TV Squad

• Short Circuitz hits MTV in April
  

  Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, MTV

  Last October Anna mentioned that MTV had picked up another new comedy series from Nick Cannon called Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz. You know the show is going to be all urban and edgy because they used a "Z" instead of an "S." That's how all the cool kidz do it, you know. Since I'm actually cooler than anyone, I've stopped using the letter S completely in my daily life:

  Me:Excuze me, I want to order a zandwich, and I want plenty of muztard and mayonnaize, pleaze. And a zausage patty, but not too zpicy, becauze my tongue is zenzitive.

  You...
  




• Andy returns, and he's funnier
  

  Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Web, MTV

  I've said before I'm kind of an intermittent fan of the Andy Milonakis Show, but after seeing the season three premiere in which Andy first arrives in Los Angeles, I have to say that the show has improved greatly. If you hated Andy before, you'll probably still hate him, since his brand of humor isn't for everyone, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much more fully realized the show now seems. The first season had some very funny moments, but it seemed to lack focus, as if it wasn't sure what it was trying to be. I think...
  




• Punk'd to end with a one-day marathon
  

  Filed under: Other Reality Shows, MTV, Cancellations

  Ashton Kutcher's prank show on MTV is coming to an end after eight seasons, according to Variety. MTV plans to air the entire final season during one day -- April 7th -- with back-to-back new episodes. The network is calling it a sneak preview, where it will air all eight episodes before the official premiere date of the last season of Punk'd. The episodes will also air weekly starting April 10 at 9 pm.
  
  This season, Punk'd reportedly pranks Lost's Evangeline Lilly, Hilary Swank, Nelly Furtado, Magic Johnson, and... Ashton Kutcher. Hopefully that'll be the series finale,...
  



• Evangeline Lilly gets Punk'd
  

  Filed under: ABC, Lost, Celebrities, MTV

  Evangeline Lilly has fallen victim to Ashton Kutcher and his Punk'd gang. The Lost actress will appear on the newest (and supposedly last) season of the MTV prank show, along with fellow celebrities Hilary Swank, Magic Johnson, and Nelly Furtado. Lilly's episode will be aired in an eight-episode marathon of the show on April 7. Each episode will be aired individually beginning on April 10.

  No word yet on how Lilly was punk'd. Perhaps they switched Dominic Monaghan with Billy Boyd and waited for her to notice. MTV is promoting this season as the show's last, but fake announcements about...
  




• Casting begins for what may be The Real World's last season
  

  Filed under: Other Reality Shows, MTV

  Casting for the 20th season of The Real World is underway, and get this, they're looking for people with ambitions and career goals. Apparently, the drinking, whoring version of The Real World is on the way out. They're looking for "aspiring actors, models, dancers, filmmakers, musicians, athletes, artists, journalists, stylists and fashion designers" or any youngin' with "interesting career goals." The Real World's producers don't have a contract with MTV beyond the 20th season. That's not to say that they won't eventually strike a deal, but it looks like Bunim-Murray is trying a return to form by assembling a cast of...
  



• Who wants to be an MTV guest host?
  

  Filed under: Cable, Music and Variety, MTV

  MTV is really getting into this whole idea of TV viewers also becoming TV content providers. First they add a new viewer video category for the MTV Movie Awards, and now they're looking for guest hosts for Total Request Live.

  Fans of the show have to answer six questions to enter, including which celebrity that they'd pick to star as in a movie about their life, who they would pick for the ultimate TRL guest list, and how they would describe TRL to someone who has never seen the show before (that last one is easy: they play music videos,...
  




• MTV Movie Awards will have user video category
  

  Filed under: Music and Variety, Web, MTV

  MTV is adding a new category to the MTV Movie Awards: Best Movie Spoof. More exactly: the best movie spoof created by a viewer and uploaded to Yahoo! Movies.

  Starting April 23, folks can upload their spoofs to a special site on Yahoo! Movies, which will feature the usual interactivity associated with user content and Web 2.0. The winner will be announced during the MTV Movie Awards on June 3, and other videos will become part of the ceremony thanks to a "World Wide Web Wall."

  Continue reading MTV Movie Awards will have user video category

  Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, MTV

  Jason Wahler will spend the next two months in jail. No, you can't lock him up for simply being an idiot. He actually had to do something, like punch a city employee and a tow truck driver. Last year, the 20-year old co-star of The Hills and Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County blew his top when a tow truck was blocking the road as the driver tried to move an illegally parked car. Wahler reportedly got out of his vehicle and yelled racial slurs at the city worker and tow truck driver (both of them black) and then actually...
  



• MTV getting the hang of this whole Web video thing
  

  Filed under: Music and Variety, Web, MTV

  Whatever you may have thought of Napster and file sharing, one thing is clear: it changed the way people think about how music is both marketed and distributed. In much the same way, sites like YouTube have changed how people watch television. These days people have more options than simply plopping down on the couch when their favorite show airs, as the Web offers them different ways (both legally and not-so-legally) to see their favorite programs.

  Continue reading MTV getting the hang of this whole Web video thing

  Other Drama Shows, MTV, Pickups and Renewals

  MTV may finally be backing away from its plethora of reality programs, which are all beginning to see a decline in ratings. The network has given the greenlight to - gasp! - a drama. It's the first scripted series for the network in five long years.
  
  The half-hour drama is called Kaya and it's about a teen-age girl who, along with her band members, becomes a rock star. This is a little more along the lines of the whole music television theme, unlike the mid-1990s teen angst drama, My So-Called Life. In case you were wondering, the...