Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly was asked about the future of The X Factor yesterday, and he told TV critics, “There is no decision.” Of Simon Cowell’s grandstanding, he said, “I love him. He’s doing what he should do as a producer.” Reilly admitted that the series “underperformed this year” but said in other countries, where it’s more popular, “they’ve reanimated it with producing changes and different ideas. I’ve heard some of those ideas. They are interesting. If the show were to come back, it would not be in the current format we have. But the fact is, we’ve made no decision on it.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race finally has a premiere date, Feb. 24, and Logo has announced the cast (Adore Delano, April Carrion, BenDeLaCreme, Bianca del Rio, Courtney Act, Darienne Lake, Gia Gunn, Joslyn Fox, Kelly Mantle, Laganja Estranja, Magnolia Crawford, Milk, Trinity K. Bonet and Vivacious) and guest judges (“Neil Patrick Harris, Adam Lambert, Khloe Kardashian, Lena Headey, Linda Blair, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Heather McDonald, Eve, Trina, Leah Remini, Jaime Pressly, Paula Abdul, Mike Ruiz, David Burtka and Bob Macki”).
Seth Aaron Henderson became Project Runway‘s first two-time winner, sort of, having won the all-star spin-off. He told Today that his competition was “incredible. I won against the best and they were all top of their fields,” but says “Some of the challenges weren’t my favorite, they weren’t inspiring to me,” and cites one specifically: “The Marge Simpson challenge killed me! I hated that challenge!”
Survivor Gabon and Survivor Heroes vs. Villains cast member Jessica Kiper, aka Sugar, was arrested in Baton Rouge for DWI Saturday, and she posted a selfie from the backseat of the police car (a photo that has since been deleted). Another Instagram photo says, “Yes…I’m stupid sometimes… Let’s just move on.” Sugar wrote on Twitter, “My friends are being so sweet and positive to me right now. I am taking this well… but it’s because I needed a reality slap.” She later wrote that there were “Several inaccuracies in this small town story.”
Pivot cancelled its reality shows Jersey Strong, which was a follow-up to a previous series, but has ordered two new series: TerraCycle (“a ten episode half-hour, comedic “occu-series” about an eccentric entrepreneur, Tom Szaky, and his staff, who have made it their mission to eliminate the concept of waste”) and Welcome to Fairfax (“a behind-the scenes look at a vibrant, artistic and unique community that has emerged in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles, as seen through the eyes of some of the young visionaries who inhabit it”).
Jersey Shore creator Sally Ann Salsano talks about her career, which started with trying to find missing hookers while she was an intern for The Sally Jessy Raphael Show. As to a show idea that related to her personal life, she said, “Most people would think of what to do [in their personal lives.] I whipped out my laptop and was like, fuck, let’s just go sell this shit.”
I’m not a huge fan of hidden camera pranks, and less of a fan of using hidden camera pranks to shamelessly promote something, but this is truly hilarious. And disturbing (you’ve been warned):
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Andy Dehnart is a journalist who has covered reality television for more than 15 years and created reality blurred in 2000. A member of the Television Critics Association, his writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Playboy, Vulture, and many other publications. Andy, 38, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.
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