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Posted on: Friday, July 18, 2008
Colorful reality, comedy shows debut
By Robert Bianco and Gary Levin
USA Today
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Margaret Cho returns to the small screen in "The Cho Show," a reality show on VH1 starring Cho, her parents and a former burlesque star.
Austin Young
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LOS ANGELES — Familiar faces, many of them minorities, are coming to cable, and they were on parade for the TV writers' semiannual gathering:
Margaret Cho, who has dished on her bad experiences as the star of TV's first series led by an Asian-American, ABC's "All American Girl," is back with a reality show on VH1. "The Cho Show" follows Cho, her parents and Selene Luna, the 3-foot-10 former burlesque star who has performed with Cho off-Broadway. It premieres August 21.
Fans of Kathy Griffin's Bravo series, "My Life on the D-List," may see similarities (Cho recently appeared on "D-List"), but Cho disagrees: "She's very different from me, in that she's white." And Cho describes her show as a "cross between Madonna's 'Truth or Dare,' and 'Joy Luck Club,' and 'Little People, Big World.' "
As you probably know, George Foreman - seen in TV Land's reality show "Family Foreman," premiering at 10 p.m. today - named all five of his sons after himself. What did his wife think of that plan?
"At first it was like, you must be crazy," Foreman says. Plus, he says, keep in mind how many times he was hit in the head as a boxer: "How many names do you expect me to remember?"
David Alan Grier of "In Living Color" returns to TV comedy this season with "Chocolate News," a mock magazine show on urban pop culture for Comedy Central.
If you find the show (or name) offensive, he says, that's not his goal, but it comes with the comedy territory. "If you offend no one in the room, you're not doing the job. It's not our intention to offend. It's to really make people laugh. It's edgy, but I don't want their heads to explode."
In other news:
AMC's "Mad Men" stars are still adjusting to fame as the drama prepares for its second season July 27. Is Jon Hamm, a TV veteran whose lead role as ad man Don Draper has made him a star, recognized more often these days?
Not really, he says.
"In my real-life dress, I don't look too much like Don," Hamm says. "My hair's not slicked back, and I don't wear those very tight-fitting suits."
The show's female stars say their roles prevent them from wearing vintage '60s styles on their off days, lest fans think they're still in costume. "I don't want to really go vintage shopping, ever," Elisabeth Moss says.
Good news for fans of AMC's other scripted drama, the edgy "Breaking Bad": Production is about to begin on Season 2. Directing the first episode is show star Bryan Cranston.
CMT's "Gone Country," which starts its second season in August, is sort of a talent search in which sort-of celebrities compete to turn themselves into country stars.
Hosted by John Rich (of Big & Rich), the show's would-be Riches this year include Lorenzo Lamas, "American Idol" contestant Mikalah Gordon and actress Sean Young.
With Young, you're less likely to think of country covers than tabloid covers, many about her overly aggressive pursuit of roles she thought she deserved.
Young says the turning point came in January when she was ejected from the Directors Guild awards for heckling from the audience. The incident led her to check into alcohol-abuse rehab.
Young says she's feeling "really good" now. "My social anxiety has sort of turned into social hostility. I just don't want to deal with it anymore.
"My interest has waned a lot because I just feel like I don't get the attention I deserve in terms of getting better parts, and I'm much more interested in raising my kids," she says.
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