Summer reality TV

It been a busy week in TV Land. This was the week where the networks revealed their new Fall seasons in their "upfront" presentations and when the current regular season and May sweeps wrapped up (Wednesday night) . In prior years, the major networks rarely unveiled original programming in the Summer, when audience levels decline, preferring to re-run episodes of their scripted dramas and sitcoms. In recent years, facing heightened pressure from the premium cable specialty channels, they have started to produce more original programming. The networks have become very receptive to airing alternative unscripted "reality" series in the Summer months (versus scripted shows) because of the lower production costs. So Summer has become Nirvana for reality TV fans.

This Summer will mark the return of several Summer perennials such as Big Brother, The Bachelorette, Wipeout and (the Simon Cowell produced ratings hit) America's Got Talent (with new host Nick Cannon, following in Jerry Springer and Regis Philbin's footsteps . Speaking of Regis, he returns in two Summer offerings: First as host of CBS's gameshow Million Dollar Password (where no contestant has yet come close to winning a million!) and then, later in August, the 10th anniversary reprise of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire (basking in the afterglow of being featured prominently in last year's Oscar winning feature film).

This Summer it will also see the debut of several returning series new to Summertime. Notable among them is the return of ABC's Sunday staple from the 70s, "The Superstars", which will originate on location from the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas and will features celebrities paired in teams with pro athletes. Also returning on a new network (NBC) is "I'm a Celebrity; Get Me Out of Here" (which previously aired as a multi-night Fall-Winter sweeps ploy in an earlier ABC incarnation).

Among the new series are two shows that appear to be derivatives of long established reality favourites. first, there is "Great American Roadtrip" which, although it claims to be based on a BBC series, sounds alot like CBS's Emmy winning The Amazing Race's family edition, played out within the confines of this continent. Likewise dating series "More To Love" sounds like a cross between NBC's The Biggest Loser and ABC's "The Bachelor".

Here's a complete rundown of the major net's Summer reality premier dates:


Deal or No Deal 5/4 NBC
The Bachelorette 5 5/18 ABC
So You Think You Can Dance 5/21 FOX
Don’t Forget the Lyrics 5/22 FOX
Million Dollar Password 5/24 CBS
Here Come The Newlyweds 2 5/25 ABC
Wipeout 5/27 ABC
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here 6/1 NBC
The Chopping Block 6/19 NBC
America's Got Talent 4 6/23 NBC
The Superstars 6/23 ABC
Big Brother 11 7/9 CBS
Are Your Smarter .. 5th Grader? 7/3 FOX
Great American Roadtrip 7/7 NBC
I Survived A Japanese Game Show 2 7/8 ABC
Dating in the Dark 7/20 NBC
More To Love 7/28 FOX
Face the Ace 8/01 NBC
Who Wants to be a Millioniare 11/9 ABC