If you had to choose between going on Survivor, Big Brother or Amazing Race which would you pick and why? Although I abhor most reality shows with celebrities, which celebrities would be the most interesting for a show like Survivor? I would think that a good mix of lazy, pampered celebrities and some down to… continue reading
Archives for September 2013
Amazing Race creator on Double U-Turns, all-star seasons, locations, and more
The Amazing Race debuts its 23rd season tonight, and HitFix’s Dan Fienberg talked with the series’ creator, Elise Doganieri. Their in-depth conversation is worth a read, and covers everything from casting to security in various locations, although it doesn’t address the problems that eventually led me to stop watching. Among the insight: “100 percent” of… continue reading
Probst says Colton quit Survivor One World; Housewives star encourages marital rape
Awful Survivor cast member Colton Cumbie was medically evacuated his first season on the show, but Jeff Probst now says that Colton “engineered his own quit” last time. That’s what he appears to be doing in the preview for next week’s episode, and a new preview offers more of a hint as to what will… continue reading
Project Runway 12: gimmicks that actually work
Last December, I wrote that Michael Kors’ exit from Lifetime’s Project Runway was further evidence of the series’ death spiral. I didn’t watch that season, but watching some early episodes this season, I was shocked to discover that, as others have argued, the show is good again. Unbelievably, that’s thanks to all of the gimmicks… continue reading
ABC hires former E! president as its reality exec
Less than a week after firing John Saade as its executive in charge of reality TV, ABC announced tonight that Lisa Berger, E!’s former president, will be its new Executive Vice President at ABC for Alternative Series, Specials and Late-Night. She “will oversee all development activities and current primetime programming in the alternative, specials and… continue reading
Not much blood in the water yet on Survivor
Survivor‘s second episode gave us a look at the shape of this season: alliances and strategy complicated by the prospect of contestants switching with the other tribe, plus an episode arc that starts with Redemption Island. But it also played out somewhat predictably, both because we already know the returnees and because their game play… continue reading
Hoarders cancelled, but Matt Paxton continuing its work with ServiceMaster
A&E has officially cancelled Hoarders, the series that brought national attention to a previously hidden mental disorder. The show’s end has been clear since earlier this year, but A&E’s silence gave hope. Alas, while A&E gave Intervention an official send-off, it did not do that with Hoarders. Instead, a publicist quietly confirmed its cancellation late… continue reading
CBS promotes publicist Mitch Graham to VP of reality TV; will oversee Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother
CBS publicist Mitch Graham has been named CBS’ new vice president for alternative programming, i.e. reality TV, the network announced today. He will report to CBS’ new reality TV executive vice president, Chris Castallo, and “will oversee CBS’s current slate of reality franchises,” which means Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, and Undercover Boss. The… continue reading
Esquire Network’s new reality TV: smart, visually interesting, lots of potential
The Esquire network launched last night, replacing Style, whose reality shows may find new homes. During the day, the new network is showing reruns of series such as the amazing Party Down and Parks and Recreation, and reality shows such as the original Million Dollar Listing, project Runway, Flipping Out, and Top Chef. In prime-time… continue reading
The Voice wins reality competition Emmy, which actually qualifies as an upset
NBC’s The Voice won the Emmy for outstanding reality competition series, unseating CBS’ The Amazing Race for the second upset in the category’s 11-year history. Before last night, nine of the 10 years the Emmys have awarded a statute to Amazing Race as the best reality competition series; after being dethroned by Top Chef in… continue reading
ABC’s John Saade fired, the third broadcast reality exec to leave this summer
John Saade was fired as ABC’s reality executive on Friday, becoming the third broadcast network reality TV executive to leave their job this summer. He’ll reportedly be replaced by former E! entertainment president Lisa Berger, who gave us shows such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Saade developed Shark Tank and fought for it during… continue reading
ABC’s Lost was originally pitched as “all the things you DON’T see on Survivor”
Survivor was part of the inspiration for ABC’s drama Lost, and a reference to the CBS reality competition–and reality TV in general–both appear in an early document that has made its way to the Internet. The 27 page document [PDF] was produced to prove to ABC that this was more than Survivor, though it acknowledges… continue reading
Restaurant Stakeout scripted and fake; Real World sex scandal; Queer Eye reunion
The owner of a New Jersey restaurant featured on Food Network’s fake series Restaurant Stakeout has detailed just how fake his episode was. Michael’s Roscommon House owner Frank Dauksis, who was identified as “Frank Douglesis” on screen, told a newspaper the entire episode was scripted, and “Even the fake was fake. I really just did… continue reading
CBS’ shameful, no-longer-fun Big Brother ends ironically with its first gay winner
Big Brother has concluded its 15th season, and also decidedly ended its run as a show that could be dismissed as just silly fun with challenges that ejaculate foam onto contestants. Instead, it was finally revealed publicly to be a vile, indefensible, ugly monster fed, nurtured, and defended by CBS–all the way to its CEO–because… continue reading
Survivor Blood vs. Water’s debut: as beautiful and uneven as that metaphor
Just before Survivor began, I tweeted that while I frequently criticize the decisions made by the show’s producers and Jeff Probst, I’m still deeply in love with the series–and that’s why I offer criticism, because I really do care about it. But even when a season disappoints, the series remains so far above and beyond… continue reading
Actually Vegas-worthy act wins America’s Got Talent
Kenichi Ebina, a performance artist and dancer who does not sing and does not suck won America’s Got Talent, which means this unwatchable mess of a show finally has an act worthy of becoming a headlining Las Vegas act. Last year, a mediocre animal act won, breaking the streak of mediocre singers winning. While I… continue reading
Survivor alumni invited to a “Survivor social”: tweeting
Survivor Blood vs. Water debuts tonight, and CBS sent an invitation to past cast members inviting them to join together at a “Survivor social.” Alas, the location is their own “living room,” and it’s basically an invitation to help promote the series and “live tweet alongside other former survivor castaways [and Jeff Probst].” The invitation… continue reading
Whodunnit’s possible season two: celebrity contestants? motives? new location?
A second season of Whodunnit is a possibility, and could even feature celebrity contestants, according to its executive producer, CSI creator Anthony Zuiker, who has kept the game play of the show alive since the season finale with a special Twitter version. Zuiker told me that Whodunnit was “the best experience of my career,” because… continue reading
An early win for Dancing with the Stars’ great cast
Dancing with the Stars‘ cast follows pretty much the same formula that it has for its previous 16 seasons–Disney Channel star; beloved, older, comedic star; reality TV cast member; athlete; et cetera–but for several reasons, this cast stands out, and the first episode convinced me to keep watching a show I gave up on years… continue reading
The lives and deaths of Buckwild’s Shain Gandee, Storm Chasers’ Tim Samaras
Storm Chasers star Tim Samaras and Buckwild star Shain Gandee both died this year: Tim was chasing a massive tornado in Oklahoma and died along with his son and Carl Young; Shain died earlier this spring while mudding with his uncle and a friend. Neither was being filmed at the time: Shain was on a… continue reading