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12 Sims players will compete for $100,000 on a TBS game show
'The Sims Spark'd' will premiere on July 17th.
Netflix is adapting edgy social media reality TV show 'The Circle'
Social media-inspired reality TV show The Circle is coming to Netflix. First launched in the UK in September, the unscripted show sees eight people kept in isolation, only able to communicate with one another through The Circle, a faux-social media platform. A popularity contest ensues, and one by one the players are "blocked" by the group, with the last person standing winning a hefty cash prize.
You can’t make a reality game show out of social media
Technology's ubiquity has become a real problem for the entertainment industry because life is easier now. There's a reason that horror films these days always seem to feature a shot of someone discovering they're in a signal blackspot. Shows like Sherlock have found novel ways to incorporate technology into their narratives, but clearly, it's still a bit of a fudge. It's even worse in the world of reality TV, which often relies on throwing people into hostile situations and filming the results. Would-be victims can cope with the faux-isolation or trauma much easier if you're packing the sum total of human knowledge in your back pocket. It explains why so many big reality shows, like Jersey Shore, Big Brother and The Amazing Race ban the use of phones.
Twitch launches a live-streaming reality show
The reality TV genre has pretty much got all bases covered -- there's even a TV show featuring people... watching TV -- but now live-gaming is making its way into the fold with Stream On, by Twitch Studios. The brand's first-ever game show features creators who have made it as far as Twitch's Partnership program but still need a boost to make streaming a full-time career. The show pits them against one another Hunger Games-style in a series of challenges, for the grand prize of $5,000 a month for a year.
Facebook nabs reality show with NFL star Marshawn Lynch
Facebook is determined to make its Watch section a go-to place for video, and that means spending big bucks for original shows. Time Warner's Bleacher Report tells Reuters that Facebook is spending "millions of dollars" to secure No Script, a reality TV show that revolves around Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch. The show will launch later in September, with eight short (10 to 15 minutes) episodes covering Lynch's "antics" -- the first has him learning to drive a race car until he ruins the tires.
Apple’s ‘Planet of the Apps': lousy TV, good for developers
Ashley D'Arcy always dreamed of being on a reality TV show. But her job as a creative director for an app doesn't frequently put her in front of a camera. D'Arcy's dream was realized, however, when she and dozens of other app makers were thrown into the spotlight on Apple's first original TV series, Planet of the Apps (POTA). It's been widely (and accurately) described as a cross between Shark Tank and The Voice, and it's a tepid take on the high-stakes world of... app funding.
Facebook is making a reality show with a 'Ninja Warrior' producer
Facebook has added a second show to its original TV programming lineup. The reality competition series Last State Standing has been greenlit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Eddy Cue reveals 'Planet of the Apps' reality show details
Last fall we heard many of the details of the reality TV show that's coming to Apple Music, but now we've actually seen a bit of it. During an onstage interview at Code Conference, Apple exec Eddy Cue and co-producer Ben Silverman revealed a trailer for the show. As promised, Planet of the Apps will be very familiar to anyone who has seen Shark Tank, with entrepreneurs giving presentations and even literal elevator pitches to four potential backers (Will.i.Am, Gary Vaynerchuk, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Alba), before it turns into The Voice, with each judge coaxing their picks along the path to success and riches.
Snapchat is getting a reality TV show from A+E
The running theme for Snapchat this year? It wants to be seen as more than an ephemeral messaging service. One way it can accomplish that is by bringing on more original content, like with its exclusive Planet Earth II deal. Now Snapchat is planning to get an original reality TV series by partnering with A+E Networks, Techrunch reports. The show is called Second Chance, and it'll involve "emotional exes" getting together to figure out why their relationships fell apart. If that sounds entertaining to you, congrats! You're part of the demographic Snap is desperate to reach ahead of its IPO this year.
'Halo 5' is getting an eSports reality TV show
Microsoft really wants to make a big deal out of competitive Halo 5 gaming, and it's taking an unusual route to get there. The company's 343 Industries and Electronic Sports League have reached a deal with Pilgrim Media Group to create an eSports-focused reality TV series. Details of what it involves are scarce, but it will bring the "intensity and extreme competition" of Halo 5 to the TV, whatever that might mean. There's no mention of a planned air date or even distributors, so it's unclear when you'll have a chance to watch. It's safe to say that Microsoft will find some way to make the series available to Xbox One owners, though.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Will.i.am join Apple's reality TV show
Planet of the Apps, Apple's first leap into the TV content pool just snagged a couple of big names. The show, which will follow an unscripted reality TV format, is set to feature famous lady Gwyneth Paltrow, rapper Will.i.am and digital media personality Gary Vaynerchuk as advisors and mentors to a class of entrepreneurs and app developers.
A smart toothbrush just won Intel's maker-themed reality show
Last month, Intel the tried to make inventors cool. The company brought tinkering into prime time with the debut of America's Greatest Makers, a reality TV competition on TBS where 24 teams of inventors have been competing for a $1 million prize. Intel's involvement means two things. For starters, CEO Brian Krzanich is one of the main panelists. Also, to even qualify for the competition, all of these projects had to incorporate Intel's button-sized Curie module, which was designed to power the coming wave of connected objects.
The internet of ratings: How makers became hip enough for reality TV
Technology wasn't always hip, and neither was Intel. The company, known for most of its 48-year history as the leader in PC chips, has in recent years branched out into more cutting-edge areas. That includes mobile, drones, robots and an assortment of wearables running the gamut from a high-tech paintball helmet to an augmented-reality hard hat. Now, in a sign of the times, Intel is joining forces with Mark Burnett, the man behind Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice and The Voice, to bring you a reality show about inventors. America's Greatest Makers, which premieres April 5th on TBS, follows 24 teams competing for a $1 million prize. Though the show follows a format similar to other reality contests, complete with auditions (pitches), guest judges and elimination rounds, the panelists are generally friendlier. Think: the NBA's Kenny Smith and celebrity dealmaker Carol Roth, not a Simon Cowell or Gordon Ramsay.
Amazon Video gets an NFL reality show this summer
NFL Films isn't confining its efforts to conventional TV and movies. The sports video producer has unveiled All or Nothing, a football reality show destined solely for Amazon Video. The series will follow a given NFL team's internal drama through a whole season, starting with the Arizona Cardinals' 2015 path to the NFC Championship Game. The initial eight-episode run will be available this summer on any device that can handle Amazon's internet video services, so you'll have no shortage of gridiron action to watch on your Fire TV while you're waiting for the next season to start.
Reality TV streaming service Hayu launches in the UK
Humans are a strange species. Some of us, when not busy doing our own thing, like to sit in front of the gogglebox and watch the lives of others play out -- or, the contrived, semi-scripted lives of others, anyway. From Keeping Up with the Kardashians to Made in Chelsea, NBCUniversal is responsible some of the most popular reality TV shows. It makes so many, in fact, that today it's launched a new streaming service in the UK and Ireland created specifically for avid people-watchers.
NBCUniversal has a streaming service for reality TV fans
If you're a fan of American reality TV shows but you live in the UK, Ireland or Australia, you'll soon be in luck. NBCUNiversal announced Hayu, a streaming service dedicated to the high-quality content only reality television can offer. The monthly subscription will give viewers in those locales access to over 3,000 episodes of shows like The Real Housewives, Top Chef franchises, Made in Chelsea, The Millionaire Matchmaker and RuPaul's Drag Race. And, perhaps most importantly, Keeping Up with the Kardashians and its spinoffs will be included, too.
Twitter's week of beef is something we need more of
Despite rapper beefs being an unofficial feature of Twitter practically since it launched, this week alone has taken things to a new level. Less than 24 hours after Neil deGrasse-Tyson tangled with B.o.B over (of all things) whether or not the Earth is round, Kanye West decided to call out Wiz Khalifa over criticizing the title of his upcoming album and his usage of "kk." ( Hit the link for a recap, but if you missed it: Kanye decided the letters were a shot at his wife when Wiz was just pushing his own Khalifa Kush. Things have now been settled after intervention by their ex-in-common Amber Rose.) At turns hilarious ("I went to look at your twitter and you were wearing cool pants ... #Wizwearscoolpants"); dismissive ("You have distracted from my creative process"); and incredibly disappointing ("you let a stripper trap you"); it was a moment that not only belongs on Twitter, it belongs to Twitter. It's time to embrace that.
MTV iOS app relaunched with full-episode streaming, more video content
While MTV has had a presence on Apple's mobile platform to some extent, its parent company, Viacom, is now approaching things differently by increasing and improving the video content found in its iOS apps. MTV is renaming its WatchWith app as, well, MTV, and it's adding on some new functionality to go with the popular second-screen features. The most notable trait of the newfangled iOS app is the ability to stream episodes from select MTV shows in full, though, in order to do so, users will need to be subscribed to one of the participating cable providers -- AT&T U-verse, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS being among them. The Reality Television Music Television network says it's also boosting the app's on-demand repertoire, giving viewers access to a slew of sneak peaks, bonus clips and other original content. And, hey, we'll take as much Awkward as we can get.
ITV Player revamp brings ad-free TV rentals, keeps the free catch-ups
As a profit-driven network, ITV has its work cut out in the online streaming world when the BBC's iPlayer looms overhead. How do you compete with a cultural institution? Its solution these days is one of sheer choice: it's launching a publicly available beta of its ITV Player refresh that offers TV show rentals. While viewers will have free, ad-backed viewing for the last month's worth of programming, they'll also have the choice of renting 30-day access to archived episodes at 49p (79 cents) each without the pesky commercials in between. Anyone who just can't get enough Collision can spring for a 90-day rental of a whole series at a lower total price, and the broadcaster is even planning trials of streaming-first episode premieres -- if only we were so forward-thinking in the US. We'd question the wisdom of anyone who really, truly needs an uninterrupted The Only Way is Essex, but at least those who want fodder for water cooler chats can blast through their pseudo-reality TV at a record pace.
DirecTV adding TruTV HD ahead of March Madness again, will let it stick around this time
Last year, DirecTV temporarily added TruTV HD to its lineup just during March Madness so its fans could catch all of the games, and it's bringing Turner-owned network back again this year. This time however, the satellite company has promised on Facebook (if a relationship is Facebook official, you know it's real) it's sticking around this time. This means not only can customers get all the college hoops this month, they can also later tune into all manner of reality TV programming. You're welcome (c) Kobe Bryant.
