I’ve been busy for the past week and half or so compiling lists and scrambling to go Christmas shopping, and there’ve been a few TV stories that have fallen into the cracks. So for my loyal readers (all six – no, seven! – of you), here are a few newsy tidbits to chew on over Christmas. As an added bonus, they’ll all work as good small-talk fodder with the relatives before dinner. Merry Christmas, everyone, and thanks for reading!
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CBS announced this week that “The Amazing Race” will return for a 16th season starting Sunday, Feb. 14. I thought last season’s two-hour premiere was great, giving viewers a little more time to get to know the teams, but this time it’ll all be squished into one hour. It’ll be a season heavy on pseudo-celebrities, with Jeff & Jordan from “Big Brother” and former Miss Teen South Carolina Lauren Caitlin in the mix.
Meanwhile, Ericka, who finished third on the most recent season of “The Amazing Race” with her husband, Brian, tells the Orlando Sentinel that she was not pleased with the way she was portrayed. Seems to me like she should’ve thought of that during her many emotional meltdowns.
And in the “You Stay Classy . . .” category, Jaime, the shrieking harpy who finished second with teammate Cara in “TAR” Season 14, will be the centerfold in the January issue of Playboy. I’m pretty sure that even completely naked, she’ll still be annoying.
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The 20th season of “Survivor,” an all-star version pitting “Heroes vs. Villains,” will kick off on Thursday, Feb. 11, with a two-hour episode. The cast hasn’t been revealed yet, but a promo in Sunday’s finale showed Richard Hatch, Jonny Fairplay and Coach.
And as the dust settles from Sunday’s “Survivor” finale, Russell is still grumbling that he got screwed out of the title, and host Jeff Probst agrees, saying Russell was “the victim of a jury of bitter people.”
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Santa Rosa’s favorite celebrity chef will be getting some network airtime next year. Guy Fieri has been signed as the host of a new NBC game show called “Perfect 10.” As NBC describes it, competitors will be tasked with doing “10 simple yet nerve-wracking games” with an escalating level of difficulty, with the winner getting $1 million. Don’t finish the task in 60 seconds, or mess up, and you’re out. Sounds like “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” meets Jenga. Sounds brainless and fun. Look for that probably next summer.
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The new season of “24” premieres Sunday, Jan. 17 on Fox. This time, Jack Bauer is in New York City and has to foil an assassination attempt on a foreign leader. Look for a ton of new faces: Mykelti Williamson (“Forrest Gump”) is now in charge of CTU, Freddie Prinze Jr. (um, “Scooby Doo”?) plays a top agent, and Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”) will be a CTU tech geek who’ll rival Chloe. And what has Jack been up to in the past year or so? Protecting our nation’s borders from aerial threats from the north:
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Whoa, talk about life imitating art. Rob McIlhenny — Mac from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” — is reportedly opening a bar in Philadelphia with his wife, Caitlin Olson, who plays Dee on the show. The series is set at a dingy dive bar (in one episode described as “a rape bar” in a scary alley) in South Philly, but the real-life one in the trendy Old City neighborhood will likely be a little less sketchy. And crowded with deranged, drunken “Always Sunny” fans. (I’m looking at you, Nina S.)
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Comcast expanded their HD channel selection in November (did you notice?), finally adding Comedy Central, and now the network’s two biggest shows are finally going HD: “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” will be broadcast in high-def starting Jan. 4. Blame a long and expensive transition in the shows’ control rooms for the delay. Now if Comcast can just get BBC America on HD, my world will be complete.
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HBO’s very funny animated series “The Life and Times of Tim” returns for a second season Friday, Feb. 19. But possibly even better news is that it’ll accompany a new animated series by Ricky Gervais (“The Office”) based on his hilarious podcasts, creatively titled “The RIcky Gervais Show.” Gervais, longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant and comic Karl Pilkington will provide voices.
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Speaking of HBO, the eagerly awaited miniseries “The Pacific” has a premiere date: Sunday, March 14. The 10-part series, a companion to “Band of Brothers,” will chronicle a group of Marines during the Pacific island-hopping campaigns of World War II. It’ll run through May 16. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, it’s supposedly the most expensive TV production ever made. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to that.
