Topic: Reality Shows

What Do Glenn Beck and American Idol Have In Common?

With consumer outrage at financial institutions egregious misconduct, there has been a renewed attitude about good vs. evil. This polarization has reflected in pop culture with such films as Monsters VS Aliens and web sensations like Red VS. Blue. However, the top TV shows of 2009 illustrate that it's more complicated than just black and white, good vs. evil -- everyone has their own winner. Increasingly, we want get behind "our guy or girl" and cheer them on. The Cheers and Jeers trend is about being passionate and getting behind people...READ»

Jersey Shore Season 2 Premiere

"We are pioneers of an ugly age," said casting director Doron Ofir, after his pièce de résistance, MTV's Jersey Shore, was picked up for another season. To wit: Now that Shore, chronicling the lives of self-proclaimed guidos and ...READ»

'Fierce' Viewership

Over the past couple of years, Bravo network has accomplished a paradoxical feat by adding a highbrow-dimension to the reality television phenomenon. That I watch Rock of Love on VH1 every Sunday isn't likely to come up at an ...READ»

Welcome to the Real World

Imagine that you've spent the last five years in cultural exile, and you've never seen an episode of a reality TV series. Why, you would be... me. Until last week, that is, when I finally decided to immerse myself in the medium. ...READ»

American Idol to Capture New Howard Stern Audience

From the on-air personality that brought Fart Man and has a tumultuous history with the FCC, Howard Stern is moving to prime time? American Idol is moving into its 8th season and adding a lightening rod personality like...READ»

Fast Talk: Connecting the Dots

Lauren Zalaznick President, Bravo New York, New York Lauren Zalaznick, 43, combines reality shows such as Project Runway and Top Chef with deep tie-in Web sites to keep viewers glued to Bravo on screens both big and ...READ»

Andrea Wong Wants to Reinvigorate Lifetime. (Step One: Steal Project Runway)

Andrea Wong brought us The Bachelor! Now she's trying to reinvigorate Lifetime with positivity and fun.READ»

'Top Chef: Just Desserts': Can Cable Stand Another Cupcake Show?

When Fast Company listed non-chefs Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz among the most creative people in food, we praised them for producing Top Chef. Now, says Variety, they're getting their Just Desserts. The Top Chef spin-off, set to ...READ»

The Anti-Inventiveness of "American Inventors"

So, tonight is the premier of "American Inventor," brought to you by the zeitgeist-tappers responsible for "American Idol." Here, the reality TV aesthetic meets Ralph Waldo Emerson, who famously encouraged our national creative ...READ»

Are You Self-Medicating for the Anxieties du Jour?

It's easy to dismiss reality TV as junk, but if you look a little deeper, you'll see why it's so popular. It's the same reason why books on Buddhism are selling: We all need some relief from the angst of the moment.READ»

Project Parse It Up: Bravo vs. Lifetime

Tim Gunn, our favorite sartorial critic, is in the eye of the storm--again. As I chronicled in Fast Company's April issue profile "Project Rehab," the former head of Parsons' Fashion program has had a dizzying career ...READ»

"Idol" Empire Shares Fortune

If you weren't one of the 30 million people that typically tune into "American Idol" every week, then maybe you will be pleasantly surprised to hear that the show's executives are giving back some of their good fortune. Finally. For ...READ»

Reality TV's Newest Sensation: Life Coaches

Staying up late to watch the end of the Red Sox-Yankees match-up last night I was bombarded in the wee hours by Fox ads touting their latest reality shows: My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss and Richard Branson's, The Rebel Billionaire. ...READ»

Sir Reality

The Writers Guild of America West went public with its campaign to organize reality TV writers. Yes, writers. Admittedly, these writers don't script dialogue but manipulate situations. President Daniel Petrie says, "The secret ...READ»

Project Rehab

As an academic renegade, Tim Gunn pushed Parsons the New School for Design to adopt a businesslike curriculum. Now the star of Project Runway is trying to revive Liz Claiborne as its chief creative officer. Can he "make it work" or is it "auf Wiedersehen" for a once-great American fashion house?READ»

• Life After Project Runway -- on the Web
• From Project Runway to the Web
• Put Some Style In Your Lifestyle

For the Truly Addicted...

Recently a whole pile of us here at FC Now got fired up about the fall television line-ups at the five broadcast networks. And last winter, Ryan Underwood and I didn't even try to hide our fascination with all things Apprentice (it's ...READ»

American Idol Season 9

In its eighth season, the television juggernaut that is American Idol brought in an incredible $850 mil-lion in advertising revenue and attracted a Nielsen-topping 27 million viewers per episode. The bad news: Ad revenue was ...READ»

Are Self-Publishing Companies "Cheating" by Removing the Hurdles to Get Your Books Published Faster?

Are self-publishing writers really “cheating,” or are they simply taking advantage of widespread changes taking place throughout the entertainment and business worlds. Check out... READ»

Market Research Panopticon

A full-page story in the Financial Times (March 1, page 9) waxed lyrical about 'reality tv for the boardroom' and went on to describe the use of video footage to 'reduce the growing distance between the corporate elite and ...READ»

American Idol's PR Stumble

Even if you stopped tuning in to 'American Idol' after the unimpressive album sales of its recent winners began to give the show's title a slightly paradoxical quality, you most likely came across Paula Abdul's name in yesterday's ...READ»

Sony and PlayStation Take on Television With "The Tester"

One of the most coveted jobs in the video game industry--at least for people on the outside of the industry--is that of the tester. Testers get to play video games before they are released to the public, and look for bugs. Sound ...READ»

Josh Harris' Wired City

Josh Harris describes his vision of the Wired City, a concept that reaches far beyond the confines of reality TV, and imagines thousands of individuals under constant surveillance, being selectively filtered and exposed to the public. ...READ»

Atlantic City Welcomes The American Idols Live In Concert at the Boardwalk Hall

The 2009 American Idols will be performing live, in concert, at The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The best selection of tickets is on sale now through ACTickets.com. The American Idols will be performing Friday August 7th.READ»

Rock the Vote on American Idol

So here's a disclaimer: I'm not an American Idol fan. I actually believe American Idol brings out the worst in America and the worst Americans. But all this fuss about Sanjaya Malakar and whether he should or should not win the ...READ»

Paris Hilton, a Political Force

It's not just Project Runway contestants that hope to get into Young Hollywood's good graces: If The White House Correspondents' Dinner this year was any indication (The Hills' villains Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were among ...READ»