January 2009

Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns TBS, Wednesdays beginning Jan. 7 David Mann is still dealing with that old rumor that he is dead, but for a guy supposed to be 6 feet under, he’s having a pretty active career. Mann, who plays the fashion-challenged character Leroy Brown, often appears in Tyler Perry’s films, plays, and as an occasional guest on the series Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. Fans who have often asked why they don’t see more of him on TV will get their wish as he takes the starring role in the new Perry project Meet the Browns. In […]

FOX, Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning Jan. 13 and 14 New judge Kara DioGuardi is sure to shake up the ratings stalwart’s solid but sagging formula. She brings with her a stellar career as a songwriter and producer for the likes of Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson, along with a headstrong reputation. So bring it on, Simon! Confident as she is, DioGuardi admits there has been a learning curve in her new, unexpected role. “I’m the new kid on the block,” she says. “I’m trying to learn my way and figure out where exactly I’m going to be in […]

FOX, season premiere Jan. 11, airs Mondays beginning Jan. 12 The 2007 writers strike may be best remembered by 24 fans for causing them to miss an entire day in the life of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), America’s most popular counterterrorism agent. Just to keep fans from forgetting Jack, FOX aired the stand-alone film 24: Redemption in November. It whet fans’ appetites for the upcoming series, revealed what Jack’s been up to in the last few years and got him from his refuge in Africa back to the U.S. As Day 7 begins, he’s being grilled by a government panel […]

ABC, Mondays Beginning Jan. 5 What do you get when you combine the producing talents of Tyra Banks (America’s Next Top Model), Ashton Kutcher (Punk’d) and Denise Cramsey (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition)? A can’t-turn-away reality series with some drop-dead gorgeous contestants, a major Joe Schmo Show-type of reveal and a character study on human behavior. When producers for True Beauty set out to find America’s Most Beautiful Person, there was no shortage of ego — over 1,000 applicants from across the nation applied to the casting call. They reduced the list to just 10 — six women and four men […]

The Bachelor ABC, Mondays Beginning Jan. 5 Or as millions of fans prefer to call the show’s 13th outing, The Bachelor: Revenge Is Suh-weet! Because we TB faithful were crushed when Bachelor-No.-12-reject-turned-Bachelorette-No.-4 DeAnna Pappas jilted sweet single daddy Jason Mesnick to offer her heart — and her ring finger — to floppy-coifed snowboarder Jesse Csincsak. Pappas then dumped Csincsak a few months later to court an extra 15 minutes of fame cohosting Season 2 of Lifetime’s (no giggling, now) Get Married. Which — hello, karma! — debuts the same night Mr. Mesnick begins doling out the roses to potential Mrs. […]

Dave Mordal has done a lot of things in his life. He’s been a Marine, a heavy-equipment operator and a standup comic, appearing for two seasons on Last Comic Standing. But an alligator wrestler? “It was hard,” he says of the experience. “I have a morbid fear of alligators.” And no, he says, he doesn’t feel any less terrified after getting up close and personal with one while filming an episode of Wreckreation Nation, airing Tuesdays beginning Jan. 6 on Discovery Channel. What makes this show so delightful are the dedicated competitors and Mordal’s enthusiastic participation in all the events, […]