Author: Andrew Warren / TV Media
Heidi Klum joins “America’s Got Talent”
Heidi Klum joins “America’s Got Talent”
America’s got Klum: If three’s a crowd, as they say, what does that make four?
In a first for the series, this summer’s eighth season of NBC’s hit talent show “America’s Got Talent” will have four celebrity judges giving their often-biting critiques of the hopefuls’ performances.
Following months of uncertainty over the fate of longtime judge Sharon Osbourne (“The Osbournes”), who’s been with the program since its second season, it’s been recently announced that her seat will be filled by two other talented icons. When the show premieres this summer, fans will find supermodel Heidi Klum and former Spice Girl Melanie Brown behind the judges table.
Klum will probably be most familiar to TV audiences for her role as the host of the fashion designer competition “Project Runway,” a show on which she’s also an executive producer. To think that this beauty’s skills end there would be a mistake, though. This entrepreneur also has her own brand of maternity fashions, a line of clothing for babies and a jewelry collection.
She’s even acted in several feature films and TV shows, such as “Ella Enchanted” (2004) and “Blowdry” (2001).
“I love the surprise element of the show and not knowing what we’ll see next,” said Klum of her upcoming gig. “I’m also looking forward to spending time with my fellow judges — Howard Stern, Howie Mandel, and Mel B!”
The other new face at the table, Melanie Brown (better known these days as Mel B), has been seeing her solo career take off since she burst onto the scene as Scary Spice, one of the five performers that made up the British band the Spice Girls.
These two ladies have big shoes to fill with the departure of the popular Osbourne, but fans can be assured that there won’t be any less “talent” up on stage.
Couture comes home: It’s looking like things are about to get a little bit more rough over on Spike.
The network, which features original programming aimed squarely at younger men, has signed a multi-year contract with the legendary mixed martial arts fighter Randy Couture. The fighting professional landed his first starring role on Spike back in 2005 with “The Ultimate Fighter,” and now he’s returning to the network with several new projects to call his own.
It won’t be the athlete’s first foray onto the screen — far from it. Besides “Ultimate Fighter,” this versatile fighter’s also proven his acting chops in “The Expendables” (2010), “The Expendables 2” (2012) and “The Scorpion King 2” (2008), among other films.
And Couture isn’t the only big name attached to these launches. Acclaimed producers Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, of “Amazing Race” fame, are signed on to serve as executive producers of “Fight Master: Bellator MMA.” In the program, Couture will team up with other legends from the popular sport to act as trainers and mentors for teams of up-and-coming fighters as the neophytes learn from the best and compete for a $100,000 cash prize.
The other announced project will follow Couture as he puts to use the experience he’s gained from owning his own successful chain of MMA gyms. With the sport surging in popularity in recent years, gyms specializing in it have been popping up everywhere, but not all of them are thriving. In “MMA Rescue,” the wrestler will take that experience and put it to work helping out these struggling gyms.
Keep an eye on Spike for these and other upcoming shows from this versatile fighter and personality.
The Brothers are back: The duo that brought us Second World War epics “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific” are back together, and this time they’re looking to the skies.
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are once again teaming up with HBO to develop an epic miniseries set during the global conflict. As yet untitled, the series will follow the soldiers of the Eighth Air Force, leaning on source material from historian Donald L. Miller’s non-fiction book “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany.”
If the unnamed project is anything like its predecessors, it won’t be stingy on the production costs. 2001’s “Band of Brothers'” 10 episodes reportedly cost $125 million to make, and “The Pacific” topped even that whopping sum with a price tag of $200 million. It’s a lot of money, but it’s paid off come awards season, with the two shows bringing home 14 Emmys between them.
Hanks and Spielberg have a history of success when working together. Their 1998 film “Saving Private Ryan,” also set during the Second World War, won five Academy Awards and solidified Hanks’ position as one of the world’s top actors. Although he’s definitely best known for his acting roles, Hanks is also a successful producer: his company, Playtone Productions, is on board for the new HBO series.
With the ratings and awards success of the previous two outings, it’s a pretty safe bet that lightning will be able to strike HBO a third time with the creative talent of Hanks and Spielberg at the helm.
Ironically, Vanessa Ferlito left “CSI: NY” because she wanted to go home … to New York.
TV Passport Blog 