Popular Reality TV

NEW YORK -- Discovery Communications' Animal Planet has picked two new reality series for this summer. Tanked , which debuts in July, follows the antics of two brothers-in-law who run the largest aquarium manufacturing company in the nation, while Hillbilly Handfishin' launches in August and focuses on the sport of noodling, for which "city slickers head to Oklahoma to submerge themselves in murky waters to catch catfish with their bare hands and feet with comedic and dramatic results," the network said. Marjorie Kaplan , president of Animal Planet and Science Channel, announced the two programming additions. Tanked , which is planned as a six-episode series, revolves around brothers-in-law, business partners, best friends and rivals Brett Raymer and Wayde King who work with opinionated family and staff. Seven-episode series Hillbilly Handfishin’ features Oklahoma hand-fisherman and self-proclaimed hillbilly Skipper Bivins . "The only lures in this cat-fishin...

« America’s Next Top Model Preview: The Final Four | Home | Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings – Tori Spelling On the Arabian Nights Wedding » May 3, 2011 03:00:50 by Shayla Perry Can’t we all just get along?! When Bravo ‘s Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes last appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , she called her Celebrity Apprentice co-star, Star Jones “a disaster.” But during her own interview with the talk show host, which aired today (May 3), Jones had some pretty harsh things to say about Leakes as well…. After Sunday night’s episode of NBC ‘s Celebrity Apprentice , where fans were finally able to see the vicious confrontation between Real Housewives of Atlanta ‘s NeNe Leakes and Star Jones, the former View co-host made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and dished about the seemingly one-sided spat. “What were you thinking when NeNe [Leakes] was going off like that?” Ellen asked. “I was thinking my grandmother is going to watch this,” said Star. “I wa...

Animal Planet and its growing collection of people-centered reality series will soon give television yet another series about cupcakes. The 12 half-hour episodes of Sweet Avenger , which debuts this summer, follows vegan cupcake baker Danielle Konya. How is this related to animals? Danielle says in the network’s press release, “I want to show people that by eating a vegan confection, you’re directly saving the lives of cows, chickens and thereby the environment and habitats of thousands of other exotic species. There’s nothing appetizing about the suffering of 10 billion animals a year, and my treats can satisfy both the palate and the conscience.” I’d be more skeptical about the fit with Animal Planet had I not just read novelist Jonathan Safran Foer’s exceptional nonfiction book Eating Animals , which he wrote when his son was born to figure out what kind of food he should be eating and feeding his kid. The book—which I highly recommend reading ; it’s fascinating—argues that you eit...

Animal Planet’s focus on people-centered reality TV continues with a show that’s currently being filmed in Arkansas and focuses on a taxidermy business that freeze-dries dead pets so their owners can keep them around forever. So, yes, it’s about dead animals. Xtreme Taxidermy and its owner Daniel Ross are currently being followed by camera crews in Romance, Arkansas, for the show after being approached by producers, who found them online. The company’s web site says “Freeze dry preservation affords pet owners the opportunity to make a lasting memorial. … Your pet will look very natural and even close up it will be difficult to tell any difference at all except for the lack of movement. With a little care, your pet can be held, carried, or even gently petted.” An Arkansas CBS affiliate did a report on the show, which includes footage of the freeze-drying process and the camera crews at work. After filming a pilot over eight days last year, which is now being tested, the 13-episode s...

Last Saturday, Animal Planet launched its You Watch, We Give campaign, which raised money for the nonprofit organization featured on its reality series Pit Bulls and Parolees based on the number of viewers who tuned in. Ratings doubled for that episode, and the network is giving $50,000 to Tia Torres’ Villalobos Rescue Center. Animal Planet said that 1.1 million people watched, and “the episode was the series’ highest rated episode to-date among most key demos.” The Washington Post reports that’s “54 percent more people than the show has averaged this season to date.” That’s a pretty smart and awesome way to get people to watch a TV show, since it benefits both the network and a non-profit organization. This is part of the network’s ROAR, Reach Out. Act. Respond. , which the network calls a “marketing initiative that is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of animals.” View the original article here