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Radaronline.com, which is hardly the most reliable source in news, said Charlie Sheen has inked a deal with production company Lionsgate Television for a new sitcom and is pitching it to networks, including Atlanta-based ‘front-runner” TBS.

A TBS spokeswoman put the kibosh on this rumor with this terse statement she emailed me just a few minutes ago: “TBS is not in discussions for a possible project with Charlie Sheen.”

Would a Sheen sitcom make any sense on a cable network? Could they even afford him? Is he such a trouble-maker that networks might shy away from him?

TMZ reports that Chuck Lorre, creator of “Two and a Half Men,” plans to kill Sheen’s character Charlie Harper off. Knowing how Lorre feels about Sheen, it won’t be pretty!

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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, …

Continue reading TBS denies talks with Charlie Sheen in sitcom »

Okay, we’ve seen numerous “Real Housewives” parodies to date. BET, during its annual awards show, tried yet another one last night featuring
Nelly, host Kevin Hart, former Atlanta boy Bobby Brown, Nick Cannon and Atlanta’s own Jermaine Dupri. It’s dubbed “The Real Husbands of Hollywood.” Hart isn’t all that funny but Bobby Brown takes the cake:

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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog

Continue reading BET Awards videos mock ‘Real Housewives’ with Bobby Brown, Nelly, Jermaine Dupri »

Visually, Whole Foods fishmonger and butcher  Justin Balmes is a stand-out on “Food Network Star.” He’s tall, with big huge loops in his ears and arms packed with tattoos.

But place a camera in front of him and the Marietta native wilts. Despite cooking mostly stellar food, Balmes was axed from the show last night, the fifth person out. The judges found him stilted and dull. The few glimmers of personality he showed simply weren’t enough.

In retrospect, he probably should have gone on “Top Chef,” where good food is more important than a stellar on-camera presence (though that never hurts on any TV show.)

“People who know me,” Balmes said today in a post-mortem interview, “say I can be borderline obnoxious. I went on the show and went into a personality coma. I wanted to focus on the kitchen and make the best food.”

Balmes was really steamed when the judges found his fish and couscous dish last night wanting. “I think footage of the crowd reaction would speak differently,” he …

Continue reading Ousted Marietta native Justin Balmes fell into ‘personality coma’ on ‘Food Network Star’ »

Weeds is back Monday for a seventh season.

Most summer series have been launched but a few more are trickling in this week.

Showtime’s veteran show ‘Weeds” is back for a seventh season Monday, followed by USA’s “Royal Pains ” Wednesday. USA is also launching “Necessary Roughness” (shot in Atlanta) after “Royal Pains.”

ABC Family is bringing back “Melissa & Joey” for a second season Wednesday, followed by a new sitcom featuring Raven-Symone.

And NBC’s  “America’s Got Talent” enters its fifth week of auditions. That’s more than “American Idol”! Plus, its surprise hit show “The Voice” concludes Wednesday night. If NBC had known better, season one would have gone much longer!

MONDAY
“The Bachelorette” 8 p.m. ABC — Ashley visits Hong Kong with her eight remaining suitors.
“Gone” 8 p.m. Lifetime — A nurse refuses to give in when her daughter is kidnapped and the abductor demands the murder of a patient for the girl’s return.
“Hot Coffee” 9 p.m. HBO — A former …

Continue reading TV best bets with return of ‘Royal Pains,’ ‘Weeds,’ finale of ‘The Voice’ »

Adele. CREDIT: AP

Adele is well entrenched on Atlanta radio with a third week at the top thanks to “Rolling in the Deep.”

It was spun 77 times more than the No. 2 song by Katy Perry (”E.T.”) and was heard on six local stations: B98.5 (24), Star 94 (50), V-103 (11), Wild (119), Q100 (82) and Dave FM (7).

As noted earlier, this is the rare song that is heard on both Dave FM and V-103.

V-103 morning host Frank Ski said it’s clear Adele’s soulful voice has helped her cross over to the hip-hop/R&B side. “People really want to hear good, live music and this sounds like a live track,” he said.

The fastest growing tracks this week were both by Lil Wayne: “How to Love” and “John,” both up 60 spins in one week thanks primarily to Hot 107.9.

Top 10 songs in Atlanta
1. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” 293 (+3)
2. Katy Perry “E.T.” 216 (-36)
3. Black Eyed Peas “Just Can’t Get Enough” 215 (+6)
4. Bruno Mars “Lazy Song” 199 (-5)
5. Marsha Ambrosius “Far Away” 178 (+26)
6. Lady Gaga “The Edge of …

Continue reading Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ spends third week on top on Atlanta radio »

V-103’s Frank Ski is opening a Buckhead restaurant in about a month called Frank Ski’s.

It’s where Vita used to be at 2110 Peachtree Road near Justin’s and Houston’s. (Before that, it was Mick’s.)

Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group, Inc. brokered a deal.

In an interview today, the morning host said it will be “sophisticated American food, what you’d find at Houston’s or South City Kitchen.”

It will also feature live music and have a lounge area. The kitchen will stay open until 11 p.m. or midnight. “Atlanta is way behind the curve,” he said, when it comes to go-to late-night restaurant spots compared to Miami, Vegas or New York.

Ski won’t be able to run the shop since he has a full-time job at V-103 so he hired a former Houston’s manager James Johnson. Houston’s, Ski said, runs such a tight ship. “I’d rather pay the best manager and be open awhile than be cheap on the manager and close quickly,” Ski said. “I don’t plan to fund this out of my V-103 salary.”

[UPDATE, …

Continue reading Frank Ski opening a restaurant under his name in Buckhead »

Doug and Ryan Stewart. CREDIT: 790/The Zone

The 2 Live Stews has lost its syndication deal with Sporting News Network as of July 1 but will remain on 790/The Zone from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays.

“It allows them to be more involved with the local teams,” said their agent Norm Schrutt, trying to make the best of it. He also represents several other local personalities including 680/The Fan’s John Kincade and Dave FM’s Mara Davis.

Doug and Ryan Stewart started their syndication deal in early 2008 and amassed as many as 35 radio stations across the country. But Sporting News has been going through ownership changes and cost cuts. The Stews lost some affiliates, and a new contract didn’t pan out.

Sporting News replaced the Stews with a single talk-show host, which is certainly less costly.

“There are two Stews instead of one,” said Ryan. “They are a very good company but our time was up. There’s no love lost. Everything is good.”

Focusing exclusively on their metro Atlanta “dogs and …

Continue reading 2 Live Stews lose syndication deal with Sporting News Network »

Callie Thorne (left) with Marc Blucas. CREDIT: USA

New York’s USA Network battles Atlanta-based TNT as the country’s most popular basic cable network. Ironically, TNT doesn’t shoot any of its scripted shows here, but rival USA has taken advantage of Georgia tax breaks and brought its latest new series “Necessary Roughness” down to EUE/Screen Gems studios at Lakewood.

The drama, which debuts Wednesday at 10 p.m., stars Callie Thorne as a newly single mom and therapist for problematic football players and other high-profile people. Thorne is best known as the magnetically loud-mouthed Sheila Keefe on FX’s heralded “Rescue Me,” which concludes its seventh and final season this summer.

Her new character Dr. Dani isn’t nearly as volatile as Sheila but is plenty pugnacious, spunky and smart. “My specialties include chicken parmesan, behavioral cognitive therapy, hypnotherapy and kicking my patients’ butts,” Dr. Dani tells the head coach of the fictional New York Hawks. “Beyond that, …

Continue reading USA’s ‘Necessary Roughness’ turns Atlanta into Long Island (and brings along Callie Thorne) »

Jennifer Valdez, Brandon Rudat & Tracy Hutchins and those tatts on the billboard.

This fall, WGCL-TV, the CBS affiliate, will drop its noon newscast but add a 9 a.m. hour to its “Better Mornings” operation.

“Better Mornings” currently airs from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m., followed by two hours of the national show “The Early Show.” “People’s Court” is now the network’s 9 a.m. show, but GCL decided to take that hour local. In recent months, it has been heavily promoting its morning hosts – Brandon Rudat, Tracye Hutchins and Jennifer Valdez – on billboards around town.

“We see the 9am hour as an opportunity to build on the tremendous growth the Better Mornings brand has experienced in the past two years,” said News Director Eric Ludgood in a press release. “This expansion into the mid-mornings takes advantage of a time slot where there is only one other local news option for viewers. The show’s personalities Jennifer Valdez, Tracye Hutchins and Brandon Rudat offer a special …

Continue reading CBS Atlanta (WGCL-TV) this fall to add 9 a.m. ‘Better Mornings’ hour, drops noon newscast »

Continue reading Video: Talking ‘The Voice,’ ‘AGT,’ ‘Single Ladies,’ ‘Teen Wolf’ »