Oprah’s ratings are down but she’s still a great go-to person when a prominent woman needs to talk: earlier this month, Whitney Houston announced she will have her first interview in years with Oprah, scheduled for Sept. 14.

Now ESPN reporter and Atlanta resident Erin Andrews, who was secretly taped in her hotel room nude, has talked to Oprah, too. The show, seeking build-up buzz, gave Associated Press some teasers on what Andrews had to say, including the fact she thought the video leak was a “nightmare.”

 Loading …

Andrews’ attorney has said the blurry five-minute video was shot at a hotel without her knowledge and she plans to seek criminal charges and file lawsuits against whoever shot the video and anyone who publishes it.

Andrews will be working on air Thursday night for the first time since the video became widespread news. She’ll be …

Continue reading Erin Andrews, Atlanta-based ESPN reporter, does first post nude video interview with Oprah »

‘

Bill Tush hasn’t had a regular gig in six years since he left CNN. But he’s still hungry.

Back in the 1970s and ’80s, Bill Tush was a big-time local TV personality, thanks to a man called Ted Turner. Turner had purchased a small local TV station an Tush became the face of it. He became “Ted’s guy.” First called, WTCG, it eventually became WTBS. And with the expanding medium called cable, Turner turned it into the first national “Superstation.”

There, Tush was the movie host and did a goofy late-night news show on TBS for five years. He got to do all sorts of ridiculous stunts, including sharing the newsdesk with Rex the Wonder Dog and mocking the news well before Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

He had his own sketch comedy show for a year in 1980 before joining CNN hosting “People Now,” then “Showbiz Today” and “Showbiz This Week.” For years, he did celebrity interviews and covered the Oscars. He left CNN in 2003. “After 9/11, there was no entertainment news,” he said. “I …

Continue reading Whatever happened to… Bill Tush? »

The Nelson family, comprised of Christian (son), Mickey (mom), Branson (son), Jackson (son) and Chris (dad) (left to right)

The first three episodes featured tears of some sort every week. This time, we got more, courtesy of the always emotional Chris Mullenix.

But there was also (finally!) a surprise: the Upshaws, who had the power to put two families up again, didn’t choose the two obvious ones and went after their “core” allies: the Nelsons and the Johnstons.

And the Nelsons, confident they were safe, were ousted.

“I’m tripping,” contractor Chris Nelson, who has been good friends with Chris Upshaw for 10 years. “I thought we were playing the game at the end,” he noted.

And when it came down to friendship vs. money, he said, “250 means more than dudes. I’m okay.” Nelson did not look okay.

I’m curious to see how that friendship is holding up now.

There had been a “core” of four families (the Johnstons, the Nelsons, the Upshaws and the Mullenixes), with the only remaining …

Continue reading ‘There Goes the Neighborhood’ recap, episode four: the core crumbling? »

 Loading …

Labor Day weekend is coming, and the TV options are a bit slimmer than normal, especially among scripted shows.

In fact, there are very few dramas or comedies even airing new episodes. Exceptions include the season ending episodes of TBS’s “The Bill Engvall Show,” Showtime’s “Weeds” and FX’s “Rescue Me,” plus fresh versions of TNT’s “Leverage” and “Dark Blue” and TBS’s’ “Meet the Browns.”

Also, ABC Family has a fresh season of “Greek” starting Monday just in time for the kids going to college.

Else, you better like football or reality shows.

MONDAY
“CMA Music Festival” 8 p.m. ABC (three-hour special) — Highlights from the big festival include Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Atlanta’s Sugarland and …

Continue reading TV best bets with season ending episodes of ‘Rescue Me,’ ‘Weeds,’ ‘Bill Engvall Show’ »

Alton Brown arrived on stage Saturday in a suit jacket and tie, unusually formal for the “Good Eats” host. But he kept to signature sneakers and jeans below the waist.

And he was holding a paper mache chicken.

Brown, for his 10th anniversary “Good Eats” live shows at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, maintained his cerebral, scientific demeanor while throwing around plenty of silly — just like the television program that airs every night on Food Network.

He brought in fellow Food Network star Ted Allen to interview him, like “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” He showed best-of clips from his shows, including him getting bonked in the head many times, Marx Brothers style. (”I was raised on Road Runner and Bugs Bunny. I grew up in a generation where hitting was still fun!”) He did a faux game show facing off against “Good Eats” super fans.

Brown was not allowed to cook anything on the stage, but he showed off his inner McGyver, creating a carbonated fruit shake using a …

Continue reading Alton Brown live at Cobb Energy Centre for 10 years of ‘Good Eats’ »

The Bussiere family, comprised of Tom (dad), Susan (mom), Marcia (grandmother) (top row, left to right), Elise (daughter) and Jake (son) (bottom row, left to right)

On CBS’s “There Goes the Neighborhood,” insurance agent Tom Bussiere knew his family were outsiders from the start and winning the $250,000 would mean having to win all the elimination challenges.

They could have also done what the Schindlers did and work a secret alliance with an insider “core” family but chose not to. That cost them the game but Bussiere said he has no regrets.

“We were approached by folks in the ‘in’ crowd but Susan [his wife] and I agreed. We wanted to avoid that. We didn’t want to join an alliance we’d later have to break.” One of the stronger families, in fact, asked them to join in an alliance and they declined. “We wanted them eliminated,” he said.

But then again, strategically, sometimes it’s smart to keep your friends close, your enemies closer. And latching onto a strong player could …

Continue reading There Goes the Neighborhood interview with Tom Bussiere »

More than a decade later, the four main characters of “Seinfeld” are returning to NBC for a reunion show.

Well, at least that’s what’s happening in the fictional Larry David bubble of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He gets Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards to play themselves in his incredibly neurotic alterna-world.

HBO sent me an advance copy of the first three episodes of the new season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” The “Seinfeld” plotline pops up in episode three. David wants to get back with his ex wife, played by Cheryl Hines, and pictures having her as George Costanza’s ex wife (because you know, George is an extension of Larry.)

That third episode is extremely funny. My favorite part is Jason Alexander telling Larry David that he wants to do a reunion to make up for the finale everybody hated. Larry, of course, doesn’t acknowledge that’s the case.

Continue reading “Seinfeld” reunion (kinda) set thanks to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” »

Malvin Vien: Auf'd on Thursday night. (Photo: mylifetime.com)

This week on Episode 2, so-called “baby bumps” were the primary challenge on “Project Runway,” and for the most part, the designers stepped up to the goal.

Only a few of them (the guys) seemed not to understand the pregnant belly – Ra’mon with his special belly-shaped dress, Epperson with his yards of fabric – and poor Malvin whose chicken-egg-sling situation earned him the boot.

The women, some of whom had never been pregnant either, fared much better. Shirin’s winning draped dress/coat combo; Louise’s slinky retro number that called to mind the boudoir – I loved them both. I didn’t find Althea’s dress that chic – kind of boring to me ­– but the judges loved it.

I had no complaint with the winning design, but I thought that for the second consecutive week, the judges made a mistake in sending home the designer with an overreaching artistic narrative. Here’s my argument in favor of …

Continue reading Project Runway: Chicken or egg? »

 Loading …

No wig pulling or in-your-face confrontations this week. But Lisa and Kim keep picking at each other outside of each other’s earshot.

A sampling of the bitch fest:

Kim on Lisa: “For God’s sake — you’re not Wonder Woman!”

Kim on Lisa: “She’s as fake as a three dollar bill!”

Lisa on Kim: “Wasn’t she from a trailer park?”

The trailer for next week shows an attempt at reconciliation next week — because the show demands it, not because it’s necessary.

The bulk of the episode revolves around Lisa’s visit to Los Angeles to visit her 92-year-old grandma, who has the most supple 92-year-old skin I’ve ever seen. (Credit Vasoline and great genetics!)

And to keep the connective thread on the show’s “cast” and not isolate any individual person, Lisa brought along NeNe. The two have gotten closer now that they live …

Continue reading NeNe in LaLa Land: Real Housewives of Atlanta recap, episode 5 »

Timothy Hutton & Co. will be back for more cons in 2010 on the hit drama “Leverage,” Atlanta-based TNT announced today.

The show is part of a slate of seven shows TNT has aired this summer on Mondays through Wednesdays its most aggressive drive to build original shows in its history. And so far, it’s been pretty successful. All six scripted shows have done at least reasonably well, including the new shows “HawthoRNe” (already renewed) and to a lesser degree “Dark Blue” (status for renewal still pending). The only misstep was the reality show “Wedding Day,” which was quickly relegated to Saturday mornings.

 Loading …

“Leverage” is averaging 3.5 million viewers this year, up slightly from season one. If you count DVR viewing up to 7 days after original airing, that number goes up to 4.1 million.

The show’s summer run ends Sept. 9, with remaining episodes running …

Continue reading TNT’s “Leverage” gets a third season »