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Snooki, Pauly D, and JWOWW Get Jersey Shore Spinoffs

Thursday April 7, 2011
MTV has announced that two new spinoff shows will feature some of the most popular cast members from Jersey Shore. Both shows are in the very early planning stages, so don't expect to see them until 2012.

The first will star JWOWW (Jenni Farley) and Snooki (Nicole Polizzi), following their everyday lives and friendship. It'll be less of a party atmosphere, with the focus on how the girls really live. The other show will follow Pauly D (Paul Delvecchio) as he goes on the road visiting various cities and doing his DJ thing.

The shows are both as-yet untitled, and will begin filming later this year. The Jersey Shore cast will be en route to Italy shortly to film the fourth season of the wildly popular show. Apparently they were set to leave on April 14th, but the trip has been delayed while MTV gets some filming issues sorted out.

Jersey Shore is MTV's most popular reality show and there have been lots of rumors that certain cast members have been holding out for bigger salaries. Maybe this plan to give them a couple of new shows is a way to make everyone happy.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

New Show Extreme Couponing Starts Tonight on TLC

Wednesday April 6, 2011
Last December, TLC aired an hour-long special called Extreme Couponing which gave viewers an inside look at the potential savings available when you take your coupon clipping seriously. These folks save thousands of dollars every year with their habit/hobby/shopping smarts.

The special has now morphed into a full series, which kicks off tonight at 9pm followed by a second episode at 9:30. Next week the show sticks to its regular time slot, 9:30pm every Wednesday.

Like many documentary-style reality shows, this one has chosen to document people who go above and beyond what many would consider "normal." Not only does the title indicate this (the word "extreme" is your tip-off here), but let's face it, we'd get bored pretty quickly watching your average, everyday coupon clipper save a few bucks at the grocery store. What we're in for tonight will be quite surprising to a lot of people.

For example, some of these folks are able to collect thousands of newspaper inserts that contain coupons. Combining those with store sales, they can actually make money while shopping. One woman bought 1,000 boxes of noodles and made a profit of $100 in doing so. Yes, you read that correctly. Others are a little more practical, like the woman who took her $250 grocery bill down to under $7 with the help of coupons and a store rewards card.

If you're planning on tuning in, stop by and share your opinions on the show! And if it causes you to catch the couponing bug you can get plenty of information and tips from our own About.com Coupons and Bargains site.

Betty White Gets NBC Reality Show Off Their Rockers

Thursday March 31, 2011
Now here's a new reality TV show that has the potential to be completely full of win! Octogenarian Betty White, who has been charming audiences for decades, has signed on with NBC for a new reality show. The program is called Betty White's Off Their Rockers, and will feature White with a group of friends pulling pranks on young people. Kind of like a senior citizen's version of Punk'd.

The first season will consist of 12 episodes, each 30-minutes long. The format is based on a European show called Benidorm Bastards, in which seven seniors take particular delight in "punking" the younger generation.

With just about anyone else at the helm of this I'd be a little reserved in my anticipation of the show. But Betty White is comedy gold, and I cannot wait to see how this all pans out. No air dates have been confirmed yet, as Betty White's Off Their Rockers has just been officially greenlit. I can't imagine they'll make us wait too long, however!

What do you think of this whole concept? Are hidden camera shows starting to get a little tired, or can White inject something new into the format?

Five Reasons You Should Be Watching Celebrity Apprentice

Wednesday March 30, 2011
I've been hearing from some former fans of The Apprentice that they're not tuning in for the most recent celebrity version, underway right now. There seem to be a couple of reasons for it, including that the version with "regular" people is somehow better, and that the show itself is starting to get stale.

I'm here to tell you to give the show another chance. This season of Celebrity Apprentice is by far the best yet. Not convinced? Here are five reasons why you should make a point of tuning in this Sunday night.

  • The Cast - I don't know if this cast was meticulously put together by an evil genius, or it just sort of happened. It doesn't matter. This group of celebrities is fantastic. And dysfunctional. Fantastically dysfunctional. From surprisingly awesome NeNe Leakes of Real Housewives of Atlanta to hilarious country star John Rich to twitchy, obstinate baseballer Jose Canseco, this cast is the best combination I've seen since the original cast of Survivor. (Speaking of which, Richard Hatch is also on board.)

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