June 29, 2009

More Sober House, Fit Club, Pepa And Chilli On The Way From VH1!

There’s no shortage of VH1 programming coming up in the next year and below is your scoop on returing series like Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Sober House and Celebrity Fit Club, and new shows like The Entertainer and reality vehicles for Salt-N-Pepa’s Pepa and TLC’s Chilli. Check the press release below for info on these and many more forthcoming shows…

These programming additions come on the heels of recent announcements about upcoming new original primetime series on VH1 including Jessica Simpson’s new series The Price Of Beauty; a series centered on the family and career of American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino as she refocuses and tries to get her career back on track; The OCD Project, centering on OCD patients living together as they strive to overcome their disorder; and The Aspen Project, focusing on the highs and lows of living and dating in one of the wealthiest communities in the world.

VH1 is also on a roll with its debut of new and returning series year-to-date. The music and pop culture network’s total prime-time viewership was up 12 percent during the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same period the year before. And, the network has launched nine new and returning series averaging at least 1 million total viewers in their premiere episodes. In fact, VH1 has launched five new series year-to-date averaging at least 1 million total viewers – more than any other cable network this year.

“No matter if you’re a Grammy Award winning artist, a film actor or a TV reality star with millions of loyal fans, we all share the same desires of the human experience…to succeed, to love, and to live our lives to their fullest potential,” said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production, VH1. “VH1 has generated a lot of buzz over the years by evolving from an outlet that commented on pop culture to a brand that creates it. With these projects, we’re continuing to evolve, building on our core storytelling expertise to delve deeper into personalities and issues that connect with millions of our viewers.”

VH1 has teamed up with Sandra “Pepa” Denton of Salt-N-Pepa and Chilli from TLC – giving each pioneering hip-hop artist her own series revolving around their current lives as single women. The yet-to-be titled Pepa and Chilli series will premiere on VH1 in 2010.

The Entertainer, from the I Love New York 2 and I Love Money shows has also scored his own series called The Entertainer, featuring his parents as well as the infamous basement bachelor pad. VH1 has also renewed two other hit series: Celebrity Fit Club (season 7) and Sober House (season 2).

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Tags: Celebreality, Television, Celebrity Fit Club, The Salt N Pepa Show, Sober House

Posted by Rich Juzwiak

September 18, 2008

Pep Under Attack: New Book Excerpt

As part of Salt-N-Pepa, Sandy Denton struck a blow for women rappers everywhere. The famed trio’s string of hits, including “Push It” and “Let’s Talk About Sex,” opened lots of doors and lots of minds. Since her pioneering heyday of the ’80s, Pep’s gone on to participate in VH1’s Surreal Life, be celebrated on Hip Hop Honors, and show us the subtlties of the reunion with her old partner on the Salt-N-Pepa Show. Of course, she lived her life, too - it’s had its ups and downs.

The new Let’s Talk About Pep, a tell-all autobiography, is filled with the particulars of those ups and downs. Her rough childhood, teen stardom, falling out with Salt, battles with domestic abuse , premonitions of death, promise of celibacy, and lots more. You can purchase the book right here.

We grabbed one of the book’s more dramatic chapters to illustrate how candid the whole thing is. Here’s a section of “The Nightmare.”

“In my dream, I was standing at the top of this huge staircase. This staircase was like something out of Dynasty—with its white, wooden railings that seemed to go on forever. It was the kind of staircase you find in a mansion, splitting two wings. The staircase was so huge that in this dream I couldn’t stand in the middle and grab the railings—they seemed like a mile apart. In my dream, I’m at the top of the stairs and I’m in a fight. I’m on the wrong end of this fight, with my back to this huge staircase. I’m being beaten and I’m not really fighting back because I’m over this staircase—this long, hard, wooden staircase—and if I fall, that’s it. So I’m holding on to this person, trying to hold on to my life. But in my dream, I lose this struggle and end up at the bottom of this staircase broken. I don’t know whether I’m dead or paralyzed, but I’m not moving.

I was barely speaking to Brad. I was recuperating from that last incident with the IUD. I spoke to him long enough to tell him about the no sex for two months. But why was I even entertaining being with him again after that? I was not in my right mind. I was not in a good place…

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Tags: Hip Hop, Music, The Salt N Pepa Show, Salt-N-Pepa

Posted by Jim Macnie

March 18, 2008

To recap VH1’s year in Celebreality programming, we’re honoring the craziness (and, let’s face it: crazies) with an informal (and fairly arbitrary) set of awards we’re giving away online. Actually, there are no real awards to give away, but hey, it’s the thought that counts. It is, after all, the holiday season.

Part 1, dedicated to special achievements in Celebreality, went up yesterday. Part 2 continues today with the superlatives. The first category is Best Filming Location: Hooters on Hogan Knows Best.

You can see that Hulk’s mother is sitting at the table with them, on this final episode of Season 4 of Hogan Knows Best. What’s notable about this is that Hooters was her choice of dining locations. And what’s dually notable about that is Grandma Ruth revealed that she had just visited the jiggle joint the week before, only to revise her recollection: “Oh, it was yesterday!” She’s a regular. At Hooters.

How did the Hogans follow this up? With a visit to Fashion Bug, of course, where Brooke attempted persuade Grandma to buy clear heels, “like me and mom.”