MTV Mates 'Jersey Shore' with 'Honey Boo Boo'
Well, buckle your dirt-bike belts or something, because MTV has a new show coming to the airwaves called Buckwild, and our first glimpse of footage from the thing suggests that we're in for a bumpy ride straight into a mud-filled ditch. Y'see, it's a reality show about a bunch of wild 'n' crazy West Virginia young people. They're not Hatfields and McCoys-ing each other, exactly, but they are hookin' up and gettin' drunk and doin' stuff in mud. There's a lot of mud in this first trailer. Just a lot of mud. So this is a bit like Jersey Shore in that it's a look at a niche sect of American youth, but it's a found situation rather than Jersey Shore's assembled cast. So in that way it's like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, TLC's Jack & Bobby-esque reality look at our future president. As much as one might want to complain about the dang thing, it also looks kinda fun. What with a cute steppin' out "man whore," a goofy nice guy, some good old fashioned girl fights, and some dumb kid rolling down a hill in a dang tire. Let's all get our noses out of the air and admit that this could be a good ol' time on the telebbision. Sure, we might be chuckling at some perfectly harmless blue collar fun, but look, they're laughing, too. Ain't nothing wrong with that then, right? [Entertainment Weekly]
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We heard a while back that Stephen King's novel Under the Dome, about a small town that exists under a big dome (hence the title, Under the Dome), was going to be a TV series, but now comes the news that it's going to CBS, of all places. See, it was going to be at Showtime, but it got stuck in development, and since Showtime and CBS are owned by the same company, it makes perfect sense to switch it over to CBS, where it will be a 13-episode summer series. Except, well, it doesn't make that much sense, because CBS is not terribly good at big, creative, conceptual things like this. Give them a CSI or a brightly lit Chuck Lorre sitcom and they know just what to do, but trickier stuff often thwarts them. Well, most of the time. Sure The Good Wife is very smart network television, and Elementary is kind of a hoot, but boil those down two shows and they're nothing but case-of-the-week dramas at heart. This Under the Dome, however, sounds like more complicated business. Maybe because this is supposed to be a limited-run series they can be a little more daring or creative than usual, but I dunno. Seems dubious. Any chance they can throw it back to Showtime? Or has the dome already closed? [Vulture]
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HBO and Brad Pitt's production company Plan B are teaming up to make a TV show, one based on an article from The New Yorker about "a notorious ex-gangster and single father in Buffalo, N.Y., who is trying to reform himself by also serving as a professional debt collector. He finds, however, that life in the debt collection business can be just as lethal as the world he's struggling to leave behind." So that could be kind of good, right? Just so long as it doesn't also get stuck in development and wind up at USA as some badly lit, pun-titled show — Give It To Me or something horrible. As long as that doesn't happen, this sounds like a good idea. [Variety]
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Back to CBS for a second. It's been announced that the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards will air on the network on September 22nd, so start planning your viewing party now. It's never too early! Especially with all your favorite shows to consider. Will Men with Kids win the top comedy prize, or might the gone-too-soon Animal Practice sneak in with the sympathy vote? And what about in the crowded drama category? I mean, how do you decide between Vegas and Chicago Fire? One's a hokey period procedural with two great actors wandering around at the center and the other has hunks! Fire hunks!! It's going to be a showdown of epic proportions, is what I'm saying, so you really should get to it and start putting together your ballots and planning your menu. Carrie-Anne Mousse. Subburgertory (a big hamburger sandwich, naturally). Emily Owens M.D.s (mini [hot]dogs). And of course Claire Danishes. Lots to do, folks, lots to do. So get going. [Deadline]
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The Sundance Film Festival has announced its slate of films screening out of competition, and there is some interesting fare. Things we're interested in include Jeff Nichols's Take Shelter followup Mud, featuring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon (if this sounds familiar, it already had its premiere at Cannes last May); Hell Baby, a feature directed by The State masterminds Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon; and a documentary about porn company Kink.com. A total of 113 films will be playing at the festival, so, y'know, there's probably a lot of other interesting stuff happening other than these few. But these are the ones with the big famous people. And, well, the porn. [The Hollywood Reporter]
