Latest in Reality TV

Talent Systems, which makes software for casting and auditioning, has made two significant acquisitions in the unscripted and reality TV sector. One deal is for the eTribez casting platform, which has been used for major reality shows Survivor, Big Brother, Idol, Love Island and MasterChef. The other is for Staff Me Up…

EXCLUSIVE: Shout! Factory has snapped up North American distribution rights to Candid Camera, the hidden-camera show known for its decades-long run as a television pioneer. The multi-year agreement encompasses thousands of episodes from 1960 to 2013, with the first 100 hand-picked classics heading to streaming service…

UPDATED with clearance and schedule. TrueReal and Defy TV, two new multicast networks being launched today by E.W. Scripps, have been cleared in 92% of U.S. households, the company said. In addition to the reach of the networks, Scripps announced programming details. Defy TV will focus on men aged 25 to 54 with a…

Reality star Kristin Cavallari has been tapped to host Paradise Hotel, Fox’s revival of the hit dating competition series. It’s set to premiere Thursday, May 9 with a two-hour special beginning at 8 PM on Fox, and will air three nights a week in an “as it happens” format during its five-week run. Following the…

Season 2 of ABC’s American Idol will end with a new twist. The network said today it is extending its coast-to-coast simultaneous voting to the season finale on May 19. Last season, the revived show became the first U.S. reality-competition series in which viewers could watch and vote from both coasts simultaneously…

Things on the Paleyfest stage got a little more glamorous on Sunday when host RuPaul Charles and judges and producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race graced the stage to talk about the creativity, uniqueness, nerve and talent it takes to make the Emmy-winning reality show that has snatched our wigs for 11 seasons (plus four All…

Reality TV star Mama June Shannon and her boyfriend were arrested in Alabama earlier this week for drug possession following a domestic dispute, according to reports. Shannon, the mother of Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, faces charges on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance and drug…

NBC has greenlighted a pair of entertainment-competition series for the summer: the songwriter-focused Songland and stand-up comedy show Bring the Funny. Set to premiere at 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, after the season premiere of America’s Got Talent, Songland takes an inside look at the creative songwriting process. It…

Tubi and Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution are taking viewers into the way-back machine in a deal that will land the first seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, as well as more recent franchise extensions, on the streaming service. Initial seasons only of The Bachelor, which premiered in 2002, and Th…

Mark Burnett, Fast & Furious actor Tyrese Gibson and MGM TV are teaming on Celebrity Grand Prix, a new primetime competition series, with Gibson set to host and executive produce. The project is currently in development and will be shopped to broadcast and cable outlets. In Celebrity Grand Prix, celebrities will be…

Deadliest Catch is shoving right off again. Discovery said today that Season 15 of it Emmy-winning docuseries will launch at 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, featuring a new captain and storm after debilitating storm. The new season focuses on Dutch Harbor, a maverick Alaska town that has seen its share of upheaval. But this…

NBC has set premiere dates for a pair of its veteran summer series. Season 14 of America’s Got Talent will get a two-hour premiere at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, and American Ninja Warrior will launch its eighth season at from 8-10 p.m. the next night before settling into its regular slot at 8 p.m. Monday, June 10. The AGT…