Have you watched every episode of “E! True Hollywood Story?”
Do you often find yourself saying, “Well geez, I’ve gone through endless adversity and the roller coaster ride of fame and fortune absent only the family and fortune?”
E! Entertainment Television is looking to give quality time to normal people with the special “Are You An E! True Hollywood Story?”
The celebrity-driven cable network is taking applications on its Web site from regular viewers who believe that they’ve triumphed over tragedy or overcome past problems or challenged intolerance or touched people’s hearts. Applications will be accepted through Monday, Sept. 20 and the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Drew Barrymore and Anna Nicole Smith need not apply. They’ve had their chances.
The “E! True Hollywood Story” franchise launched in 1996 and the format of interviews, photos, soppy music and endless embarrassing b-roll footage has become the template for much of the network’s subsequent programming.
“Are You An E! True Hollywood Story?” will air as a two-part special. The first hour will offer mini-bios of five finalists, while the second hour will be a traditional “E! True Hollywood Story” paying tribute to the winner.
It’s like getting your allotted 15 minutes of fame and stretching it to a full 60.
Starting over starts over in LA
Fans of the syndicated “Starting Over” like to think of the series as “The Swan” without all the superficial surgery. The show is going to get an extreme makeover before premiering its second season on Sept. 13.
The biggest change is that the NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution offering has left its Chicago digs to move into a large Spanish-style home in the hills overlooking Los Angeles. Even if the location has changed, though, the show’s focus is still on women who are looking to make major changes in their lives and don’t mind if the cameras are rolling when it happens.
“Starting Over” had a somewhat contentious relationship with its Chicago home. Bunim-Murray received a number of complaints from residents of the upscale Gold Coast neighborhood, who argued that the show’s shoot violated zoning restrictions. Several residents went so far as the suggest that the show was bringing “unsavory characters” into their neighborhood.
“The move to Los Angeles is one way that we’re keeping “Starting Over’ fresh for the daytime audience,” says Jon Murray, of Bunim-Murray Productions, one of the executive producers on the show. “Both the audience and our new cast will enjoy our amazing new house and the virtually unlimited opportunities available in this city.”
The cast of the second season will feature five new women and two returning cast members, including Josie, who entered the Chicago house eight months pregnant and gave birth at the end of the first season.
The show has also added best-selling author Iyanla Vanzant as a life coach for the women, joining Rhonda Britten. Dr. Stan J. Katz will take over as consulting psychologist.
Walsh enters NBC’s men’s room
Sitcom veteran Kate Walsh is the latest addition to the cast of NBC’s midseason comedy “The Men’s Room,” playing one of the female leads in the testosterone-heavy series.
Walsh’s addition continues the casting shakeup for the comedy since its original pilot. Brian Skala (“Just Deal”) has already replaced Eric Lively in the series, which will compete with comedies “Crazy for You,” the American version of “The Office” and possibly the culture clash offering “Nearly Nirvana” for a midseason slot in NBC’s schedule.
The show stars Scott Cohen (“Gilmore Girls”), John Cho (“Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”) and Skala as three very different men who meet up each week at work to try to make sense of their lives.
Walsh plays one of the women who makes life so confusing for the men.
The actress has had recurring roles on a number of shows including “The Mind of the Married Man,” “The Fugitive,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “Karen Sisco.” Her most recent big screen credit was in the Diane Lane romance “Under the Tuscan Sun.”
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