The Voice just announced that Pharrell Williams will coach season seven of the NBC competition series, replacing Cee Lo Green, who recently quit the show. Once again, the show has been able to secure a major, current singer to serve as a coach; Williams’ record “Girl” is currently #6 on the Billboard 200. As a… continue reading
Archives for March 2014
Fox plans Joe Millionaire knock-off, with women dating Prince Harry lookalike
Remember Joe Millionaire–and remember its failed second season, The Next Joe Millionaire, and all of the failed knock-offs? Perhaps you also remember how, in 2003, Fox’s entertainment chair called the second season “greedy” and said it should have been “a one-time stunt”? Flash forward to 2014, when Fox has produced another season of the show,… continue reading
Thanks, Lindsay Lohan and Oprah, for giving us a reality show about the making of a reality show
Last week on Lindsay, OWN’s documentary reality series that follows Lindsay Lohan, Oprah said “fuck.” Twice. Then she said “bullshit.” Twice. “You’re not going to be fucking up. And I know you’re surprised to hear me say ‘fuck,’” Oprah says, adding soon after, “You need to cut the bullshit, you really do. Just cut the… continue reading
Survivor defeats Idol; Queen of Versailles reality show deal; Last Comic judges; more Call of the Wildman abuse
Survivor beat American Idol in total viewers and in the 18-49 demo for the first time on Wednesday; it defeated Idol in the demo for the past three weeks but only this week beat it in total viewers, too. The two shows will face off in May, when both air their finales on the same… continue reading
Quitting Survivor: now with praise from Jeff Probst
“Shame on you, Lindsie,” someone in the sand after Lindsey quit Survivor Cagayan. That misspelled criticism was the only real judgment of her decision to bail on the game shortly after her alliance was torn apart by a blindside at Tribal Council. The remaining cast members were all thrilled (either that she was gone and/or… continue reading
Friday Night Tykes: the reality show that’s too real for some people, including me
The Esquire show about young football players is very disturbing, and it’s so real that some people would rather the show go away than be reminded that what it highlights is behavior that actually takes place with real people.
Bachelor spin-off Bachelor in Paradise is totally not Bachelor Pad, more like Bachelor orgy
ABC announced today that it’s new summer Bachelor spin-off Bachelor in Paradise will debut August 4. As Chris Harrison insisted, the show is not at all Bachelor Pad and “will be very different.” That’s because it sounds less like a Challenge knock off and more like an orgy. Here’s how ABC described the new show:… continue reading
Hoarders filming a follow-up special
Hoarders was cancelled by A&E last fall, but may return with at least one episode that will follow up on five previously featured stories. It’s currently being filmed. One of the show’s organizers/cleaninign, Cory Chalmers, wrote on Facebook that an “update show” with an “unknown air date … is being filmed currently.” He adds that… continue reading
Survivor tribe swap surprisingly successful
You know it’s been another great Tribal Council when post-vote facial expressions clearly reveal who was surprised–and reveal exactly who cast which votes. The switch/merge allowed Trish and Tony to bail on their original tribe and keep things interesting for us. I was very anxious about the tribe swap, in part because I didn’t want… continue reading
Survivor finale moved to Wednesday
CBS announced today that the three-hour finale and reunion for Survivor Cagayan will air May 21. That’s a Wednesday, and a significant shift for the show, which usually airs its finales on Sundays. The network didn’t say why the finale was moving, it just announced the date. EW’s Dalton Ross notes that this is the… continue reading
How Tim Gunn’s refusal to do Project Runway without Heidi Klum led to Under the Gunn
Under the Gunn was renamed Project Runway: Under the Gunn after its debut earlier this year, and there’s a good reason for that: it was supposed to be the 13th season of the Lifetime series, but Tim Gunn refused to do it without Heidi Klum. The contestants were all cast for the original series, and… continue reading
Jeff Probst on contestants who leak, the origin of “the tribe has spoken,” and much more
In late 2012, Jeff Probst did an extensive interview for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Archive of American Television series. Though it’s somewhat old, it’s still worth watching. It covers everything from Probst’s early career to early Survivor to his Emmy hosting gig and win. The whole conversation is almost three hours long… continue reading
Ask Andy: Do you miss the early days of reality TV? When will legacy shows get cancelled?
Near the middle of the 1960s, CBS and the other networks cancelled virtually all of their long-running game shows presumably due to declining ratings and wanting to go on a different path. Count amongst the casualties “What’s My Line”, “I’ve Got A Secret”, “To Tell The Truth”, the nighttime original version of “The Price is… continue reading
What’s the best reality TV season ever?
Last year, New York Magazine’s Vulture determined the best sitcom of the past 30 years (The Simpsons) and the year before, determined the best TV drama of the past 25 years (The Wire). Vulture does this March Madness bracket-style, and this year, has 16 reality shows facing off–though the competition has been narrowed to focus… continue reading
Amazing Race renewed; Bachelorette Jillian “disappointed” in Chris Harrison”; Mars colony show
CBS renewed both The Amazing Race and Undercover Boss, but did not specify if that was for two seasons for TAR (it probably is). Back in December, the network renewed Survivor and re-upped with Jeff Probst for seasons 29 and 30. Former Bachelorette star Jillian Harris is among those who disliked both Juan Pablo and… continue reading
Survivor beats American Idol for the first time
American Idol was beaten by Survivor Wednesday night, the first time ever that’s happened. The CBS reality competition’s 9.86 million viewers and 2.5 rating among adults 18 to 49 was bigger than Idol‘s 2.4 rating when the two shows went head-to-head–although the Fox series had 10.27 million viewers over its two hours. In a press… continue reading
An episode that proves Survivor Cagayan is actually dumb vs. dumber vs. dumberer
This season of Survivor should have been called Dumb vs. Dumber vs. Dumberer. With the exception of the final vote, which really was the first smart decision the brains tribe has made, there was blistering incompetence on display. And it was wonderfully entertaining. Even the brawn tribe showed off its stupidity, trying to throw a… continue reading
Why King of the Nerds incredible challenges are better than Survivor’s
King of the Nerds concludes Thursday night, having been even stronger in season two, and a big reason for that is that it upped its challenge game. It has the very best challenges on reality TV right now. I’m being somewhat incendiary with the headline, but I do think that the show is frequently giving… continue reading
The hilarious Juan Pablo damage control
Tuesday was a day of hilarious post-Juan Pablo damage control for those associated with The Bachelor, with really pathetic stories being perpetuated by host Chris Harrison and news organizations giving us the totally unbiased ABC perspective. An anonymous “source” told E! News that “a Neil Lane ring was on standby at the taping just in… continue reading
Big Brother stays with longer seasons as CBS announces its debut date
Big Brother will again start in June, extending the previously standard length about two weeks, just like the show did for the first time last year. CBS announced today that the 16th season of the show “will debut early for the second straight summer”: It starts June 25, and will air Wednesdays at 8, Thursdays… continue reading