Howie Mandel Joins America’s Got Talent

Howie Mandel will be taking David Hasselhoff’s spot as the third judge on America’s Got Talent. Good trade.

“Howie is one of America’s favorite entertainers and his sense of humor and energy are irrepressible,” said Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBC Universal Media Studios. “He’s passionate about new talent and his years of experience across a variety of disciplines in entertainment, not to mention the fact that he headlines and performs in Vegas all the time, will bring new depth to our panel. He will be a real asset to our contestants and help them take their talents to the next level. We are thrilled to have him join Sharon and Piers and are sure that sparks will fly!”

“We’re thrilled to have Howie join the show,” said executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz. “He’s an extraordinary, multi-faceted talent whose success story spans the gauntlet of all things entertainment. He will no doubt bring a dynamic, poignant and entertaining perspective to the judging panel that is all his own.”

Glee Season 2

Fox has renewed Glee for season 2.

To go along with this announcement, Fox has announced plans to hold auditions to fill three new roles. These auditions will be shown as part of a Fox mini-series leading up to the premiere of the show’s second season. Amateurs and professionals ages 16-26 are being invited to apply.

New episodes of Glee will be returning to Fox on Tuesday April 13.

The X Factor Coming in 2011

The X Factor, a singing show similar to American Idol that’s already a success in the UK, will be coming to Fox in 2011 with Simon Cowell serving as judge and executive producer.

“I’m thrilled that we have put a date on the launch of the U.S. version of THE X FACTOR, and delighted to be continuing to work with FOX,” said Cowell. “We have a fantastic relationship, a great team and are all very excited about this.”

Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, said, “We have had a very successful relationship with Simon Cowell for many years, and we’re absolutely delighted to continue our relationship with him. THE X FACTOR has been a massive success around the world, and we can’t wait to bring it to the U.S. in 2011.”

“THE X FACTOR has enjoyed an unparalleled success in its U.K. home market and globally,” said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia North America. “We are truly excited to bring it to the U.S. and look forward to building another entertainment franchise in the marketplace.”

The Bachelor Season 14 Episode 2

Jake returned last week on The Bachelor Season 14 Episode 1, where he eliminated the first 10 out of 25 candidates.

Gia, Rozlyn, Valishia, Corrie, Christina, and Ashleigh go on the first group date. They go to a hotel in Santa Monica for a photo shoot with In Style magazine. This is just a normal day for most of them, although Christina would rather be doing math. Rozlyn’s not afraid to be filmed with or without underpants. Christina’s nervousness should help her to stand out, hopefully in a good way. Following the picture taking, they have a wrap party and get some one on one time. Last week Gia made it like she was unlucky or something with guys, but her lack of relationships is really because her first one lasted for six years. Ashleigh is the first to break out a bikini, which promptly leads to a bikini war to see who can outsexy whom best. Christina is again intimidated. Perhaps getting drunk will help her ease that. Rozlyn drags Jake away from her by shaking what her doctor gave her. Then, not wasting any time, she breaks out the tongue. That’s enough to convince him to give her the rose.

Ali gets the one-on-one date. They hop on a motorcycle, which allows her to squeeze him tight, although a dress and heels are probably not the best attire. They head to the airport and board a two seater airplane. She doesn’t even like commercial planes, let alone a little one. Hopefully she ate a light lunch. And then we hear On the Wings of Love in the background. Yeah, that’s going to get old. Following the plane ride, they take a drive to Palm Springs for an isolated dinner. All of the people she’s dated have names beginning with J. After dinner, she receives a rose. To end the night, they get a private concert by Chicago.

Elizabeth, Jessie, Kathryn, Ashley, and Vienna get the last group date. That leaves Michelle, Ella, and Tenley out in the cold. This should lead to more Michelle drama, as if that’s hard to come by. She says this means he doesn’t want her. The girls who did get the date get a Six Flags all to themselves. Elizabeth is first to drag him away for some alone time. She asks that he not kiss her until he’s ready to commit to her, an unusual request considering how fast some of these chicks have been moving. Also a dangerous proposition. Is he really gonna propose without even a first kiss? Vienna has a secret to tell. She was engaged to her pastor’s son in high school, but called off the marriage because she was only 17. It doesn’t end there. He got married a month later. In turn, she eloped at age 18 because it was so hard losing him. 4 months later, she was divorced. As she’s sitting there crying, Ashley comes up with margaritas to get her turn. One last thing before the date is over. Elizabeth gets the rose, and then she stays behind to watch fireworks with Jake.

Back at the house, Michelle’s packing. Fare thee well. The other girls, not whining, try to talk some sense into her. Good luck with that. Regardless, Michelle is still there when cocktail time arrives.

Ella, having celebrated her birthday yesterday, gets the first bit of time with Jake at the house for a birthday cupcake.

Tenley, who got the first impression rose, wants to reveal that she’s divorced. Jake gives her the opening when he talks about past relationships, but she skips by the subject for now.

Knowing that the truth will spread, Michelle tells Jake that she packed her bags. She promises to always be honest. Too honest.

Chris comes into the room to ask to speak with Rozlyn outside. He accuses her of entering into an “inappropriate relationship” (whatever that means, he used the same phrase three times) with a staff member, who is no longer with the show. As a result, she is being thrown off the show. Although she is a contestant on reality TV, she really doesn’t think that her personal life is anybody’s business. Seeing as she got herself a rose on the group date, it looks like Jake’s judgment here is pretty far off base. Chris agrees to give the rose back so that one of the others can remain in her place. As Jake and the others learn her fate, Rozlyn packs under the watchful eyes of somebody waiting to escort her out of the house.

With that drama out of the way, it’s time for the rose ceremony.

Roses
Ali (one-on-one date)
Elizabeth (group date)
Vienna
Gia
Tenley
Ella
Valishia
Corrie
Jessie
Ashleigh
Michelle
Kathryn

Ashley and Christina have been eliminated. It seems Christina’s fears of being a normal woman amongst a group of models were not baseless.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Bachelor Season 14 Episode 3, which airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC.

Simon Cowell Quits American Idol

Speculation has been building for a while, and Simon Cowell confirmed it today. He will be leaving American Idol after this season. I’ll still watch for as long as it takes everybody else to stop watching, but it certainly will not be as interesting.

Instead, Simon plans to be a judge and producer on X-Factor, which will be coming to America next year after its success in Britain. Fox also has the rights to this new show from Simon Cowell, and it will no doubt be a huge hit when it premieres.

X-Factor is pretty much American Idol with a handful of changes, such as allowing groups and older people to sing.

Primetime Jay Leno Cancelled

Heading into this season, NBC made the decision to throw away 1/3 of its primetime schedule in a short-sighted effort to try to keep both Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien happy. It was obvious from the beginning this move was a mistake, and the affiliates would only put up with weak lead-ins for their news shows for so long.

Fast forward four months. Although no deals have been signed yet, the plan is to move Leno to 11:35 for half an hour each night and have the Tonight Show on at 12:05.

Of course, what this means come fall is a big gaping hole in NBC’s lineup. Not that they had a lot to pick from in the first place.

David Hasselhoff Leaves America’s Got Talent

In the latest change to the ever revolving cast of America’s Got Talent, David Hasselhoff will be leaving America’s Got Talent.

“I am proud that I was part of making America’s Got Talent the No. 1 rated show for the past four summers. It’s been a rewarding experience and now I’m thrilled to be able to follow my dream to do my own TV show, which will be announced very shortly,” Hasselhoff told People.

David is the second judge to leave the show. Brandy was on for season 1 before being replaced by Sharon Osbourne. The show has also seen the departure of two hosts, Regis Philbin and Jerry Springer. It took Idol 8 seasons to lose more than just a Dunkleman.

NBC is currently searching for Hasselhoff’s replacement for when the show returns this summer. No names have been mentioned yet, but I can imagine the 7 Paula Abdul fans are salivating at the potential. Whatever happens, I’m cool with it as long as Piers sticks around.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Cast

Survivor season 20 is an all-star season, and the Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains cast of 10 heroes and 10 villains has been revealed.

Heroes
Amanda Kimmel (3rd China, 2nd Micronesia)
Candice Woodcock (8th Cook Islands)
Cirie Fields (4th Panama, 3rd Micronesia)
Colby Donaldson (2nd Australian Outback, 12th All-Stars)
James Clement (7th China, 7th Micronesia)
Jessica “Sugar” Kiper (3rd Gabon)
JT Thomas (winner Tocantins)
Rupert Boneham (9th Pearl Islands, 4th All-Stars)
Stephenie LaGrossa (7th Palau, 2nd Guatemala)
Tom Westman (winner Palau)

Villains
Benjamin “Coach” Wade (5th Tocantins)
Boston Rob Mariano (10th Marquesas, 2nd All-Stars)
Courtney Yates (2nd China)
Danielle DiLorenzo (2nd Panama)
Jerri Manthey (8th Australian Outback, 10th All-Stars)
Parvati Shallow (6th Cook Islands, winner Micronesia)
Randy Bailey (8th Gabon)
Russell Hantz (3rd Samoa)
Sandra Diaz (winner Pearl Islands)
Tyson Apostol (8th Tocantins)

First thing we see is four winners. JT is forgettable but likeable enough to possibly go a long way. Sandra could last a while considering she’s not a threat. Tom is likely to go early as a physical, albeit not mental, threat. Parvati proved to be a smooth operator in Micronesia, but I would expect her to be underestimated regardless.

Then we get into people who should have won but didn’t, generally thanks to bitter juries. Colby, although for being dumb enough to throw away the game, he deserved to lose. Stephenie controlled her second season, but it could be argued that her “fame” amongst the newbies was a major contributing factor. Either way, I’m just glad Bobby Jon isn’t coming back. That’s all I need is to listen to him whine about how Stephenie lied to him once 5 years ago. Boston Rob owned All-Stars, but at least his wife was a useful player and an acceptable winner (too bad she’s not coming back and going on the heroes side against him). Unlike last season where Russell, the dominant player who was the only reason to watch each week, lost because a bunch of idiots voted for somebody who did nothing instead.

Of the 20, 9 of them will be receiving their third shot. I can’t say as I’m opposed to it, though. At least they know they have a good cast.

Okay now. Candice? A hero? Granted, she wasn’t exactly a villain either, so I guess they just stuck her somewhere randomly, but she’s the one who got sent to Exile again and again and again because Ozzy and his crew were whining that she flipped on them. Then there’s Cirie. I guess she could be considered a hero seeing as she survived despite being so far out of her element, but we’re stretching things a bit to get to that conclusion.

On the other side, there’s Danielle. Whether she’s a hero or a villain or whatever, I had to look her up. Then you have people like Courtney and Randy, who were not so much villains as just annoying. And of course there are people who are just mentally unstable (Coach).