The new A&E reality series should be called Marcia Clark Recaps A Famous Case. A review of its premiere.
A&E
A&E’s has turned reality into successful TV. But it should stop playing dumb.
A&E airs some great, authentic shows. And it also airs nonsense that pretends to be authentic.
Review: Undercover High, where adults go back to high school
Undercover High, which sends adults into high schools to find out what’s going on, has all the right pieces: an important social issue, public education, that needs more public discussion and attention, and a prime-time series is a great place to start; a polished production, with efficient storytelling and smooth editing; and charismatic young stars, both the 20-somethings who are pretending to be high school students and some of the actual high school students themselves.
Two shows about high school, one with adults pretending to be teenagers
Two new reality shows focusing on high school were announced today, and while they appear to have the same core goal, their implementation is wildly different.
Live PD’s producer discusses and defends the popular A&E show
An interview with the executive producer of Live PD, covering everything from its tape delay to privacy, its point of view to the dialogue it’s creating.
Review: The Lowe Files, supernatural reality TV with a celebrity family
A review of Rob Lowe’s new A&E series, The Lowe Files, on which he investigates the paranormal with his sons John Owen and Matthew.
Lowe Files trailer: Rob Lowe’s paranormal investigation series is not what I expected
Watch The Lowe Files trailer. Rob Lowe and his sons Matthew and John Owen search for answers to paranormal mysteries, and the trailer is surprisingly great.
A&E’s excuse for canceling Generation KKK: incompetence or a lie?
A&E cancelled Generation KKK on Saturday, blaming the production company for paying subjects, which is standard practice in the industry.
A&E’s new KKK reality show and A&E’s delusional self-importance
A&E has announced Generation KKK, a reality show following members of the Klan, and laughably claims it won’t be “a platform for the views of the KKK.”
Born this Way, rejected by other networks, is now changing lives
Born This Way producer Jon Murray and showrunner Laura Korkorian talk about how they produce the A&E series, which follows friends with Down syndrome.
Review: Jail is awful, and so is A&E’s 60 Days In
A review of A&E’s 60 Days In, a documentary reality series that locks innocent people in Clark County Jail for two months.
A&E jails innocent people to help a sheriff: this week in ludicrous reality TV
60 Days is a new series on which seven innocent people are locked up to find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting jailed.
What Fear: Buried Alive really taught us
The scariest thing about Fear: Buried Alive may have been how difficult it is to produce compelling live television. Thanks to the unpredictability of real people, however, the special turned out to be a lot better—and less sensational—than I thought it would be. The first hour of the two-hour special was quite flat. Even putting people in coffins and… continue reading
Live this week: Brain surgery! Exorcism! Vivisepulture!
As Halloween approaches this week, three networks are doing live stunts with varying degrees of grossness, horror, and actual value. They start tonight, with live brain surgery, and end Halloween eve, with an alleged exorcism of a house. The three specials come from three networks known and/or once known for their nonfiction programing—National Geographic Channel, A&E, and… continue reading
The spectrum of reality TV desperation, illustrated by two new shows
As someone who loves reality television, and loves a great reality TV series, I always root for shows to succeed. I want producers and networks to take risks, and to risk failure to try something new. I want great unscripted art and entertainment, and I want it to do well. And then I read about… continue reading
A&E cancels series after exposing, lying to sex workers
A&E’s controversial 8 Minutes has been cancelled after five low-rated episodes and several damning claims. Episodes are no longer on the show’s web site one day after BuzzFeed reported that the show–which promised to help sex workers–actually lied to and exposed them. A&E said the show would follow a pastor, Kevin Brown, on his “harrowing… continue reading
A&E’s The First 48: ruining innocent people’s lives or just documenting reality?
On its web site, A&E says its reality series The First 48 “takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations as it follows homicide detectives in the critical first 48 hours of murder investigations, giving viewers unprecedented access to crime scenes, interrogations and forensic processing.” But a pair of stories argue that by documenting botched… continue reading
A&E’s badly acted, scripted Modern Dads illustrates why Duck Dynasty is so special
The success of Duck Dynasty continues to astound everyone, apparently even its own network, because based on its new series Modern Dads, it seems that not even A&E understands what makes its own show so great. (Of course, many cable networks are churning out scripted shit masquerading as reality TV, and A&E is not alone… continue reading
Duck Dynasty, Storage Wars, Swamp People DVDs: free
If you’re a fan of A&E’s reality series Duck Dynasty, Storage Wars, and Swamp People, you can win DVDs of all three shows in reality blurred‘s latest contest. If you’re one of three winners, you’ll get Storage Wars: Volume 4, with 16 episodes and extra footage; Swamp People: Season 3, which includes all 22 episodes… continue reading
A&E cancels Gene Simmons Family Jewels
Gene Simmons Family Jewels has been cancelled after seven seasons and 160 episodes by A&E, but the show’s producers suggested it may live on somehow. The series exits as the longest-running celebrity reality show, one that was sometimes questioned on its authenticity; Vulture wrote last year gave us “a new kind of ouroboros: The reality-show… continue reading