Season two of True Tori is said to address Tori’s family relationships, business ventures, and struggles with balancing her four children, thriving career, and still-in-repair marriage. The series, which premiered earlier this year, over-delivered the Lifetime 2014 prime average by 74% with Women 25-54, 61% with Women 18-49, 57% with Adults 25-54, 47% with Adults 18-49, and 15% with Total Viewers.

Spelling has had a busy 2014 as, aside from True Tori, she starred in ABC Family comedy Mystery Girls alongside 90210 co-star Jennie Garth. The series has reportedly been cancelled after disappointing ratings for its first 10 episodes, though the network claims that no official decision has been made. Given that True Tori will be filming and airing in near-real time, viewers will get a chance to see how the fate of Mystery Girls, whether it be positive or negative, impacts Tori’s career, state of mind, and relationship with Dean.

Will you be watching the second season of True Tori? Do you think that Tori and Dean can work things out and emerge from this ordeal a stronger, happier couple? What else would you like to see addressed during the second season?

The post True Tori Season 2 Premieres October 21st on Lifetime appeared first on TVHackr.

“Glen Mazzara has re-imagined him as a dark, romantic, anti-hero and this fresh take blends complex characters with premium storytelling to make something truly original,” said Rob Sharenow, exec vp and general manager of Lifetime.

Damien is said to follow the adult life of Damien Thorn, the child from the film series, as he comes to terms with his true identity as the Antichrist. No casting has been announced yet, though Damien will reportedly premiere sometime next year.

Damien joins a growing scripted slate at Lifetime that includes recent orders The Clan of the Cave Bear, about a young Cro-Magnon woman who finds herself separated from her family. and Un-Real, which follows the behind the scenes action at a reality dating series in the vein of The Bachelor. Lifetime hasn’t been shy about embracing genre content, as they’re currently airing both Witches of East End and The Lottery, and with the cancellation of Drop Dead Diva and the limbo status Devious Maids currently resides in, they needed to beef up their scripted content that much more. The only questions about the project involve whether its ties to the original film will be helpful in the end and whether a show that could go this dark will be able to draw a large enough audience to sustain itself.

You can check out a trailer for the original Omen film below.

Will you be watching Damien? Do you think a show with this type of premise can work on a network like Lifetime? Should Lifetime continue exploring genre content a’la Witches of East End and Damien or should they continue trying to diversify their scripted slate?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVK42hD9IaY

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Bourne is set to play the former lover of the show’s executive producer, an addict who managed to clean up his act and who now runs a surf charter company. Meanwhile, Williams will portray Lizzie, the new makeup girl at the show. They join a cast that includes the likes of Craig Bierko (Sex and the City) as Chet, the self-indulgent, pompous series creator who’s carrying on an affair with his executive producer (Constance Zimmer); Josh Kelly (One Life to Live) as one of the show’s cameramen; Johanna Braddy (Shameless) as a contestant eager to land a husband; and Breeda Wool (Betas) as a vulnerable tomboy from the South.

In addition to his current role on the MTV genre drama, Bourne has appeared on Revenge, The Secret Circle, and Fringe, while Williams’s television credits include stints on Black Box, Level Up, and Heartland.

It’s as yet unclear whether Un-Real will premiere this fall or be held for early 2015. Should the series premiere this year, it will be the network’s second new series to come along in 2014 following the debut of conspiracy thriller The Lottery. The network has been busy scooping up new dramas following the cancellation of Army Wives, Drop Dead Diva, and The Client List, as historical drama The Clan of the Cave Bear is set to premiere sometime next year, as well.

Will you be watching Un-Real? Do you think a show with this concept can appeal to Lifetime audiences? Where and when do you think Lifetime should air Un-Real?

The post Un-Real: JR Bourne and Siobhan Williams Join the Cast appeared first on TVHackr.

Based on the Sarah Gertrude Shapiro short Sequin Raze and co-written by Marti Noxon, Un-Real is set in the world of a reality dating competition and follows a young staffer (Shiri Appleby) whose job it is to manipulate relationships in order to create the dramatic footage demanded of her by producers. In addition to Appleby, Zimmer, and Bierko, Un-Real stars Josh Kelly (One Life to Live) as one of the show’s cameramen, Johanna Braddy (Shameless) as a contestant eager to land a husband, and Breeda Wool (Betas) as a vulnerable tomboy from the South.

In addition to his role on the CBS soap, Bierko has appeared on the likes of Damages, Boston Legal, and Sex and the City.

Un-Real should be the next original scripted series to debut on Lifetime, which has already premiered one new series this year in sci-fi conspiracy drama The Lottery. The network, also home to the likes of Devious Maids and Witches of East End, recently picked up another scripted drama in The Clan of the Cave Bear, which tells the story of a young girl fighting for survival in a world where Neanderthals and the first modern humans occupy the same space.

Will you be watching Un-Real? Do you think a show with this type of concept can be a success for Lifetime? Are you surprised that it’s taken this long to get this type of scripted show on the air?

The post Un-Real: Craig Bierko Joins Upcoming Lifetime Drama appeared first on TVHackr.

The four new unscripted projects include: Born in the Wild, about natural child birth in the wild, Girlfriend Intervention, a makeover series, a docu-sitcom, Kosher Soul, and Threads, a reality-competition show from the producers of Project Runway. 

New shows in development include: Smile, an extreme dental makeover show, reality-competition series Worst Stylist Ever, and Ugly Models, a docu-series hailing from Gene Simmons, Jon Murray, Jeff Jenkins and Gil Goldschein that follows the world’s leading modeling agency focused on representing “unusual looking people.”

Here are full synopses for Lifetime’s new programs:

Born in the Wild:

For expecting mothers and fathers in their third trimester of pregnancy, things couldn’t get much wilder.  From the mood swings and false alarms to the crazy food cravings, learning to expect the unexpected becomes a way of life in the final days leading up to birth.  But what happens when the craziest experience of a woman’s life becomes truly wild, and soon-to-be parents decide to take on an unassisted birth in the outdoors?  “Born in the Wild” will document the journeys of young, expectant parents who have chosen to give birth “in the wild.” Produced by Matador, “Born in the Wild” is executive produced by Jay Peterson, Todd Lubin, Yoshi Stone, alongside Lifetime’s Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Mariana Flynn.  Lifetime has ordered eight hour-long episodes of “Born in the Wild.”

Girlfriend Intervention:

“Girlfriend Intervention” stars four wise, poised and stylish African American women, who, in each episode, help a white sister seeking a complete makeover to restore her confidence and inner glow.  Making over their wardrobes, beauty routines, homes and minds, they teach these women how to embrace and celebrate their lives, speak their mind, lighten up and love themselves again.  Our four experts carry themselves with a great deal of pride, style and, most importantly, self-confidence. Where does it come from and how can it be obtained?   Who better to teach a woman how to get that sparkle in her eye and spring back in her step?  Each week, “Girlfriend Intervention” follows a woman whose personal space and self-esteem are in desperate need of a major makeover and a life-giving dose of diva inspiration.  Our hosts, beauty pro Tracy Balan, home and sanctuary guru Nikki Chu, style and fashion maven Tiffiny Dixon and soul coach Tanisha Thomas, help these women break it down and tell it like it is. “Girlfriend Intervention” is produced by World of Wonder.  Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato and Tom Campbell and Marilyn Wilson serve as executive producers, along with Lifetime’s Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Mariana Flynn.  Camilla Rahaman is co-executive producer.  Lifetime has ordered eight one-hour episodes of “Girlfriend Intervention.”

Kosher Soul:

This is the swirl like you’ve never seen it before.  Celebrity stylist, comedian, sometime performer and reformed man about town O’Neal McKnight is getting married to fellow celebrity fashion stylist Miriam Sternoff, who plays grown-up to his arrested adolescent.  O’Neal is African American, from a very rural part of the south; Miriam is Jewish, from the northwest by way of upper-middle-class New York City; and her mom, who strikes terror into O’Neal’s heart, is insistent that their children be raised Jewish.  So O’Neal, who had not always been the best boyfriend to Miriam back in the day, is converting in an effort to show he’s serious about marriage and his wife’s belief system.  O’Neal and Miriam, and their cosmopolitan circle of Los Angeles friends, spare no sacred cow as they explore and poke fun at the differences in their cultures.  We’ll watch emotions run high as Miriam’s family wonders how authentic O’Neal’s conversion is, and these two completely different people try to form a union and live as one.  Will their love be able to survive? Lifetime has ordered 12 half-hour episodes of “Kosher Soul,” which will be produced by Ish Entertainment.  Michael Hirschorn, Melissa Cooper, Wendy Roth, and Rasheed Daniel as well as Lifetime’s Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Mariana Flynn executive produce.

Threads:

Hosted by Vanessa Simmons and featuring judges Christian Siriano (“Project Runway” Season Four winner), Seventeen Fashion Director Gina Kelly and Accessories Editor Jasmine Snow, and YouTube style guru Ingrid Nilsen, “Threads” is a competition series showcasing America’s most talented young fashion designers.  Each week, three new contestants pull out their scissors, sketchbooks and skills to see who can out-design the competition and set the new standard for the future of fashion.  Challenges will be fast-paced, unpredictable and far from child’s play as these nascent fashion powerhouses compete for a prize package worth $25,000, including $10,000 to be used at any Jo-Ann’s Fabrics & Crafts store or Joann.com, a scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles and a top of the line sewing and embroidery studio courtesy of Brother International Corporation.  Special guests this season include television personality and host Kelly Osbourne, actress, singer and dancer Zendaya and actress and model Jaime King. Lifetime has ordered eight episodes of “Threads,” which hails from The Weinstein Company, Full Picture and Sara Rea Productions.  Executive producers include Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Meryl Poster, Patrick Reardon and Barbara Schneeweiss of The Weinstein Company, Jane Cha and Desiree Gruber of Full Picture and Sara Rea.  Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and David Hillman of Lifetime also executive produce.

Smile

Imagine having teeth so damaged that you can’t smile.  Imagine not dating, working or even leaving the house because of the horrid state of your teeth.  For some Americans, this is their shocking reality, and this series explores what happens when they are offered the chance of a lifetime – the chance to smile.  “Smile” is a bold, new hour-long series that documents the emotional and psychological journeys of people attempting to fix their lives by fixing their teeth.  The program is from 11th Street Productions and executive produced by Morgan J. Freeman and Dia Sokol Savage.  Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Colleen Conway Grogan of Lifetime also executive produce.

Worst Stylist Ever

“Worst Stylist Ever” is a competition-reality show that will redefine the term “bad hairday.”   Each self-contained episode of this series will feature four of the world’s most inadequate hair stylists as they are put through a series of challenges to determine the best of the worst.  At stake each week is a scholarship to a prestigious beauty school and perhaps the opportunity to finally learn how to stop savaging women’s hair and have a chance at a career.  Produced by Haymaker, “Worst Stylist Ever” will be executive produced by Aaron Rothman and Irad Eyal, and Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Paul Hardy of Lifetime.

Ugly Models

From executive producers rock icon Gene Simmons, Jon Murray, Jeff Jenkins and Gil Goldschein, the workplace docu-series “Ugly Models” will chronicle the American expansion of the U.K.-based modeling outfit, which prides itself on being the most successful and one-of-a-kind agency in the world representing character models with unique and unusual looks.  Having conquered England, now the company is ready to make a go of it on the other side of the pond, and this project will be there to document the process.  “Ugly Models” is from Bunim-Murray Productions.  Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Mariana Flynn of Lifetime also executive produce.

The post Lifetime Adds New Unscripted Programs appeared first on TVHackr.

“Un-Real is unlike anything that exists on television today,” Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Lifetime, said.  “It’s premium and original on every level, and we’re thrilled that Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro’s unique series will be Lifetime’s first program produced by A+E Studios.”

Un-Real marks the latest original scripted series for Lifetime, which underwent a changing of the guard during 2013 with the cancellations of Army Wives and The Client List and the renewals of freshman series Witches of East End and Devious Maids. The show will likely end up as the most comedic scripted series on the network, though it won’t be the only Lifetime drama with a comedic element, as Maids, Witches, and Drop Dead Diva all have a certain amount of humor to them.

In addition to Appleby, Un-Real stars Megyn Price (Rules of Engagement) as the executive producer of the series; Freddie Stroma (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2) as the show’s handsome bachelor Adam; Johanna Braddy (Hit the Floor) as Anna, a contestant looking to land a husband; and Josh Kelly (One Life to Live) as Rachel’s cameraman ex.

Will you be watching Un-Real? Do you think the show will have anything new to say about reality television? Can something that leans more comedic work on a drama-heavy network like Lifetime?

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It’s been a past couple of months for Lifetime, as they canceled their longest running drama in Army Wives and fellow network transplant America’s Most Wanted, in addition to giving a renewal to Marc Cherry’s Devious Maids. Maids is perhaps the most infamous case of Lifetime picking up a new show; the nighttime soap was originally in development at ABC before landing on Lifetime, where it nearly doubled its ratings from series premiere to season finale. That series is set to premiere its second season during the summer of 2014.

The network has been increasing its unscripted presence in recent months with the likes of Million Dollar Shoppers, Supermarket Superstar, and Pretty Wicked Moms all debuting during 2013. Lifetime will next premiere Chasing Nashville, a docu-series about four young female singers trying to make it in the country music industry, on Tuesday, October 22nd at 10:00.

White will return to host the Off Their Rockers when it premieres sometime during 2014. The series had previously aired on Lifetime in repeats.

Are you happy that Betty White’s Off Their Rockers has been brought back? Do you think that the show fits in well with the rest of the Lifetime lineup? What other recently canceled shows would you like to see be resurrected?

The post Lifetime Revives Betty White’s Off Their Rockers for 20-Episode Third Season appeared first on TVHackr.

“There is no denying how special Army Wives has been to both Lifetime and the television landscape,” Lifetime GM Rob Sharenow said in a statement. “By taking on a very relevant and timely issue, it has brilliantly captured the challenges our military families endure and the bravery they and their loved ones display while serving our country. It has been an honor to be the home of Army Wives. We also want to thank Army Wives’ passionate legion of fans and everyone involved with the series: ABC Studios, Mark Gordon and Jeff Melvoin, Tanya Biank, every single cast member, as well as the crew and community of Charleston, South Carolina. Without their dedication, effort and loyalty, Army Wives’ seven wonderful seasons would not have been possible; and for that we are very grateful.”

The writing was on the wall for the series during its sixth season hiatus, which saw original stars Kim Delaney and Sally Pressman departing and taking a reduced role, respectively. Generally, a series only goes through such significant cast changes when its financials are nearing the point of being too steep to continue, but Army Wives ended up restocking its cast with several new additions this season and got to wrap things up, more or less, on its own terms. Ratings for the final season were reportedly down by about 20%.

Undoubtedly, Army Wives leaves Lifetime in better shape upon its departure than it arrived, as Devious Maids became a breakout hit this summer, The Client List posted strong numbers for two seasons (it’s yet to be renewed for a third), and Drop Dead Diva came back from cancellation thanks to a dedicated fanbase. Lifetime will next premiere supernatural drama Witches of East End on Sunday, October 6th.

Do you think that Lifetime made the right decision in bringing Army Wives to an end? Are you satisfied with how the show wrapped up this summer? Which of the Wives will you miss the most?

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