TV TimeZ and Casting CallZ

April 14, 2011
WHAT SHOULD I WATCH TONIGHT?
ABC:  Wipeout
CW:   Vampire Diaries, Nikita
FOX:  American Idol, Bones
NBC:  Community, The Paul Reiser Show, The Office, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Outsourced


Summer begins early on Bravo with the introduction of new and returning series:

• The Real Housewives of New Jersey  Season three opens with a 90-minute episode on May 16 at 9p.  Sirens Media, LLC produces for Bravo.
• Previously announced new music competition series Platinum Hit opens May 30 at 10p.  True Entertainment produces for Bravo.
• New series Million Dollar Decorators launches May 31 at 10p.  The docu-series is from Goodbye Pictures for Bravo.
• New competition series Rocco's Dinner Party debuts June 15 at 11p.  Following the premiere, Rocco's Dinner Party airs on Wednesdays at 10p starting June 22.  The series is produced by Bravo in association with Notional, an IAC company.

Between Food Network and Cooking Channel the two networks are introducing 20 new series and serving up 22 returning series.

Cooking Channel's new series in primetime:

• Eat St.  New series featuring host and comedian James Cunningham exploring the vast array of street food premiered this week on Tuesday at 8p.
• Unique Sweets  Series visits unique eateries across the US creating exciting and delectable desserts.  Premieres April 24 at 1030p.
• The Originals with Emeril  Chef Emeril Lagasse honors iconic food establishments visiting a new city in each episode and discovering three historic eateries.  Lagasse discovers where Boston cream pie originates along with the French dip sandwich in Los Angeles. Premieres May 5 at 1030p.
• From Spain With Love  Host Annie Sibonney serves up the diverse culinary culture of Spain on location throughout Spain's many regions.  Premieres May 27 at 9p.
• Hook, Line & Dinner  Expert fisherman and foodie, Ben Sargent takes a coastal road trip visiting the best clam shacks, lobster pounds and chowder pots and more.  Premieres June 7 at 1030p.

Cooking Channel's new daytime series:

• Ching-He Huang Series (wt)  Food entrepreneur, Ching-He Huang and host of the series Chinese Food Made Easy helms a new series set in San Francisco, the home of much celebrated Chinese cuisine.  Premieres in July.
• The Perfect 3  The network's popular personalities highlight three perfect dishes in 13 iconic categories from burgers and brownies to sandwiches and salads.  Premieres in July.
• Baking Made Easy  UK chef/baker Lorraine Pascale offers her passion and knowledge on baking along with sweet and savory recipes.  Premieres fall 2011.

Cooking Channel offers up numerous returning series

• Unique Eats  Season three launch April 3 at 10p.
• From the Kitchens Of . . .  New episodes launch this spring.
• Chuck's Day Off  Series follows Chef Chuck Hughes during his day off with season two opening May 1 at 11a.
• Kelsey's Essentials  Season two returns this June.
• Food(ography)  A third season with Mo Rocca as host showcasing cultural food themes is back this July.
• Everyday Exotic  A sophomore season returns July 9 at 1230p.
• Bitchin' Kitchen  Nadia G. is back offering her blend of humor and food for a second season starting July 20 at 10p.
• Hungry Girl  Season two opens August 6 at 4p.
• Brunch @ Bobby's  Season two featuring Chef Bobby Flay begins this August.
• Rachael Ray's Week In a Day  A sophomore season slated to open this August.
• Extra Virgin  Actress Debi Mazar and husband Gabriele Corcos are back for a second season this fall.
• Spice Goddess  A second season is on tap for this October.

Food Network's new series in primetime:

• Have Cake, Will Travel  Cake decorator Ashley Vicos and her team travel the US as they create extraordinary cakes for special events such as New York's fashion week to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Premieres April 26 at 9p.
• Best In Smoke  Six top barbecue masters meet in New York City to compete for a $50,000 grand prize and the bragging rights to the title "Best In Smoke."  Series opens May 8 at 10p; following the premiere the series will air at 9p.
• Crave  Host Troy Johnson, food critic and journalist in San Diego admits he is obsessed with food and he'll travel anywhere and try anything in the pursuit of a new culinary find or trend.  Premieres June 20 at 10p.
• Heat Seekers  Chefs Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking taste-test the spiciest foods in the country from Mexican and Korean to Indian and more. Series launches this July.
• Tough Cookies  Multi-generational family business Crazy Susan's led by sisters Susan and Linda bake cookies while dealing with their chaotic family.  Premieres in July.
• Chef Hunter (wt)  In each episode, chef recruiter, Carrie McCully brings together four aspiring chefs to compete for an executive chef position at a prestigious restaurant.  Series opens this August.
• Sugar High  Cake "ace" Duff Goldman is back in a new series as he journeys across America to find the best desserts from Baked Alaska to hot fudge sundaes in Dallas.  Series premieres August 8 at 1030p.
• Halloween Wars  Five teams of cake decorators, candy makers and pumpkin carvers compete to prove they are the best in Halloween treats.  Series opens in October.
• Supersizers  A gastronomic trip through our American past, two food adventures go back in time and explore historic foods of a bygone age such as food in the Old West to Plymouth Rock for the first Thanksgiving feast.  Series rolls out in January 2012.

Food Network's new daytime series:

• Pioneer Woman  Blogger/author Ree Drummond shares her version of home cooking.  Series bows in August.
• Food Network Star Winner Series (wt)  The winner of season seven of Food Network Star launches their own six-episode cooking series.  Series premieres August.
• Tricia Yearwood Series (wt)  Country superstar and cookbook author Tricia Yearwood invites viewers into her kitchen for hospitality and family recipes.  Series debuts in September.

Food Network presents ten returning primetime series:

• 24 Hour Restaurant Battle  Host and chef Scott Conant is back for a sophomore season April 21 at 10p.
• Chopped  Host Ted Allen continues to challenge rising chefs in this competition series up for its seventh turn starting May 3 at 10p.
• Food Network Star  The network's most popular series is back for a seventh season beginning June 5 at 9p.  Chef Bobby Flay continues as host and judge and is joined by Food Network's Giada de Laurentiis as judge along with network executives.
• Cupcake Wars  Competition series where four top cupcake bakers square off is back this June for a third season.
• Restaurant: Impossible  Chef Robert Irvine tries to save America's restaurants from failure in only two days with $10,000.  Season two premieres in July.
• Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives  Guy Fieri hits the road visiting more "greasy spoon" restaurants throughout America.  Season 13 debuts this August.
• The Great Food Truck Race  Tyler Florence hosts this competition series featuring chefs embarking on creating food from trucks.  Season two premieres August 14 at 10p; following the debut the series will air at 9p.
• The Best Thing I Ever Ate  Various Food Network stars dish on their favorite dishes.  Season six opens in September.
• Next Iron Chef: Celebrity (wt)  Alton Brown is back as host in the battle where 10 American accomplished chefs compete to join the elite culinary society comprised of the Iron Chefs.  A fourth season debuts October 30 at 9p.
• Worst Cooks in America  Hopeless cooks are transformed into kitchen magicians in this boot-camp style cooking competition series returning for a third season in February 2012.

HGTV continues to help homeowners reimagine their homes and for the 2011 season the network is adding several new series.  HGTV's programming lineup includes:

• Room Crashers  Todd Davis searches stores across the US for weekend diyers who can use some design help.  Premieres June 4 at 12p.
• My Yard Goes Disney  Half-hour series has HGTV partnering with Disney Parks to surprise lucky homeowners with a backyard makeover inspired by Disney characters and more.  Premieres June 6 at 8p.
• House Hunters on Vacation  In each episode, host Taniya Nayak will send one family on trip of a lifetime to visit their exotic destination of choice to tour three dream homes and they will get to stay in one for a week.  Premieres June 6 at 830p.
• HGTV'd  Series features HGTV in an 18-wheeler showing up on the doorsteps of homeowners who receive a dream makeover. Tanika Ray hosts.  Premieres June 6 at 9p.
• HGTV Design Star  Popular one-hour reality competition returns for a sixth season with 12 new aspiring designers as they battle for their own show on HGTV.  Premieres July 11.
• Home By Novogratz  Series follows husband and wife design team of Robert and Cortney Novogratz as they juggle seven children and many clients.  Premieres July 28.
• Run My Makeover  New interactive series incorporates HGTV.com where viewers can see photos and videos of a homeowner's room and add their input on the design elements. Hosted by Alexi Panos.  Premieres this July.
• Dina's Party (wt)  Previously announced party and special events planning series features Real Housewives of New Jersey's Dina Manzo and her event company, Design Affairs.  Premieres in September.
• All American Handyman  Competition series challenges 20 contestants to find out which one is the best non-professional handyman. HGTV's Mile Holmes and Scott McGillivray serve as two of the three experts along with a weekly special guest judge. Premieres this September.
• The High Low Project  Sabrina Soto hosts this series where she replaces high-budget items in a room with low-budget items that look expensive.  Premieres in September.
• Selling LA  Series follows three real estate firms as they work in the competitive and high-end real estate world of L.A. Premieres in October.

Casting Call: Meredith is casting for real moms to be part of a Spanish-language video series.  The women must be fluent in Spanish living in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago areas.  They must also be willing to share their detailed experiences about raising Latino children in American schools (i.e. clothes the kids wear to food in their lunchboxes and more).  Interested moms should contactKadine.Anckle@meredith.com and include their name, age, photo, country of origin, ages of children and a brief description of the story they would like to share. Deadline for submissions is April 27, 2011.
Casting Call: Meredith is also seeking homeowners who want to show off their beautiful homes to use as locations for video shoots in the New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago areas.  Producers are especially looking for homes with a "Latino feel" and would want to feature living rooms, kitchens, family rooms and front/back yard areas.  Interested homeowners can contact Kadine.Anckle@meredith.com with their name, city/town location and include several photos of your home.  Deadline for submissions is April 27, 2011.