The Biggest Loser has netted a new celebrity trainer: Tennis star Anna Kournikova will join NBC’s popular weight-loss competition next season, a network spokesperson confirmed today. The 29-year-old Russian is filling the slot that is being vacated by Jillian Michaels — who announced her impending departure back in December — though the Biggest Loser team is not viewing Kournikova as a substitute. “We intentionally tried to not replace Jillian,” executive producer Todd Lubin told Vulture, which first reported the news about Kournikova, who appeared on an episode during Biggest Loser’s tenth season. The direction of the show will be “getting slightly away from just the tape measure, and getting into overall well-being and health,” added Lubin. “That’s where Loser needs to go.” UPDATE: An NBC spokesperson also confirmed to EW that current Biggest Loser trainers Brett Hoebel and Cara Castronuova, who joined the series this year, will not return for season 12. The season 11 finale airs tonight.
Archive: May 2011 (53-65 of 347)
Nancy Grace departing 'Swift Justice'
That was swift, indeed: Nancy Grace is exiting her syndicated courtroom series Swift Justice with Nancy Grace after only one season. In a statement released by CBS Television Distribution on Tuesday, Grace attributed her departure to the move of the show’s production to Los Angeles from Atlanta, where she resides with her family and also hosts HLN’s Nancy Grace. “I am so proud of the work we have done on Swift Justice,” she said. “Leaving such a successful show was a tough decision, but, with the increased requirements of the production’s relocation to Los Angeles, it became challenging to balance my most important job — mother to John David and Lucy — back home.”
Grace’s replacement for next season will be Jackie Glass, a state District Court judge from Nevada who presided over O.J. Simpson’s 2008 armed robbery trial. Swift Justice, which recently earned a Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program category, is this season’s top-rated new first-run syndication series.
Christopher Meloni out of 'SVU'
Image Credit: Will Hart/NBC
So long, Det. Stabler: An insider confirms that Christopher Meloni will leave Law & Order: Special Victims Unit after 12 seasons. Apparently, the actor was offered a “generous” salary to stay with the NBC show for another year, but he made the decision to bolt, instead – which paves the way for a fresh face to join the aging franchise. (Hey, Dick Wolf: These actors didn’t get their pilots picked up. Maybe consider one of them?)
Meloni has been on the show since the beginning, when it launched in 1999. His co-star, Mariska Hargitay, recently signed a new deal to stay on the cop drama.
NBC announced last week in New York that SVU will return next fall but its sister show, Law & Order: Los Angeles, was yanked after only one season.
Meanwhile, Peacock topper Robert Greenblatt told reporters that he’s looked at Jennifer Love Hewitt as a possible fill-in next season for Hargitay, who is reportedly looking to lighten her work load (she recently adopted a baby). Love Hewitt guest-starred on the show earlier this year as a rape victim and “is someone we’ve been circling,” Greenblatt told reporters. “I don’t know whether that’s coming to pass or not.”
OWN plans six days of Oprah-themed programming following 'Oprah Show' finale
Yes, the final episode of The Oprah Show airs tomorrow. But stop crying — there’s plenty of Oprah Winfrey programming to relieve your O pains: OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced that the network will stall programming at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday to direct fans to her Oprah finale on ABC. When OWN boots up again, audiences can expect six full days of “Oprah filled programming” to celebrate the end of Winfrey’s talk show after 25 seasons.
Some shows scheduled on OWN’s slate: The Gayle King Show: Best of Oprah Winfrey, Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes, and Ask Oprah’s All Stars. Said Peter Liguori, interim chief executive office of OWN, in a press release: “We couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to honor Oprah than for OWN to celebrate her ongoing legacy and enormous contribution to daytime television … We will all be watching this truly historic event.”
Read more:
Let the ugly cry commence: Final ‘Oprah Show’ to tape today!
Oprah’s ‘Farewell Spectacular’: A night to celebrate, and bid adieu
Oprah’s 15 Hall of Fame Episodes
Kevin Costner to star in History miniseries
Kevin Costner is going to star and co-produce a scripted miniseries on History channel about the Hatfields and McCoys. The project will chronicle the country’s most famous family feud, two Southern clans who had a falling out after the Civil War that resulted in all-out warfare between the two families and brought Kentucky and West Virginia to the brink of war. The miniseries debuts in 2012. “Everyone knows the legend of the Hatfields-McCoy feud, but few know the true story of what occurred to make the two families become mortal enemies,” Costner said in a statement.
Edward James Olmos joins 'Dexter'
Image Credit: Andrew Evans/PR Photos Battlestar Galactica
He’s going to play a “brilliant, charismatic professor of religious studies.” The former Admiral Adama is added to a cast list that includes previously announced guest stars like Colin Hanks and Mos (formerly Mos Def). Production on the next season starts on May 25 and the show debuts this fall.
Here’s a teaser (no new footage, though): READ FULL STORY »
Fox wins broadcast season; CBS tops in viewers
Image Credit: Fox
Fox is projected to win the broadcast season among the coveted adults 18-49 demographic for the seventh consecutive time.
CBS can also claim a victory: The network wrapped up 2010-11 as the most-watched broadcaster, a title the network has held eight out of the past nine years.
The season doesn’t officially end until tomorrow, but none of the standings are close. The bigger headline is how much networks sank overall in the ratings this year, even while maintaining their standings respective to each other. As cable continues to draw more eyeballs, the broadcast nets end up losing at the same time, with NBC leading the way (down 15 percent, which the network notes is partly due to the Winter Olympics boosting the previous season). Fox remained relatively steady (down 5 percent).
Fox’s was able to maintain its strength despite overhauling American Idol this year. With Simon Cowell’s The X Factor coming in the fall, it’s tough to imagine the network not claiming another victory next season. Here’s how all the networks stacked up on average compared to last season: READ FULL STORY »
MTV's next reality project: 'Married Young' -- EXCLUSIVE
Image Credit: Kai Jabs/plainpicture/Corbis
MTV’s next reality focus: Marriage.
After earning a ton of viewers with its Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant reality shows, the network is developing a new series that could be seen as a natural next step.
MTV has ordered a pilot for Married Young, a one-hour docuseries following the trials and tribulations of newly wedded couples. The cameras tune in after the couple’s honeymoon and follow the couple through their first year as husband and wife. READ FULL STORY »
'House' EP David Shore on the shocking season finale and the show sans Cuddy
Image Credit: Adam Taylor/FOX
The creative team at House has their work cut out for them next season following the departure of one of their beloved leading ladies, Lisa Edelstein. But David Shore is more than up for the task. This morning, following last night’s shocking finale, Shore called up EW to reflect on the episode, the season of Huddy, and what fans can expect next season.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I have to start off by asking, did House want to run over Cuddy and Co.?
DAVID SHORE: No. I think he was aiming at the house — not at the people. Obviously, he was taking a huge risk, but I don’t think he was trying to kill anyone off, but I think he was risking killing some people. READ FULL STORY »
Jane Lynch near deal to host Emmys
She may not be the most traditional choice, but she certainly is on brand for Fox: The network is in talks Glee co-star Jane Lynch to host this year’s Emmys, sources confirm.
If a deal is struck, the choice will help promote the hit musical comedy, but a little bit of Lynch tends to go a long way and one wonders if the fan favorite can hold up the stage for a three-hour show. What do you think?
Ratings: Battle for the mirror ball gives ABC a win
Image Credit: Adam Taylor/ABC
It’s down to Chelsea Kane, Hines Ward, and Kirstie Alley — and viewers definitely want to see if talent triumphs over personality. More than 22 million people tuned into this season’s last performance night of Dancing With the Stars, which gave ABC a key win on Monday in the demo (3.4 rating/9 share) and viewers (131.5 million), according to early results.
Dancing With The Stars earned a 4.6/13 – down 6 percent from its last fall performance finale, but still enough to take the 8-9 timeslot. It didn’t do much good for the premiere of The Bachelorette, however: The latest installment earned a 2.8/7, which was flat with last season’s premiere and tied as its lowest-rated premiere ever. READ FULL STORY »
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