Three shows shot in metro Atlanta are coming back this summer: VH1’s “Single Ladies” with a new leading lady on Monday, followed by Lifetime’s “Drop Dead Diva” and MTV’s “Teen Wolf” after the MTV Movie Awards Sunday night.

Atlanta’s Vern Yip, the longest-running member of “HGTV Design Star,” will return as well on Tuesday night.

And expect lots of death and pettiness during History’s most ambitious scripted effort to date, “Hatfields & McCoys,” which will air over three nights starting Monday.

The CW introduces two new summer shows while ABC closes shop on “Cougar Town,” which moves to TBS early next year.

And there are a raft of new reality shows that sound like old ones revolving around collectibles (”Final Offer” on Discovery), hairstyling (”L.A. Hair” on WE) and scruffy men (”Mountain Men” on History).

MONDAY

“The Bachelorette” 8 p.m. ABC — Emily and one of the bachelors get serenaded by Georgia’s own Luke Bryan.
“Cake Boss” 9 p.m. TLC (fifth season debut) — …

Continue reading TV best bets with returns of ‘Single Ladies,’ ‘Teen Wolf,’ ‘Drop Dead Diva,’ ‘HGTV Design Star’ »

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The producers of Atlanta-based “Single Ladies” were clearly caught off guard when their biggest star Stacey Dash quit after just one season. It was VH1’s first big scripted show and it had done well, averaging about 2 million viewers a week, resulting in a quick renewal.

Dash’s character Val had a major cliffhanger of a plotline involving her current squeeze, who caught her sleeping with her ex.

Dash had no plans to come back to tie up loose ends on that story.

So the second season starts a couple of weeks later. Humiliated by the mess she created, Val had left the country and the girls find out she is not coming back in the first episode I screened. The creator Stacy Littlejohn recognized that this could all be a bit of a stretch. She hopes the viewers will give the new girl Raquel, played by …

Continue reading VH1 brings back ‘Single Ladies’ with Denise Vasi instead of Stacey Dash »

AMERICAN IDOL: Finalist Phillip Phillps and special guest John Fogerty perform during the season 11 AMERICAN IDOL GRAND FINALE at the Nokia Theatre on Weds. May 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. CR: Michael Becker/FOX

Phillip Phillips is his own man. That is what’s admirable about him and could also give his future record label and managers down the road headaches.

Already, he created a minor ruckus, saying his original coronation song “Home” is not at all the type of song he plans to sing down the road, almost disavowing it, despite the fact he got great feedback from the audience. In fact, it could end up being a radio hit.

I asked him during today’s phone press conference how that song even came in front of him.

“They just threw that song out there,” he told me. “They felt it was the right fit for me. I wanted to do one of my own songs I’ve written. But we had such a short time and couldn’t really do that recording wise. It’s a good song but it’s not something I’d …

Continue reading Phillip Phillips post-win interview, photos from the finale »

With “American Idol,” “The Voice” and “Dancing With the Stars” out of the way, we have three more competition shows in our midst.

Already, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” is under way and tonight, “So You Think You Can Dance” on Fox and the new “Duets” debuts tonight.

Kelly Clarkson and “Duets” creator Robert Deaton talked to the press yesterday.

Clarkson was especially gabby.

Deaton, who had produced the CMA Awards, was approached by ABC to do a music show last fall. They decided early on they needed big stars and wanted them actively involved. To do so, they came up with “Duets.”

The convinced Clarkson, Lionel Richie (replaced at the last second by John Legend), Sugarland lead singer and local Jennifer Nettles and R&B star Robin Thicke to sign on. The four singers scoured the country for talent and each found two to work with. The winner gets a recording contract.

I was the first journalist on the line so I got to ask the open-ended, “How did this come about and why did …

Continue reading Kelly Clarkson talks about ‘Duets’ debuting on ABC May 24 »

AMERICAN IDOL: The Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips performs his victory song during the sason 11 AMERICAN IDOL GRAND FINALE at the Nokia Theatre on Weds. May 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. CR: Michael Becker/FOX

Sure, the “Idol” blog is dead. (Long live the “Idol” blog!)

But the “Idol” blog community migrated over here for season 11 and I am forever grateful.  Since season four, Carrie Underwood’s year, I’ve been writing daily screeds about this show. Eight seasons, 3,000-plus entries and more than 200,000 comments later, we arrive here. A few of you have been around for much of that time and still wonder how Taylor Hicks won season five. Others arrived more recently.

I apologize if I miss a few names but here are folks that I can’t help but give a shout out to:

First and foremost, the official moderator of this blog Deirdre held fort again for no pay, just glory and massive ego gratification. She kept the fly-by nasties at bay, welcomed the newbies and expressed her …

Continue reading My annual thank you to the ‘Idol’ blog regulars »

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AMERICAN IDOL: Host Ryan Seacrest introduces the Finalists Phillip Phillps and Jessica Sanchez make their entrance for the season 11 AMERICAN IDOL GRAND FINALE at the Nokia Theatre on Weds. May 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. CR: Michael Becker/FOX

He was a favorite to win early on.

Favorites like that on this show typically lose. (Danny Gokey anyone?)

But Leesburg’s Phillip Phillips bucked strong competitors and painful kidney stones to take home the crown.

He also became the first winner with Georgia ties after 11 seasons. The state has gotten close before with Justin Guarini (season one), Diana Degarmo (season two), Bo Bice (season four) and Lauren Alaina (season 10.)

And speaking of DeGarmo, her beau Ace Young (season 5) proposed to her on air on the stage. Was she caught offguard? Maybe. Sure beats proposing at a baseball stadium, eh? Anyway, this is the first …

Continue reading Who won ‘American Idol’ season 11? »

As usual, expect lots of big names tonight and a Mantasia-Fantasia combo. No Miley Cyrus, though, for Hollie. But John Fogerty will join Phil Phillips! Note the show will not announce a winner until AFTER 10 p.m. DVRs are set for 10:07 p.m.

No. 1 album this week? Adam Lambert’s “Trespassing”! He sold 77,000 copies. Yesterday featured releases by Kris Allen and Haley Reinhart, certainly times to play off the “Idol” finale. Read a solid review of Haley’s album in the New York Times.

Since the performance show aired on a Tuesday night (to accommodate the end of the broadcast season tonight), ratings were down 14 percent from last week. The result : just 14.9 million viewers and a 4.4 18-49 rating. A year ago, it drew 20.6 million and a 6.4 rating. Season to date, “Idol” has lost about 23% of its total viewers and 28% of its 18-to-49 year olds vs. a year ago.

Tonight is our final live blog of the year. Thank you in advance for helping make this year a big success. Yes, even you, …

Continue reading ‘American Idol’ live blogging finale results show »

CREDIT: AP

In mid-May, CNN had its lowest-rated ratings week in primetime in 20 years.

An average of 395,000 viewers watched Piers Morgan and Anderson Cooper last week.  Just think: Kim Zolciak’s reality show attracted more than triple that number last Thursday.

As the knowledgeable Bill Carter of the New York Times noted: “CNN has seen its competitive position erode for several years without instituting significant changes in its overall approach. The network’s management has kept to its course of emphasizing news coverage and not the views of its prime-time personalities.”

According to the Huffington Post, CNN’s all-day numbers were the third worst since 1997.  And its April full month ratings were its worst in a decade. May doesn’t appear to be going any better.

CNN relies heavily on breaking news and there was very little in the way of big news last week.  A big natural disaster or O.J. Simpson-style  ruckus would help.

TVNewser just wrote an extensive analytical …

Continue reading CNN prime-time ratings hit a 20-year low »

Kim Zolciak, 34, and her hubsand Kroy Biermann, 26, at a recent screening of "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which was shot in Atlanta. Kim is expecting her fourth child, her second with Kroy. CREDIT: AP

An ATV went up in smoke and flames at the home of  “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Kim Zolciak early this morning in Roswell, TMZ reported.

Fortunately, the Roswell Fire Department got there in time to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to the rest of the home. I left a message with the Roswell Fire Department spokesman and am awaiting a response to get any more details.

Earlier today, Kim Tweeted:

Shout out to Roswell Fire Dept for their quick response this morning! God is always on my side! ‪#grateful

Glad to know God is always on Kim’s side, eh?

Here are links to what her home look like. She and her husband Kroy Biermann of the Falcons had been renting the home, which was on sale for more than $3.2 million, but she said during the reunion …

Continue reading TMZ: Kim Zolciak’s garage fire engulfs an ATV »

Bo Bice had his fourth child, his first daughter, Merrin Elizabeth Joy Bice, in April.

Bo Bice, season four “Idol” runner up, last fall realized his life wasn’t in order. Blame it on the alcohol.

On September 25, he had his last drink and entered rehab. He said in an interview last week that he has remained sober ever since.

Under the influence (Heineken was the standard though he did love whiskey),  “I tend to sometimes act like an idiot,” he said.  At age 36 at the time, he said it was time for him to grow up.

“Being a dad and a husband and trying to keep alive in the music business is enough of a challenge,” he said. “I didn’t need to be drunk.”

“I don’t think I was doing the best I could do with my career or my music,” he added. “Those things start to suffer. Or family starts to suffer. I wasn’t living up to my full potential.”

Bice said there was no official intervention. “You have to come to the realization yourself,” he said. “There were no thunder bolts from …

Continue reading Season four ‘Idol’ runner-up Bo Bice, now in Cumming, grapples with alcoholism. And who will be on the finale tonight? »