All Things Celebrity...

On Tuesday, ABC announced the new line-up for Dancing With The Stars and according to ABC, the hit show (Based on yet another British series) will feature a whopping 12 celebrity contenders during this 5th season.

According to the ABC announcement, the celebrities who will compete for the mirror ball trophy are Spice Girl Melanie Brown; former Beverly Hills 90210 actress Jennie Garth; supermodel Josie Maran; Disney's The Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan; entertainer Marie Osmond; actress Jane Seymour; entertainer Wayne Newton; IndyCar racer Helio Castroneves; professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.; billionaire entrepreneur and former The Benefactor star Mark Cuban; soap star Cameron Mathison; and model Albert Reed.

Yo!
Never to miss a beat, on MTV you will have Celebrity Rap Superstar which will feature some of your favorite celebrities such as Shar Jackson, Tone Loc, Warren G, McLyte, Da Brat, Kendra Wilkinson, Perez Hilton, Sebastian Bach, Countess Vaughn and Kevin Hart who will be working hard to bust a rhyme.

Now it's getting interesting: After hearing of the announcements, once again I am completely convinced that we indeed have an obsession with all things "Celebrity"....and I began thinking...

Just Send Me An Email
In 1999, the world changed. We suddenly began to realize the usefulness of the Internet (Note: one particular major tech company CEO (at the time) had dismissed the Internet back in the mid-90's and now they are busy playing 'catch-up') and what used to take days of communication, could now be accomplished within a couple of minutes - anywhere in the world where there is an Internet connection.

I have conducted more business by email and was having a conversation with my attorney's assistant and we laughed about what people did before email - fax machine and letters? Aside from legal documents, who really sends letters anymore or even faxes for that matter?

Everything became about REAL...Real time, real talk, real places, real people. So of course, why not television?

The Real Cornerstone of Every Network
Since 2000, much has changed on the TV landscape with the induction of mainstream reality programming. What was once serious and intense drama of cop shows, medical shows, lawyer shows and sitcoms about nothing, gave way to new current programs - Reality Shows.

Fans of reality shows claim that they enjoy the unscripted 'realness' the format presents. Some viewers actually perceive and believe that the events are current and happening/unfolding as they tune in each week...Who knew that real life could be scathing and suspenseful with cliffhanger dramatics from week-to-week, really could you imagine the life one would have to live under such weekly circumstances?

Okay, so the realness of the real is slightly amplified.

Celebrity + Reality = Celebreality
Yes there are quite a number of reality shows on TV, however the incorporation of real "Celebrities" or "Stars" competing in prime-time, appears to have started more recently. Lately, we have seen a regular supply of celebrities past and present on prominent network reality show competitions.

So let's take inventory shall we? Below are recent shows and titles that provide our "Celebrity":

· Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race (ABC)
· I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (ABC)
· Next Best Thing: Who Is The Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? (ABC)
· Celebrity Poker Showdown (BRAVO)
· Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge (CMT)
· Celebrity Duets (FOX)
· Celebrity Idol (FOX)
· Celebrity Rap Superstar (MTV)
· Celebrity Deathmatch (MTV2)

· Celebrity Expose (MYNETWORKTV)

· Celebrity Love Island (MYNETWORKTV)
· Celebrity Cooking Showdown (NBC)
· Celebrity Justice (SYNDICATION)
· Celebrity Love Cruise (TV LAND)
· Celebrity Fit Club (VH1)
· Celebrity Paranormal Project (VH1)
· Celebrity Look-Alike Dating Show, The (WB)

Let's not forget:
· Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
· Skating with Celebrities (aka Skating with the Stars) (FOX)
· The Surreal Life (TV LAND)

Oh Yeah...I remember that show
With the above titles, it would appear that we have an endless supply of 'starpower' to cast in these shows, as we very rarely ever see the same celebs in more than one or two programs. Maybe, maybe not.

What we do know is that we have not seen the star in question for decades on television and that is it great to see them working again, because we were all wondering what happened to them (admit the truth).

Celebrity Reality Unhinged
Now for the good news - we will see more celebrities and stars in more versions of reality. I am sure that you may have heard about Celebrity Apprentice, but what about Celebrity Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance (Celebrity Edition), Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, Celebrity Nanny 911, Celebrity Make-Over: Home Edition, Celebrity Ice Road Truckers, Celebrity Deadliest Catch? - I have said too much, however I have tons of great (uh, yeah...) ideas and could easily continue.

Admittedly, we also have a few "Celebrity" driven vehicles within our slate as well. So, guaranteed as they say, "There's plenty more where that came from". Now, let's watch Perez try to rap!


*The photo above is from last winter's 2006 episode of Dancing With The Stars, starring Lisa Rinna, courtesy of ABC.