An exclusive preview of tonight’s episode of Wahlburgers, on which Donnie gives Paul some surprisingly comical and heartfelt feedback.
A&E
Marcia Clark Investigates The First 48 finds nothing new, at least in Casey Anthony’s case
The new A&E reality series should be called Marcia Clark Recaps A Famous Case. A review of its premiere.
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.
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.”
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