Category — Reality TV

Reality TV: Reality producer’s profits take a fall — A healthy performance in the U.S. helped compensate for a tough year in the U.K. for “Wife Swap” shingle RDF Media, but profits still dipped significantly.

Reality TV: Well folks, we’re down to the wire. And because every single media outlet has latched on to the “David vs. David” concept, “American Idol” decided to run with it by giving the final showdown a boxing theme, complete with outfits, gloves, black & white clips of buff guys punching bags and a boxing analyst that looks like Donnie Darko’s dad.

Reality TV: It’s the moment we have all been waiting for. The tears, the drama, the singing, the horrible, horrible medleys have come to a close. Count down with us from the Nokia Theater as we find out who is the next “American Idol.”

Reality TV: Dina Lohan describes herself as a lion(ess) protecting her cubs, but there’s no precise animal kingdom equivalent for the species known as stage mother. Lindsay Lohan herself ispresent in name only in this half-hour infomercial for the less-famous members of the Lohan clan, which Ma Lohan uses to humanize both herself and her brood; still, it’s a tedious exercise, joining E!’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” in the realm of mother-daughter bonding experiences, with limited appeal beyond, perhaps appropriately, those pesky tabloids for which the featured “talent” profess disdain.

Reality TV: Potty-mouthed and shallow, Richards has all the makings of a reality TV star, while providing an unintended early Father’s Day gift to her ex, Charlie Sheen, by coming across as get-me-outta-here loopy.

Reality TV: NBC sells run of music competition — NBC has agreed to sell repeats of its weekly “Nashville Star” musical-competition series to Viacom’s CMT, which will run each episode four days after its Monday NBC premiere.

Reality TV: Co-exec producer named development head — Reality shingle Juma Entertainment has hired Emily Sinclair as head of development and co-exec producer.

Reality TV: Does show need fixes to be more relevant? — Reality show hosts will compete for their own trophy at September’s 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, now that the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has added a category for them.

Reality TV: Rapper brings legal issues to reality TV — Rapper T.I. is turning his legal woes into an MTV docu series.

Reality TV: New shows include ‘Making the Rock Band’ — MTV has pacted with hip-hop star 50 Cent to search for the nation’s next street-smart business mogul.

Reality TV: David Cook’s first release slated for fall — “American Idol” winner David Cook has been signed to 19 Recordings / RCA Records and is preparing to start recording his debut album which is due for release in fall 2008.

Reality TV: Documentary series profiles Homeland Security — ABC has ordered the unscripted series “Border Security USA,” which takes a docu-style look at the men and women who handle homeland security.

Reality TV: A four-year hiatus has been kind to “The Mole,” a reality-elimination game with a complicated twist: One of the 12 participants is assigned to scheme against the collective effort to win money, with players booted each week based on their ability to identify the plant.

Reality TV: Broad group of emcees finally given category — They’re probably TV’s most underappreciated performers — but the TV Academy is finally giving reality hosts their due. Nearly a decade after reality TV began its primetime domination, the org voted this year to give the broad, diverse genre’s hosts their own Emmy category.

Reality TV: Staging of unscripted series doesn’t deter auds — It has been more than two years since the Time magazine expose “How Reality Fakes It” officially entered the term “frankenbiting” into the broader national lexicon.

Reality TV: Beers’ formula mixes danger, colorful characters — Approached by History Channel exec VP and g.m. Nancy Dubuc with the proposition of adapting a 2000 installment of “Modern Marvels” about the men who haul heavy equipment over perilous ice roads in northern Canada, cable nonfiction ace Thom Beers had just one question: “How do you make a compelling 10-hour series around six guys sitting in a truck, driving in a straight line for hours on end by themselves?”

Reality TV: Star series proliferate, but Acad love is elusive — Blame it all on Ozzy Osbourne. Until MTV’s “The Osbournes” turned into a smash hit, reality sudsers like “The Real World” were reserved for ordinary people. If celebrities allowed cameras in their lives, it was generally for news specials or documentaries (”Madonna Truth or Dare”).

Reality TV: More selective viewers lay waste to new shows — Julia Child, one of TV’s original reality stars, taught us the secrets to scrumptious French cooking: Keep it simple, keep it fresh.
It’s a tip today’s reality-show creators would be wise to follow, yet often ignore.

Reality TV: Critical faves, past contenders and first-timers — Variety’s quick picks from critical faves, past contenders and buzzworthy first-timers.

Reality TV: Reality TV keeps getting worse — It’s filthy work, but somebody has to do it. I do mean sitting down the other night to watch “Living Lohan” and “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated,” the ladies’ new “reality” shows.

Reality TV: Brothers use E! series as promotional vehicle — “Living Lohan” may want to change its name to “Living Maloof.”

Reality TV: CBS brings in big numbers with ‘Survivor’ — ABC captured its 12th consecutive Sunday among young adults behind its regular lineup but CBS made it close thanks to the finale of “Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites.” Fox and NBC, meanwhile, didn’t have much to cheer about.

Reality TV: NBC announces projects, pickups at upfronts — NBC will kick off upfront week Monday by unveiling a latenight host, announcing a few projects and sharing details on previously announced pickups.

Reality TV: Reality show set for summer — Bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman’s TV show will return to the air this summer, months after it was pulled when the reality star used a racial slur in a profanity-laced tirade.

Reality TV: Yep, folks. It’s David vs. David for the final two. The rocker vs. the kiddie crooner. Two men enter, one man leaves! Welcome to the Thunderdome!