TV News Page 584

Disney Channel has made some announcements regarding its high-rated shows, renewing both "Hannah Montana" and "Sonny with a Chance". The former, which is starring Miley Cyrus, is up for a fourth season while the latter, which is the starring vehicle for Demi Lovato, will enter the second season.

To keep things fresh, producers of "Hannah" will make several necessary changes. "Miley and the producers have proposed a change of setting for Season Four that will provide the catalyst for wonderful new characters and further expand the storytelling opportunities," the network said in a statement Monday, June 1.

On Monday, June 1, NBC will premiere the second season of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" but two contestants have shown some sign of weakness. Newlyweds Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt reportedly have walked out of the reality show twice although filming only began two days.

From model Janice Dickinson to former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich, the show put high profile personalities in Costa Rican jungle for a whole month without the privileges that they get as celebrities. Speidi apparently considered it too much too handle, taking off their mics twice before coming back for the sake of their charities.

The woman who becomes a celebrity through her eight babies, Nadya Suleman, has inked a deal with British production company Eyeworks to develop a reality series. "I'm really excited about moving forward with this," Nadya, who is also known as Octomom, told People.

Involved in the creative direction herself, Nadya said that her show won't be like TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8" where parents Jon and Kate Gosselin keep up with the daily life surrounded by twin girls and sixtuplets. "She's been watching them a bit lately and thinks it's boring," said her attorney Jeff Czech.

Next week on "Harper's Island", Madison goes missing as the guests are about to leave the island. The killer kidnaps the little girl and has threatened to kill her if anyone leaves the island. What started off as friends, each begins to show selfishness when it comes to rescuing their own life.

Also seen in the preview, the Sheriff is hurt by one of the traps in the woods. Called "Gurgle", the episode will air on Saturday, June 6. Each title represents how someone dies in the episode, thus this time it probably has something to do with water.

Susan Boyle spared a minute to talk about her loss on "Britain's Got Talent" on Saturday, May 30 night. In a video interview a day after the final, the 47-year-old said with a laugh that she was "feeling good" despite the unexpected result. Under the layer, Susan admitted that there were problems before the final, one of them was having a cold. But she told herself to "better pick it up and keep going. ...and after that it just got better."

On the amount of pressure that she felt during the final, Susan compared it to the audition in Glasgow where there were only 4,000 people and the fact that it was shot in the studio. "The Sunday night was entirely different and the pressure was really on me. But you tend to ignore that other people are watching and just concentrate on what's happening," she said.

In a shocking twist, Susan Boyle, whose videos on YouTube had received million of hits, lost to a dance troupe named Diversity on "Britain's Got Talent" after the Saturday, May 30 final. The voting ballot put Susan in the runner-up position, ahead of saxophonist Julian Smith who finished third.

Despite the news circulating that Susan almost quit the show due to the amount of pressure put on her, she delivered a reprise of "I Dreamed a Dream". Judge Piers Morgan, in particular, was very vocal about his support of her, saying "I'm not supposed to favor anyone, I should be impartial, but you know what, forget it. That was the greatest performance I've seen in Britain's Got Talent history. You should win this competition. I loved it!"

Stephanie Pratt demanded an apology from Paris Hilton who took a jab at "The Hills". During her appearance at FiFi Awards earlier this week, Paris said that her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt would not be back on the show, saying "The show is, like, so lame and fake. He doesn't even want to be a part of it."

Stephanie, who is one of the regulars in "Hills", thought that it was a mean statement considering that Paris also stars in a number of reality series. "Doug's not even on the show, so I don't even understand that," Stephanie said. "And in real life he is friends with those boys, so it's not fake. I would never call her show dumb, so I think she should apologize."

On top of the chatter about her quitting "Britain's Got Talent", Susan Boyle has taken the advice from the show's judge Piers Morgan to concentrate on her upcoming performance. In a statement released via Daily Mail, the 47-year-old aspiring singer said, "I want nothing more than to stay and sing in the Britain's Got Talent final. I've spent weeks rehearsing."

Boyle came under pressure this week due to the consequences from being famous. Piers told reporters on Wednesday, May 27 that Susan has "been in tears repeatedly" and was "packing her bags." But recovering from her meltdown, Susan vowed to go back to the stage and fight for her chance. "It's all I've been thinking about. I'm not going to throw away my big chance now," she continued.

Friday, May 29 marked the end of Jay Leno's 17-year run as the host of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". On his final episode, Leno kicked it off by thanking all the people "who made it possible", and that include the personalities who have provided him with materials to talk about such as Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton, and Michael Jackson.

Upon entering the stage, Leno was welcomed with a long-standing ovation. Then he made some jokes related to his departure from the show, as well as the move to 10 P.M. slot. "I'm going to be going to a secluded spot where no one can find me - NBC prime time," Leno said. "It's a gamble. I'm betting NBC will still be around in three months, but that's not a given." He added that he had cleaned out his office, and found O.J. Simpson's knife. "I had it the whole time!" he joked.

NBC had extended the life of "Chuck" for at least one more season but the network decided to save it for midseason 2010. To bridge the gap and keep people excited about the show, creator and executive producer of the comedy series, Chris Fedak, said that they are trying to create a webseries.

"We're talking to NBC now about what is going to be the super-clever idea to kind of bridge that time," Fedak told Sci Fi Wire. "It is going to be something on the Internet to keep fan awareness alive and remind people about the show."

Cashing in on their spouses' fame, Tameka Cottle aka Tiny and Antonia Carter aka Toya have signed a deal with BET for its new reality show, "Tiny & Toya". The 30-minute episode will premiere on June 30 at 10 P.M., with a preview being given on June 28 after BET Awards.

Tiny is the long-time partner of rapper T.I. who bears his two sons and one still-born daughter. Toya meanwhile, is the ex-wife of Lil Wayne who mothers the rapper's eldest offspring, Reginae Carter. The show will follow these two women, who happen to be best friends, in defining their purpose and building brighter future for themselves outside the shadow of their men.

A new scandal is hitting "Jon & Kate Plus 8" as legal complaint has been filed against the hit reality TV series, alleging it may violate child labor laws. A statement of confirmation was issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor on Friday, May 29 that an investigation is underway to determine if the TLC show is proven violating the law or not.

"We're not saying that they are not complying with child labor laws. We're investigating a complaint," Troy Thompson of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor explained. "We're not saying that there was or was not a violation, just that we're conducting an investigation."

"Mad Men" has been given a 3rd season order but the execs are looking for a way to increase their profit now that it has garnered reviews and ratings. AMC takes a step toward anticipating the economy crisis by trimming the lauded Emmy Award-winning series, taking two minutes off each episode to give room for ads.

The cable network, according to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, has told Lionsgate TV to bring a shorter version of the series to the table so that it can add commercial break each hour. While it may appear as a small matter, Finke pointed out that it's still "galling given how well the show has done, how carefully it's put together, and how much money it's already making AMC and parent company Cablevision."

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has invited a string of celebrities to take part in its primetime specials. "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" will be aired as half-hours after the basketball finals starting June 4 at 8 P.M. ET/PT. Brought in to up the ante are Will Ferrell, Denzel Washington, Eminem and more.

These celebrities will engage in interviews with host Jimmy Kimmel while signature comedy pieces are played throughout the special. Eminem in particular will be in a comedy segment with Jimmy who poses as the rapper's next prodigy.

The new season of "Big Brother" will arrive on Thursday, July 9 at 8 P.M. ET/PT, CBS has announced. Following the premiere, the reality show will air thrice weekly, taking over the Sunday nights at 8 P.M. starting July 12 and the Tuesday nights at 9 P.M. beginning July 14. As usual, the Thursday nights will serve as the eviction episode which is aired live.

The 11th cycle will once again unite a group of strangers under one roof, being watched through camera 24/7. Julie Chen will continue serving as the host although she is 6 months pregnant. "Despite what you read in the paper, I'm not taking maternity leave from Big Brother," Chen said in April.