Ricardo Montalbán
Welcome to Fantasy Island — the reality version.
Mark Burnett and Sony are teaming up to turn the classic series into a reality show, in which contestants will compete to become a real-life Mr. or Ms. Roarke, Variety reports.
The ABC original, which aired from 1978 to '84, featured Mr. Roarke — played by the late Ricardo Montalban — in his iconic white suit, who welcomed guests to his private island and made ...
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ABC has ordered a pilot for Apprentice creator Mark Burnett's The Shark Tank. The new series is not another Damien Hirst art project, as the title may suggest, but a reality series in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to moguls (aka the "Sharks") in the hopes of securing some investment capital, the Reporter says.Burnett's version of the series is its second adaption from the Japanese series, Dragon's Den. The U.K. has its own version, which aired its sixth season this summer.Can another Burnett-spawned series stay afloat? — Anna Dimond
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Mark Burnett by Mark Von Holden/WireImage.com
So you wanna teach the world to sing? How well can you come up with your own original commercial jingle or TV theme?That'll be the test in a new reality show expected to air on CBS this summer. Survivor czar Mark Burnett is behind the project where contestants will compose and then perform their own jingles before a panel of judges.Viewers will ultimately select the best jingle, which will be used in an upcoming TV commercial. — J.R. Whalen
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Survivor: Micronesia by Monty Brinton/CBS
Survivor could be coming to a stage near you. In a new deal, AEG Live will be bringing some of creator Mark Burnett's productions for TV to arena stages, potentially adapting anything from The Donald's Apprentice proclamations to island-style challenges.AEG has already brought the likes of Hannah Montana, American Idol and other shows to the stage, so the Burnett brand is a smart next move. For his part, the reality godfather said, "We have always believed that the next logical stage of development for many of our most popular television reality programs would be live-action events."I'm still trying to picture how rope-swinging challenges, firings and other types of "reality" events will go down on the stage (although the Roman gladiators come to mind) — any ideas? No specific shows have been decided on for the arena versions, says the Reporter, leaving the playing field wide open to interpretation. — Anna Dimond
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Donald Trump by Virginia Sherwood/NBC Photo
Advertisers are still paying integration fees as high as the $2 million per episode to be featured on The Apprentice, but this time around — with celebrities competing in tasks — Donald Trump and Mark Burnett for the first time are cutting NBC in on that haul. "The fact that Burnett is sharing the revenue with NBC is self-explanatory," a major media buyer tells the Reporter. "The show is not what it was. When The Apprentice was a top-10 show, Burnett held all the cards."Task sponsors for the upcoming season include Kodak, Crocs, Dial Yogurt Body Wash (tasty!), Quiznos, QVC, Nederlander, Pedigree and Serta by Vera Wang.
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Russell Crowe by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com
Comcast's Versus network has bought South Sydney Story, a docuseries detailing Russell Crowe's role as owner of an Aussie pro rugby team, says Variety. The series will air Wednesday nights over five weeks in October and November.... CBS has ordered eight episodes of Jingles, a reality competition from (guess who) Mark Burnett, in which contestants conjure up catchy tunes touting real-life products.... NBC has granted a 13-episode order to Robinson Crusoe, a drama series based on the Daniel Defoe novel and to premiere as early as fall 2008.
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Mark Burnett has set up at NBC My Dad is Better than Your Dad, a game show in which fathers face off in stunt-driven challenges, Variety reports.... FX has given Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy a series commitment for Queen B, a workplace drama centered on a female CEO who grooms a young girl in her ruthless image.... Homicide's Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson are reteaming for the NBC pilot The Philanthropist, a series that sound a bit like The Equalizer.... After a fierce bidding war, ABC has ordered six episodes of Section 8, a drama penned by X-Men 3's Zak Penn and described as a blend of House, X-Men and The X-Files. OK.... ABC is teaming with hip-hop producer Pharrell Williams and filmmaker McG on Limelight, a drama set at a performing arts-school.
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Mark Burnett by Maury Phillips/WireImage.com
Reality guru Mark Burnett has sold to NBC a midseason show called Amne$ia, in which contestants are quizzed on key events from their lives, TV Week reports. For example: "Do you remember producing a show called On the Lot?".... The Hollywood Reporter reports that ABC Family has greenlit a pair of comedy pilots: Happy Campers, chronicling a family's cross-country road trip, and Roomies, about a group of friends living together. (Apparently the title Friends was taken.).... CBS has inked a two-year, seven-figure deal with Hugh Jackman's production company, which will develop a variety of projects, from scripted comedies and dramas to reality skeins. Related: Backstage Shake-up at Viva Laughlin
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Question: I realize that Pirate Master was not the greatest show in the world, but I liked it, and, according to the message boards, so did other people. Personalities were coming out, twists were being added, and there were only five episodes left when CBS decided to pull it. Are they really generating more money by airing repeats of 48 Hours? They already invested the time and money in filming, editing, etc, so why pull it? The announcement included a line about the final shows being streamed on the website at 3 in the morning. Oh gee, thanks, CBS, I'm so freakin' grateful. The networks wonder why people are turning to cable channels: Well, one answer is the cablers' loyalty to their viewers. CBS doesn't have that much to offer as it is, so maybe it should quit ticking off its viewers.
Answer: In another summer, I'd probably agree. But this summer, things are so competitive and so crowded on network and cable that I'm not really surprised when a network pulls a flop off the air, even
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Pirate Master courtesy CBS
CBS has pulled Mark Burnett's Pirate Master from its broadcast lineup effective immediately, replacing it for the time being with installments of 48 Hours Mystery. The final five unaired episodes of the reality competition will be streamed at CBS.com and the CBS Audience Network (whatever that is), with new installments posted every Tuesday.That's two newbies — Pirate Master and On the Lot — that have come and flailed this summer. Is the reality-competition genre dying? Should the nets simply stick with the tried-and-true Survivors, Idols and Dancing shows? Discuss.
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