Chris Rude, 680/The Fan’s morning host of the Rude Awakening, is scheduled to return Monday, Feb. 15, after treating a cancerous tumor behind his throat.

The show, which also includes Perry Laurentino and Leo Mazzone, announced his pending return this week. Buck Lanford, a sportscaster from WAGA-TV, has subbed in.

Rude went through chemotherapy and radiation to battle the tumor. He told listeners about the situation last August and eventually left the show in the fall during radiation treatment. He has been recovering ever since. He clearly did not want to come back on the air until his voice was close to 100 percent.

“I’m sure he can’t wait to get back to some normalcy in his life and do what he does best,” said Rude’s boss David Dickey. “I can’t be happier for Chris. I’m grateful he beat it and can resume his life.”

Rude’s agent Norm Schrutt said they talked about Rude returning Feb. 1 but decided to err on the side of caution and pushed it back two weeks.

Schrutt said …

Continue reading Christopher Rude, recovering from cancer, returning to 680/The Fan Feb. 15 »

WXIA-TV revamped its 7 o’clock news program tonight, using a “Daily 11 at 7″ story countdown, similar to E!’s “Daily 10″ show.

“You are tired of the same old boring format for local news so every night at 7 o’clock you can join us for something a little different,” said anchor Brenda Wood, who spent the half hour standing instead of sitting. “It’s also a show about you and what you think. It’s interactive. There will always be a live chat… all on 11alive.com. You’ll be seeing your comments rolling across the bottom of the screen.”

The Top 11 today?

11. John Edwards’ sex tape sitting in Atlanta
10. The 30 Deep gang’s Web site
9. What’s wrong with Mei Lan, the panda who recently moved to China? (She has improved since she arrived.)
8. Video of a plane crash in Gwinnett County.
7. A local tie in the Super Bowl
6. The Super Bowl ads. Chris Sweigart noted that the favorite one on USA Today is the Snickers/Betty White ad.
5. Sound of the day (after a weather break that wasn’t …

Continue reading WXIA-TV revamps its 7 o’clock news show »

The NFL has seen ratings skyrocket this season across the board. And the marketers had to be over-the-top happy with the results from last night’s Super Bowl: a close game to the end and the underdog New Orleans Saints winning the entire game.

Nationally, about 106.5 million viewers on average caught the game. This is the largest audience ever for an American television program, just beating out the 106 million who saw the “M*A*S*H” finale in 1982. Of course, the United States had 75 million fewer people in 1982 but back then, there were far fewer TV choices as well.

Locally, 47.5 percent of all TVs were tuned to the Super Bowl and 67 percent of TVs that were on were focused on the game. That equals nearly 3 million people viewing the game in Atlanta. In comparison, “American Idol” brings in 800,000 to 1 million viewers and UGA football games typically draw 600,000.

Continue reading Three million Atlantans catch the Super Bowl »

VH1 took a rather lengthy break between seasons six and seven, which debuts this evening at 9 p.m.

Part of the problem: it’s hard to get celebrities on the show, period.

“We get our fair shares of polite no’s,” said Jim Ackerman, the executive producer, in an interview Friday. “Some clicks of the phone. But we do get solicited from people as well.”

The cast this time around is not exactly blinding with real star power. (In other words, nobody is showing up at a Grammy, Emmy or Oscar awards show anytime soon.).

The biggest gets were Kevin Federline, Britney Spears‘ ex, and his baby’s mama Shar Jackson (top left), who would prefer to be known as the former star of “Moesha” but is saddled with the K-Fed connection. “Train wreck!” uttered “High School Musical” actress Kaycee Stroh, when the other celebs find out the pair are together on the show. “A pop culture boner!” cracked “Project Runway” season one winner Jay McCarroll.

Ackerman said they nabbed Jackson first. K-Fed was a …

Continue reading A talk with the producer of VH1’s ‘Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp,’ featuring K-Fed, Shar Jackson and… Bobby Brown! »

On the surface, Fox’s latest drama “Past Life” resembles plenty of other crime procedurals.

Cumming native Kelli Giddish plays a psychologist ; Nicholas Bishop is a former cop. They’re opposites.  She’s  smart, a bit impulsive. He’s a skeptic, haunted by his past. They solve crimes while throwing bon mots at each other. Toss in a bit of romantic tension that won’t be addressed for a long time.

But there’s a twist: they work  for an organization specializing in “past life regression.” People see visions from their past lives that can be used to decipher old crimes. With use of flashbacks, “Past Life” is like “Cold Case” with paranormal activity thrown in.

The show’s pilot, seen tonight (Tuesday, 2/9) at 9:01 p.m., was shot in Baltimore, but the next six episodes were produced here in metro Atlanta. “Past Life” uses parts of  downtown Atlanta (especially the Fairlie-Poplar area) to sub in for New York City, where headquarters is based.

Continue reading Fox’s ‘Past Life,’ shot in Atlanta and starring Cumming native Kelli Giddish, debuts Tuesday on Fox »

Sports fans still recovering from last night’s thrilling Super Bowl will have plenty of Winter Olympics to absorb starting Friday on NBC in Vancouver.

But if that bores you, CBS Thursday is bringing its second “all star’ edition of “Survivor,” which is now in its 20 season. Many of the contestants are “Survivor” addicts, coming back for their third trip. A few have already won $1 million. And if you loved Russell from season 19, he’s back (although none of the other 19 know who the heck he is.) And if that isn’t your cup of reality tea, “The Amazing Race” is back Sunday – including the winner of “Big Brother” last year. Yes, CBS is just as shameless as any other network when it comes to cross promotion.

Plus, Atlanta connections are scattered all over the tube this week, from “Celebrity Fit Club” on VH1 Monday (Bobby Brown) to CBS’s “Undercover Boss” (Hooters) on Sunday. Plus, “Past Life” debuts on Fox Tuesday, a show that was shot in Atlanta.

MONDAY
“House” 8 p.m. Fox — An …

Continue reading TV best bets with all-star ‘Survivor,’ ‘Amazing Race,’ Winter Olympics, ‘Ruby’ »

TV producer Bardia Shah-Rais

Football fans are flocking to the NFL this season. TV ratings haven’t been this good in two decades. The NFC championship game drew 57.9 million viewers, the second largest ever for a title game.

Whatever the reasons (the economy, high-definition TVs, appealing teams), Atlanta-based TruTV has to be thrilled about the timing of its new show “NFL Full Contact,” a six-episode behind-the-scenes look at how the football league operates off the gridiron. It debuts Monday at 10 p.m., riding off the Super Bowl the night before.

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TruTV changed gears two years ago by dropping its Court TV moniker and reducing its focus on crime. Instead, it’s been building its young male viewership with shows such as “Operation Repo,” “Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura” and “Las Vegas Jail House.”

“Full Contact,” which …

Continue reading TruTV tackles NFL with behind-the-scenes reality show ‘Full Contact’ »

Heidi Klum delivered the requisite “real woman” challenge. The guest models were impacted by heart disease, many with the scars-turned-badge-of-honor to prove it. Designers had to create evening wear, with the winner heading to Campbell’s Red Dress Awards at Fashion Week.

The workroom instantly transformed into an impromptu support, with touching stories of bravery and emotional tears of empathy (water works were practically a requirement).

As a result, this challenge was pretty straight-forward. Even Anthony was low-key – and he avoided the bottom three this week. Through tear-filled confessions, we found out the current Atlanta resident moved here because his mom had had heart surgery. He jokingly told his model that they had to pull it together. “I don’t like tears so clean ‘em up.”

While it wasn’t the “fashion emergency of Chernobyl proportions” one designer concluded, many of the designs were still pretty prosaic because most were strapless gowns of some sort.

TOP …

Continue reading Project Runway Season 7, Episode 4: Seeing red »

TNT parent company Time Warner, in its fourth quarter report, disclosed that it had to write down a whopping $104 million on its purchase of the repeat rights to former CBS drama “Without a Trace,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

In 2003, Atlanta-based TNT purchased each episode for $1.4 million but clearly, the show did not bring in the ratings or revenues they thought it would. TNT had gambled a bit, hoping “Without a Trace” would become a keeper along the lines of “Law & Order” or “CSI.” While it was a solid hit for CBS, it skewed a bit old and never quite became the type of show folks liked to watch enough in repeats.

The crime procedural starred Anthony LaPaglia and focused on finding missing people.

CBS axed “Without a Trace” last season despite passable ratings. The network had the flexibility given that it was the No. 1 network in terms of total viewers. “Cold Case” was also on the chopping block but survived.

TNT is not currently airing “Without a Trace.” …

Continue reading L.A. Times: Atlanta’s TNT loses $104 million buying repeat rights to ‘Without a Trace’ »

Atlanta hip-hop star Chris Bridges, best known as Ludacris, is going to open tonight for the Black Eyed Peas at Philips Arena to open the tour, riding on his current No. 1 urban single “How Low.” His next album “Battle of the Sexes” comes out next month.

He’s also hosting and executive producing  an MTV2 show called “Sprite Step Off.” University step teams compete for two $100,000 scholarships, with the finale on Feb. 20 here in Atlanta. The show debuted last Sunday. (The publicist wanted me to note that this is the biggest step competition EVER.)

“I wanted people to check out the stepping culture,” he said by phone earlier this week. Stepping is popular among mostly black (though not exclusively so)  sororities and fraternities. Ninety teams competed. MTV2 followed three frats and three sororities. “I wanted them to see the creative process and the history behind it. You also get to see the camaraderie. And there’s an element of community service. I’m happy to be part of …

Continue reading Ludacris hosts MTV2 show about step teams »