As a public service to TV critics who once again have to select just two reality shows to nominate for Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming for the 2013 TCA awards, I present a list of shows that are actually outstanding and demonstrate achievement in reality, rather than, say, popularity or scriptedness (let’s please not nominate… continue reading
Archives for May 2013
Glass House has been cancelled: time to give up hope
ABC has cancelled The Glass House, the network has confirmed to me, so if you’ve been holding out hope that it’ll return this summer, it’s time to give up and let it go. Yes, my desperate plea to renew the low-rated summer competition series. The loss of the show is sad, but we’ll get through… continue reading
Bayou Eskimos, Knitting Wars: Why WNET’s fake reality shows are so infuriating
New York public broadcasting station WNET has begun a fundraising campaign that advertises for five fake reality TV shows on fake networks–“Bad Bad Bag Boys,” “Bayou Eskimos,” “The Dillionaire,” “Knitting Wars,” and “Married to a Mime.” The imagery for the fake shows and includes this tagline: “The fact you thought this was a real show… continue reading
Big Brother After Dark moves to TV Guide Network, loses an hour
Big Brother After Dark, the nightly broadcast of the live feeds, is moving to TVGN, formerly the TV Guide Network, and being shortened to two hours. The broadcast begins June 26, the same night as the debut of the CBS broadcast. The press release calls this “a curated live feed,” which means they choose which… continue reading
Time to stop caring about The Bachelor/ette’s failure rate: all that matters is crazy
The Bachelorette debuted Monday, the 26th season of the franchise, and featured the usual parade of crazy people coached to do ridiculous things trying to woo someone from a previous season who the casting producers clearly hate based on the people they select as potential mates. Airing against The Voice and without Dancing with the… continue reading
Shows I am excited to watch this summer: The Hero, Top Shot, Hunger Games, more
There are an absurd number of reality shows airing this summer, both new and returning. Many are the new cable standard: cheap and overly produced/faked, which is disappointing. But there are signs of hope, and by that I mean reality and entertainment combined. That starts with Brooklyn DA, which airs tonight on CBS but is… continue reading
Summer 2013 reality TV debut schedule
Summer has arrived, and it will bring us new (such as ABC’s Whodunnit?) and old favorites (like Top Shot, finally), giving screen time to everyone from Honey Boo Boo to whatever malcontents CBS finds for the new season of Big Brother. This is a frequently-updated list of officially announced debut dates of both new and… continue reading
American Idol alum as judges; Idol stabbing; church makeovers; Duck Dynasty greeting cards
Jennifer Hudson signed as an American Idol judge, according to E!’s multiple sources. Kelly Clarkson is also reportedly close to signing on, with the third seat going to a gay Idol: Adam Lambert or Clay Aiken. Nigel Lythgoe has just figured out and/or admitted that this past season’s American Idol judges “didn’t gel.” Choreographer and… continue reading
How to rip off Mike Darnell, who shaped reality TV and is leaving Fox
Mike Darnell, Fox’s reality TV executive, is leaving the company after 19 years of overseeing shows from Joe Millionaire to American Idol. In a cheekily titled press release (“Mike Darnell Votes Himself Out…of Fox Broadcasting Company”), Darnell said that, while he was “offered a new long term contract … I’ve decided it’s time for a… continue reading
Baby Bachelor is the hilariously cute parody you need to watch right now
Just when you think it’s impossible to do a better parody of The Bachelor comes The Baby Bachelor from Jimmy Kimmel Live. Its second episode was released this week, and while Burning Love did a great job of sending up the ABC series, I think this is my favorite. The quote-unquote series, starring Kimmel’s nephew… continue reading
Survivor Cochran’s jury paper, new CBS gigs; Dawn and Brenda; Erik’s analysis of Probst
Lingering stories and information about Survivor Caramoan: This season was the 29th most-popular TV show among people 18 to 49–just behind The Amazing Race, and well behind #18, Survivor Philippines. John Cochran, this season’s winner, has been hired to write for CBS’ new sitcom The Millers, which stars Will Arnett and Margo Martindale. He’ll also… continue reading
A&E cancels Intervention after 243 interventions
Intervention will end after airing five more episodes, having been cancelled by A&E. A press release from the network spins the cancellation by announcing that it “returns for its final five episodes.” Those start June 13, airing Thursdays at 9, and the last episode is, the release says, “one of the most difficult and dramatic… continue reading
Amy’s Baking Company keeps delivering drama, entertainment after Kitchen Nightmares
This season of Kitchen Nightmares delivered what was easily the series’ best episode, and since that aired, there has been a lot of off-camera drama thanks to owners Samy and Amy Bouzaglo–and viewers who responded strongly to what they saw. Their restaurant, Amy’s Baking Company, has received threats from the show’s producers and had a… continue reading
Why Bret Michaels wasn’t on Apprentice; X Factor’s new judges; NBC’s fictional reality; RHONYC sign contracts
The X Factor has new judges: Destiny’s Child’s Kelly Rowland, who also judged on the UK version of the show, and Paulina Rubio, a Latin pop star. Their addition probably brings more credibility than its panel last year, but probably doesn’t change the fact that it’s a giant, unwatchable mess. Why was Bret Michaels missing… continue reading
Dear NBC: Renew Apprentice but replace Donald Trump with Ivanka
The first-ever all-star Celebrity Apprentice concluded with Donald Trump breaking from tradition and selecting the finalist seated to his right, Trace Adkins, as the winner of the $250,000 prize, which goes to his charity, the American Red Cross. Overall, Adkins raised $1,554,072 for American Red Cross, while Penn Jillette raised $698,655 for Opportunity Village, according… continue reading
Duck Dynasty cast prove why they’re popular, get beaten by Swamp People
Duck Dynasty‘s extreme popularity is now as well-known as its total artificiality. It’s a scripted sitcom that lies to viewers, except it’s honest about one thing: its cast members’ personalities. The cast appeared on Katie Couric’s talk show Wednesday, and did a good job of proving why they are entirely the reason why the show… continue reading
How to know which Celebrity Apprentice Donald Trump will choose (hint: look left)
The Celebrity Apprentice‘s sixth season concludes Sunday, and it may be easy to tell who which of the final two celebrities will win the prize for their charity: that’s because Donald Trump has always chosen the celebrity sitting on his left as the show’s winner. NineDaves noticed and illustrated this fascinating phenomenon and wrote, “Why… continue reading
Top Chef’s oil spill money prompts b.s. from Bravo, Anthony Bourdain vs. Andy Cohen vs. David Simon
News that Top Chef received $200,000 from the oil spill fund the Deepwater Horizon disaster has prompted controversy and a debate of sorts between Bravo VP Andy Cohen, chef Anthony Bourdain, and TV auteur David Simon. All of this was significant enough to prompt Bravo to respond last night, defending its actions by posting a… continue reading
The Voice smartly keeping all six coaches next year, including Usher, Shakira in spring
The Voice will keep all six of its judges next year, including Usher and Shakira, who have been the subject of reports in recent days suggesting they’re leaving. Instead, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will be on both seasons, while CeeLo Green and Christina Aguilera will appear in the fall with Usher and Shakira replacing… continue reading
What the Survivor reunion was really missing: insight
In the aftermath of the Survivor Caramaon reunion drama, with the eight pre-merge contestants being excluded, there’s been a lot of conversation about whether that improved or weakened the reunion. Jeff Probst was defensive in his explanation, offering a weak excuse and saying their goal is “to produce the best reunion show we can.” While… continue reading