The Next Great American Band: The Great Show You’re Not Watching
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Editorial, Ratings,
Desperate to fill the musical void that occurs every May when American Idol goes off the air, FOX has tried nearly everything to make the formula work a second time. So You Think You Can Dance became a summer hit, prompting the network to try new mixes and methods to boost those all-important ratings. Even hard promotion didn’t save On The Lot, which was built around the same format as Idol. I actually thought the show – if not the host – was pretty good, but it’s doubtful On The Lot will appear on the FOX schedule again. The documentary-style Nashville was a quick musical casualty of the fall season, but FOX still held out high hopes for the much-touted, highly hyped reality series The Next Great American Band. Someone asked me, yesterday, if FOX execs think they can re-create American Idol. Yes, that is exactly what they think.
Click to continue reading The Next Great American Band: The Great Show You’re Not Watching
TV Squad
Advertisement
FOX Searches for ‘The Next Great American Band’
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip, Ratings, Rumors,
No one, not even FOX executives, could have predicted the outrageous success of American Idol. As far as reality shows go, Idol is the winner with viewers. Desperate to re-capture the same ratings success with reality, FOX keeps trying new reality ideas. On the Lot, which had a format very similar to Idol and focused on finding America’s next great director, didn’t sizzle over the summer. But the network still has high hopes for the much-touted new fall series, The Next Great American Band. And though the show isn’t even scheduled to premiere until its October 19 two-hour extravaganza, the Internet leaks have long since started. The problem with the leaks is the same problem which plagues the whole of the Internet: what information can be believed, and what can’t?
Click to continue reading FOX Searches for ‘The Next Great American Band’
Read More 
| Idol Mania
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Coverage
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Animation, Award Shows, Comedy, Drama, Mini Series, Prime Time, Reality, Sci-Fi/Horror, Specials, ABC, Bravo, Cable, CBS, FX, FOX, HBO, NBC, Showtime, 24, Amazing Race, The, American Idol, Daily Show, The, Dancing With The Stars, Desperate Housewives, Entourage, Extras, Family Guy, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, House, Lost, Medium, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, Saturday Night Live, Survivor, The Office, The Sopranos, Top Chef,
The 59th Annual Emmy Awards has not even started, yet I’m already sensing sensing a weird vibe about tonight’s telecast. Will the show be a celebration of those young and new (e.g. Heroes)? Will it be a tribute to those bowing out (James Gandolfini and crew)? Or will performer Kanye West somehow manage to cast a controversial shadow over the rest of the ceremony?
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, we were still handing out trophies to stars from Will & Grace and The West Wing (those shows feel so five-years ago now). Today, we welcome a new crop of nominees including Ugly Betty and 30 Rock for Best Comedy. Last year, we were entertained by an always-hilarious Conan O’Brien. This year, we are threatened by a song and dance number from this year’s host, Ryan Seacrest. Last August, 24 snagged the award for Best Drama. This September, it’s not even nominated (yet somehow Boston Legal is).
I think it would be safe to assume the voters would predictably (and respectfully) shower The Sopranos with honors, but I’ll still be crossing my fingers for an upset sometime tonight. We’ll need something to talk about tomorrow…
Here’s the play-by-play of tonight’s events coming to you from the neglected West Coast!
Click to continue reading The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Coverage
Summer Reality: Part Two
Posted by David L. Williams Categories: Prime Time, Reality, Bravo, Cable, Hell’s Kitchen, Editorial, Features,
Because everything’s hotter in the summer ... whatever that means.
Another week, another boatload of new and returning reality shows. Here are some thoughts:
As I type I’m watching The Next Best Thing, so you can tell just how into the show I am. So, evidently, this show is about finding the greatest celebrity impersonator. You know how everybody’s been saying that we need a new great celebrity impersonator? Oh, wait, nobody’s been saying that at all. The last time we had a celebrity impersonator on tv it was ... wait, don’t tell me ... oh, I remember. It was Rich Little at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. It was, well, just as excruciatingly awful as this show.
There was just a montage of Frank Sinatra impersonators on the show, that’s how bad it is. Ooh, and someone just said, “I make part of my living as a Gloria Estefan impersonator.” Evidently 0% equals a “part.” (Okay, I had a much ruder joke in here before that seemed far less mean when I was annoyed by watching this show. It’s gone now because, evidently, I have a desperate need to be liked. Or at least not hated. Apologies.)
It seems to be that we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel on competitive reality shows. Yes, networks, the world needs more singers, fashion designers, chefs, and supermodels. But I don’t know if we need more Rich Littles and Bret Ratners (haven’t seen On The Lot, not planning to).
Actually, I do know. We don’t.
Click to continue reading Summer Reality: Part Two
Will FOX Yell “Cut” On the Lot?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Prime Time, Reality, FOX, Ratings,
FOX is banking on a bevy of reality shows to ignite their summer season. After big ratings from American Idol, the network often scrambles to pull in viewers throughout the hotter months. This summer, the most-touted series has definitely been On The Lot, a reality competition that features aspiring filmmakers. FOX attached Steven Spielberg’s name to the project early on, but even this star power hasn’t helped. The show premiered right after a promising lead-in from Idol, which should have helped make On The Lot a rousing success – after all, it worked for another FOX reality show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
Despite a ton of teaser ads, post-Idol hype, and big names like Carrie Fisher and Garry Marshall, FOX’s On The Lot isn’t enjoying a whole lot of success. The show pulled in less than three million viewers – a dismal total for FOX. More viewers watched re-runs on a competing network than the brand-new moviemaking series. If ratings continue to be this low, On The Lot could be cut from the summer line-up – though, in truth, FOX probably couldn’t stand to have the programming gaps, as the show is scheduled for two nights per week.
Click to continue reading Will FOX Yell “Cut” On the Lot?
Read More | Variety
A Lot of New Reality for FOX
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, News,
reality TV success, FOX is taking their viewers On the Lot right after everyone tunes in to watch the two remaining American Idols belt out tunes before a live audience. The last time FOX debuted a brand-new show behind Idol, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, the game show became an overnight success. Will the same ploy work with On The Lot, a reality competition that features would-be filmmakers? If you’ve already got the biggest audience of reality watchers in the palm of your hand, why not keep them there, right?
Twelve thousand video submissions flooded TheLot.com, each one made by an aspiring filmmaker hoping to break into one of the toughest industries around: film entertainment. Of these submissions, fifty have been chosen to go head-to-head On The Lot. The show, created by well-known TV producer Mark Burnett, famous film director Steven Spielberg, and DreamWorks Television studios, will begin with two “audition rounds” on Tuesday, May 22 (right after Idol) and Thursday, May 24 at 9:30 ET. The semi-finalists will get to visit a Hollywood set (though more than half of the submissions received for On The Lot came from LA anyway) and be sent off “Hollywood Boot Camp” that will entail rough-and-tumble movie making at its finest.
Click to continue reading A Lot of New Reality for FOX
Read More | On The Lot Official Site
‘On The Lot’ Promises Hope for Aspiring Filmmakers
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, FOX, Internet,
From the power-team of Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg comes the latest reality show—On The Lot—a chance for wannabe filmmakers to make it in the big leagues. Fox offers up this competition, with applicants 13 and over being asked to submit their self-directed, five minute short film online at TheLot.com.
Video submissions have already been received, with hundreds available to view and critique. On The Lot promises a $1 million development deal at DreamWorks to the winning director. The show will air in the spring, featuring the 16 finalists chosen from the online entries. The show’s viewers will vote each week and ultimately determine the winner. The series will air over two nights—one night to show the films that the filmmakers produce for a chosen theme; the next night to announce results. They will be given writers, cast and crew to work with.
If you’re an aspiring filmmaker, there’s still time. The deadline for submissions is December 1st.
Read More | Comingsoon.net
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.