UPDATED: E!, which is holding its upfront presentation today, has picked up Opening Act, a new talent competition headlined by American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, R&B singer Mary J. Blige and producer Antonina Armato from Rock Mafia. Additionally, the cable network has greenlighted a reality series 
starring Kevin Jonas for summer and has given the long-gestating Whitney Cummings talk show a pickup as a weekly half-hour series titled Love You, Mean It With Whitney Cummings. E! also is unveiling a new look, logo and tagline (Pop Of Culture). The new branding campaign, part of the transformation of the channel under the leadership of NBC Uni cable maven Bonnie Hammer, will kick off on July 9 with the premiere of Opening Act.
Related: E! Unveils First Scripted Development Slate
In Opening Act, Lythgoe, Blige and Armato will comb the Internet to find talented amateurs and give them a chance to open for an A-list music star. Music acts on board to take in aspiring musicians to open for one show on their current tours are Nicki Minaj, Rod Stewart, LMFAO, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Jason Mraz and Gym Class Heroes. The unsuspecting band or solo acts will get the news of their big break in person by TV personality Olivia Lee (The Tonight Show With Jay Leno). They will immediately be brought to Hollywood for an extreme ‘performance boot camp’, intense mentoring sessions with top industry heavyweights, leading to their one-night-only performance opening a major concert. Produced by Nigel Lythgoe Prods., Opening Act premieres July 9. Nigel Lythgoe, Steve Schnur, Simon Lythgoe, and Kary McHoul are executive producing.
Produced by Ryan Seacrest Prods., the 10-episode, half-hour Married To Jonas chronicles the lives of Kevin Jonas, a third of the Jonas brothers, and his wife Danielle. The series premieres August 19.
Related: E! Renews ‘After Lately’ For Third Season
Cummings’ talk show, which had been in development at E! for almost two years, will air Wednesdays at 10:30 PM, paired with the network’s staple The Soup. Love You will take on pop culture, celebrity news and topical stories. On the show, Cummings, who got her break on E!’s late-night talk show Chelsea Lately, will be joined by a sidekick, Julian McCullough. Love You is produced by Handler and Tom Brunelle’s Borderline Amazing Prods., with Handler, Cummings and Brunelle exec producing. The pickup of Cummings’ E! talk show comes as she is awaiting word on the future of her NBC freshman comedy series Whitney, which is on the bubble. CBS’ freshman 2 Broke Girls, which she co-created, has been renewed for next season.
Olivia Lee is amazing, and it is awesome that Americans are going to get to see her in such a great show!
I am utterly amazed at the industry’s willingness to continuously provide this Whitney character with a multitude of opportunities she clearly isn’t qualified to have or carry successfully. Wake up Hollywood and give a few fresh faces the opportunity to show the world their talents. Then maybe you’ll somewhat slow the exodus of viewers from television to the web.
Could not agree more. It is baffling. Whitney Cummings has perfected the uniquely mystifying talent of failing upward in Hollywood. Note to E!: She is off putting, difficult to watch, and she basically stole Sarah Silverman’s act.
A ha a new music competition. Why didn’t I think of that ?
An open letter to Hollywood and everyone in American media: Please, enough with Whitney Cummings! No more! I beg of you. Yours sincerely, joshreader.
Stop waiting around to be “picked” by Hollywood. Some web series are getting better ratings/viewers than cable shows. There’s no excuse why with Kickstarter to fund you, a band of crew and talented actors who will work for Ritz crackers, that you cannot shoot your own webseries, build your audience and get your own product placement and sponsors. Mark my words, that’ll continue to be the future whether you like it or not.
Please stop encouraging Whitney Cummings!!
Yeah, I definitely think one of the things we’re missing is more Whitney Cummings.
I lived in London for 5 years and watched Olivia Lee on “Balls of Steel” and her own show on UK Com Central. She is the funniest, smartest chick to come down the pike in a very long time. I think she could end up being a big E star.
“Pop of Culture?” Really? To think somebody got paid to come up with that shit. The worst rebranding since they signed off on “Syfy.”
The black logo looks terrible too. Someone forgot that this logo will be appearing on TV screens and not just letterhead.
Just curious whether anyone can think of another executive producer who spends as much time in front of the camera as Nigel Lythgoe.
Well there is this up-and-comer named Ryan Seacrest that gets some airtime and produces a few shows.
Cummings was on stage for 8 years in LA. I spoke to Gersh, Paradigm, APA, ICM all passed several times on her. Hey guys, good call.
I’m waiting for any official word on a project with UK girlband The Saturdays…I’ll have to be patient!