WILL NBC’S THE WINNER IS BE A WINNER?

As if there weren’t a surfeit of singing contests on network television already, NBC announced on Tuesday that it was adding yet another one. Titled The Winner Is, the series will feature singers “dueling” against one another for a $1-million cash prize. The weekly competition will also include game-show elements. For example, a contestant will […]

APPRENTICE CONTESTANT MAY GO TO JAIL

In what seems to be another case of art imitating life — or is it the other way around? — a former contestant on the British version of The Apprentice has pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud. The contestant, mortgage broker Christopher Farrell, lasted through week eight of this year’s series and made a […]

LIVE GERMAN TV SHOW HALTED WHEN STUNT GOES AWRY

One of Germany’s longest-running TV shows, Wetten das (Bet It) was halted Saturday after a contestant on the game show was severely injured in a stunt gone wrong. In the stunt, Samuel Koch, wearing shoes attached to metal slats that allow him to spring forward swiftly and jump great heights, was supposed to jump over […]

DANCING PRODUCERS STEP ON PRO’S TOES

One of the professional dancers on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars is upset with a plan by the producers to put contestants to the test by giving them a dance to perform without allowing them to hear the music in advance. The new aspect of the dance contest is due to be inaugurated on next […]

“SURVIVOR” CONTRACTS EXPOSED

All contestants on CBS’s Survivor are required to sign a contract containing a confidentiality agreement requiring them to pay $5 million for each breach, according to RealityBlurred.com, a website that tracks reality shows. On Monday the website posted a redacted copy of each of the three agreements that the contestants must sign in advance of […]