Reality TV - TV Fanatic

America's Next Top Model Sets Premiere Date, International Showdown!

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:32:48 EST

Forget waiting until this summer and the London Olympics. The real international battle begins on February 29!

That's when a special new cycle of America's Next Top Model premiere, as The CW announced today that author Kelly Catrone will join the judging panel for an edition that will feature seven British contestants against seven Americans.

The hopefuls will compete for a grand prize that includes:

Amodeling contract with LA/NY Models
A fashion spread in Vogue Italia
The cover and spread in Beauty In Vogue
Becoming the face of America’s Next Top Model fragrance Dream Come True
A $100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics

Among the guest panelists, meanwhile: Kelly Osbourne, Kris Jenner, Georgina Chapman, Estelle, Beverly Johnson, Nadine Coyle, Jessica Sutta, Cat Deeley, Barney Cheng,
Nicolas Tse and Jez Smith.

So, choose a side, readers: Brits or Americans?

The X Factor Upheaval: Who Is(n't) Out?

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:58:12 EST

Simon Cowell promised changes for season two of The X Factor, and we all know Simon Cowell speaks the truth.

Three of the five regulars on this singing competition will not be returning this fall, as Steve Jones himself Tweeted confirmation of his ousting last night, while a source close to Nicole Scherzinger claims the singer's departure was of her own volition because "she wants to focus on her music."

"She’s spoken to Simon and he’s given her his blessing," this insider tells E! News. "X Factor took a lot more of her time than she ever expected. She didn’t have any time really to work on her music.”

The firing of Paula Abdul, meanwhile, comes as a surprise, although neither Fox nor anyone from the judge's camp have commented on it yet.

The X Factor averaged 12.6 million viewers and a 4.4 rating among adults 18-49 for its Wednesday episodes during its inaugural season, far from disastrous numbers. But critics panned both Scherzinger and Jones and the figures fell far short of Cowell's initial forecasts of 20 million.

The question now turns to who Simon thinks could help him reach that goal. Mariah Carey has been been mentioned as a potential panelist. She'd bring the show attention and credibility, no doubt.

Who do you think could help right The X Factor ship?

The Amazing Race 20 Cast: Big Brothers, Clowns and More!

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:44:53 EST

The Amazing Race turns 20 on February 19 and will celebrate the milestone with a cast that includes two former Big Brother contestants; married professional clowns; two border patrol agents and more.

The 11 teams will visit 22 cities and total over 40,000 miles on trips that take them through such locales as Paraguay, Azerbaijan and the German castle that inspired the one featured in Sleeping Beauty.

In no particular order, let's take a look at the 11 tandems set to compete for $1 million:

Dave Brown Jr. and Rachel Brown
Current occupations: U.S. Army Officer and Project Manager
Connection: Married

William “Bopper” Minton and Mark Jackson
Current occupations: Motorcycle Mechanic and Former State Inspector
Connection: Best Friends

Nary Ebeid and Jamie Graetz
Current occupations: Federal Agents
Connections: Friends

Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly
Current occupations: PhD Student and Event Hostess (Big Brother 13 winner)
Connection: Engaged

Joey “Fitness” Lasalla and Danny Horal
Current occupations: Trainer/Supplement Company Owner and Nightclub Promoter
Connection: Friends

Misa Tanaka and Maiya Tanaka
Current occupations: Car Buyer and Professional Golfer
Connection: Sisters

Dave Gregg and Cherie Gregg
Current occupations: "Ambassador of Laughters"
Connection: Married Clowns

Elliot Weber and Andrew Weber
Current occupation: Musician and Professional Soccer Player
Connection: Twins

Kerri Paul and Stacy Bowers
Current occupations: Program Coordinator and Self Employed/"Basketball Wife"
Connection: Cousins

Vanessa Macias and Ralph Kelley
Current occupations: Freelance Writer and Bar Owner
Connection: Dating

Art Velez and J.J. Carrell
Current occupations: Border Patrol Agents
Connection: Friends

Survivor: One World - Meet the Cast!

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:03:34 EST

CBS will kick off a new season of Survivor on February 15, one it is dubbing "One World" due to a twist that has never been attempted on any of the previous 23 - yes, 23! - seasons:

Both tribes will be living on the same beach. The tribes will go by the names Salani and Manono and be divided into all female and all male, respectively.

Ready to meet the 18 contestants that will comprise the groups? They include a male model; the wife of former NFL star Daunte Culpepper; and a sushi chef and they range from ages 21-64. Get introduced to each in the following video:

Survivor One World Cast Introductions

Oh Sit! The CW Orders Musical Chairs-Based Reality Show

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:40:33 EST

We are not making this up: The CW has ordered 10 episodes of a new reality show for this summer. It will be titled Oh Sit! and be based around the classic game of Musical Chairs.

Described by the network as "musical chairs for adults," the program will feature “20 thrill-seeking daredevils racing head to head through five physically demanding, obstacle course-style eliminations as they each compete to claim a chair, to the sounds of a live band," according to a press release.

At the conclusion of each hour-long installment, the winner will receive a cash prize.

In other CW news, the network is also nearing a deal for a new Green Arrow drama.

Fox Cancels So You Think You Can Dance Results Show

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:18:51 EST

So You Think You Can Dance will return to Fox in late May, but with one noticeable change: the network has canceled this competition's weekly results show.

I will have to change the format of #SYTYCD,” executive producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe Tweeted yesterday, adding: "I’m certainly not mad at Fox - they have supported SYTYCD FOR 9 seasons. With the help of Mike Darnell [Fox's president of Alternative Entertainment]. I think we have some great new ideas.”

Auditions for season nine of So You Think You Can Dance kick off next week in Atlanta. The series averaged around six million viewers last summer.

Howard Stern to Judge America's Got Talent

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:11:29 EST

Piers Morgan is out. And... Howard Stern is in?

Indeed, following weeks of rumors, the controversial radio host been hired by NBC to join Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandell as a judge on America's Got Talent.

“Howard Stern’s larger-than-life personality will bring a thrilling new dynamic to America’s Got Talent starting this summer,” said NBC alternative programming head Paul Telegdy. “He’s a proven innovator and his track record in broadcasting is truly remarkable. Howard is very passionate about this show and is fully committed to its future success.”

Are you excited for Stern to join the panel? Think he'll make an entertaining judge?

The Biggest Loser Names a New Winner

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:45:36 EST

A season dubbed "The Battle of the Ages" came down to a battle between Ramon Medeiros, Antone Davis and John Rhode last night, as each man vied for the $250,000 grand prize on The Biggest Loser.

And while all three impressed on the scales - Davis lost 45.19% of his initial weigh-in figure; while Medeiros went from 355 pounds to 201 - the numbers don't lie:

John Rhode is your champion!

This 41-year from Mesa, Arizona - who works as a special education teacher and football coach - lost 220 total pounds throughout the competition, weighing in last night at 220 pounds, down 49.44% from his opening weight of 445.

Truly amazing. A feat worthy of such a large check. Congratulations, John!

And The Sing-Off Winner Is...

michaelspascua@gmail.com (Michael Pascua) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 06:28:01 EST

The Sing-Off finale delivered two hours worth of filler before finally naming a champion.

Following a group performance of Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel," the finalists sang for a variety of causes in order to remind us that there's a special Christmas episode next week. Yes, NBC is this desperate for programming...

Pentatonix - "Without You" – The five performers went to the Trevor project, which continued to emphasize the outcast-factor that Pentatonix possessed. It was just weird having Avi talk about being Jewish when there was an obvious pink elephant in the room that we’ll continue to ignore. The opening was a bit off and throughout the song the group sounded pitchy. Is this what groups actually sound like live? The mixing just made come across as noise and the group sounded like they were yelping the whole time. Pentatonix was my favorite of the whole season, and this performance just wasn't at the caliber it placed upon itself.

Urban Method - "Stereo Hearts" – With several contestants having relatives with Sickle Cell, the group decided to support the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation. I'm not sure exactly what the song had to do with Sickle Cell, but I found it interesting the way they arranged it. The track was easily distinguishable from the arrangement. The high note right before the final chorus didn't sound right at all.

Dartmouth Aires - Paradise by the Dashboard Light – With Michael having a mother that had a stroke, the group decided to perform for Saving Strokes. Of course, Michael took lead and with him piloting the performance, it really didn't matter what everyone else did. They had fun with flashlights. The use of Amy from Delilah was great, but it did show the flaw in having all-male groups perform a song with female vocals included.

Pentatonix (with Nick Lachey) - Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche) - I don't understand why Nick had some epic introduction, but it's nice to see that his vocals haven't degraded, even though his dance moves were horrid. I'm not really sure why Pentatonix was really there, it could have just been Nick with Kirstin. The breakdown near the end sounded the most like Pentatonix. At least Vanessa Manillo was happy in the audience.

Urban Method (with Sara Bareilles) - Gonna Get over You - Sara has been a great addition to the judging panel and she was a big fan during practice. I like the whole 50s inspiration of the performance and it allowed Sara to look good doing really simplistic choreography. I don't think that Sara was loud enough, especially in comparison to Nick just performing. The song itself didn't fit Urban Method at all and made them sound like every college group that's auditioned for the show.

Dartmouth Aires (with Ben Folds) - Not the Same - There was something very church-y about getting the whole audience to interact. I also thought it was really odd that there was no package piece for the group practicing, as if they never practiced with Ben.

Finally, 90 minutes in, Urban Method was eliminated, leaving us with Dartmouth Airs and Pentatonix. And the winner is... PENTATONIX!

The result was a great payoff for a long season, although the act finished with an awful version of “Eye of the Tiger,” which lacked any of the originality that Pentatonix prided themselves in throughout their run. Oh well.

The Amazing Race Review: Not Very Challenging

tiaradio@hotmail.com (Luke Dwyer) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:02:48 EST

This week’s episode of The Amazing Race, "We Love Your Country Already; It Is Very Spacious," was filled with many of the things we love about the show. Exotic locations, beautiful scenery, emotional moments and even a fun twist at the end.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t too much drama. So long as the teams could follow instructions – admittedly, not a guarantee – there were only minimal opportunities to gain ground on anyone in front of you.

The prime example of this tenant for this week was Amani and Marcus. The duo got off the plane in sixth place, did both challenges flawlessly and finished seventh. The only reason they dropped in the standings were because of two poor cab rides.

Point being, I would hope that the challenges live up to their name and are actually challenging enough where if teams complete them quickly, they gain ground on ones who don’t. None of the teams this week struggled significantly (if at all) with the Roadblock or either leg of the Detour.

Our moment of drama this episode was provided by the twist at the end where teams had to carry their beds a significant distance from the transportation truck and deliver them to the Pit Stop. The wrinkle that two teams, Justin and Jennifer and Bill and Cathi, didn’t realize was that they had to pay their truck driver for the transportation.

Their errors allowed Andy and Tommy to slip in to first place (the second time they’ve won a leg because of another team’s error) and gave us Amani and Marcus fans some hope that they would not finish last. We were not rewarded, but at least it was interesting.

Despite the lack of drama, this week’s episode made up for it with some great moments. The non-elimination aspect of this leg led to a great scene with Amani and Marcus tearfully being thankful for being left in the race. They want to use their experiences to help them set a good example for their special needs child.

Similarly emotional were the great scenes at the children’s school with the racers building toy trucks for the kids. All four teams who did the Not Grown Up challenged were touched by the moment, expressing their satisfaction with helping out the kids. Jennifer said she was going to have her kids make the trucks in class and Tommy commented on how great it was that the kids can play with something so simple.

Finally, there is always something energetic when the race makes its way to Africa and this week followed that trend. Certainly the moments in the tobacco warehouse were filled with awesome energy from the workers. What a great scene at the end with Marcus finishing the Roadblock last and the workers encouraging him on.

More from this episode:

Can anyone recall a single thing Sandy has done to help her team? Jeremy might as well be running the race by himself. At the Detour this week Sandy was frequently shown just watching Jeremy work.
Not that I’ve ever been on the race, but when I’m theoretically picking which side of the Detour I’d do when the teams are choosing, I always adhere to the mantra that you choose whichever side is cool. Bungee Jump or Long Walk – you jump. Play with African school kids or sew – you play with the kids. Doesn’t matter what the actual challenge is.
She's a very nice person and obviously a hard worker (she kicked useless Sandy's butt in the bed carrying) but Cathi's voice is hard to listen to.