horrific and hilarious performance that may not be worst audition ever on a signing competition, as some suggest, but it is quite memorable. Because supermarket employee Mitchell Wahl’s pre-audition interview comes across like an obvious put-on, I was expecting a Susan Boyle moment, though in reverse. You… continue reading
A list of X Factor’s former cast members: now including fired host Khloe Kardashian
After just one disastrous season hosting, Khloe Kardashian was fired from The X Factor, leaving Mario Lopez to host alone. She joins a surprisingly large list of people who’ve been fired, quit, or left a show that has been on just two seasons: So, here’s the tally of people who were fired, quit, or left… continue reading
What would Ryan Lochte do if he knew his hilarious reality show was mocking him?
Move over Honey Boo Boo: cable reality TV has a new person to mock, and that’s Olympian Ryan Locthe. His E! reality show debuted Sunday night, and while I can’t believe I’m going to write this about an E! celebrity reality show, it’s ridiculously fun–emphasis on the ridiculous. If you watched the hilarious local news… continue reading
Splash injury, death on China’s Splash; Chopped All-Stars spoiled; NeNe’s spin-off; on board the Top Chef cruise; celebrity bowling
An 18-year-old connected to a celebrity on China’s version of Splash drowned in a pool during training. On the ABC version, Nicole Eggert was injured and hospitalized during training on Thursday, but is apparently okay. NeNe Leakes is getting her own Bravo series; it’s called I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding and will follow preparation… continue reading
Food Network Star turns mentors Alton, Bobby, and Giada into judges, undoing its best change
Food Network Star, one of the network’s few watchable reality TV shows, has announced its ninth season cast and twists, and they do not look good on paper: they include allowing an eliminated contestant to return (sigh), adding focus groups, and turning mentors Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis, and Bobby Flay into judges. Changes to… continue reading
Survivor’s fun sponge finally squeezed, drenching us in joy
I am hyperventilating like a Utahn mother who just lost her teeth: holy fun sponge, that was fantastic. As Cochran said as he cast his vote, “This is why I freakin’ love Survivor.” This season represents the best and worst of Survivor, with tonight’s episode being nearly perfect, despite a pair of familiar challenges and… continue reading
Splash’s judges and producers screw with us, get their lowest ratings yet
I’ve complained about Splash‘s judging before, and I’m probably the only person who cares, but last night’s judging was so absurd that there is no way it was even close to serious, so the only logical conclusion I can come up with is that the judges and producers are just screwing with us and intentionally… continue reading
Adam Scott: Bachelor? Kathy Griffin cancelled; Sing Off revived; Trading Spaces’ Hidli
A few words before the links to relatively trivial things: I’m as horrified as everyone else at the Boston Marathon bombings, but I can’t say anything that even approaches the eloquence of Patton Oswalt’s Facebook post, which you may have already seen. Also: here’s a list of things you can do to help, and even… continue reading
Top Chef 11 may be filmed in New Orleans
The 11th season of Bravo’s competition Top Chef appears to be headed to New Orleans, based on a job posting for crew members. The city previously hosted the finale of the show’s fifth season. Last Friday, a job posting on Facebook said the show would be filmed there from May to July, but then was… continue reading