CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from various wire reports each morning:
LIVING IT UP WITH ALI & JACK (Syndication) - Rob Dauber ("The Restaurant") has been named supervising producer on the upcoming syndicated talk show hosted by Ali Wentworth and Jack Ford. Kim McCabe ("The Oprah Winfrey Show") and Mimi Pizzi ("The Rosie O'Donnell Show") have also signed on as producers while Jeffry Culbreth will join as talent producer. The series, which has been cleared in 87% of the country, bows in September.
HOUSE OF DREAMS (A&E, New!) - The cable network has greenlighted a new reality series that will bring competing couples together to plan, design, build and decorate their dream house. The twist is that only one of the families gets to keep the home. Rob Grader of Granada USA is behind the project, which will be produced by Charles Tremayne, Nancy Dubuc and Rob Sharenow. The series, which will feature the usual elimination element of most reality programs, bows this summer.
PARADISE HOTEL (FOX, New!) - FOX has committed to eight weeks of a new summer reality soap opera entitled "Paradise Hotel." The series, which premieres June 16, will run Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:00/8:00c and follow 12 guests (six single men and six single women) at an exclusive resort (a la "Big Brother"). Each week a guest is voted off by the other contestants. The twist however is that viewers will have the opportunity to literally become part of the show. While specifics have yet to be revealed, the idea is to have viewers call a toll-free number for a chance to win a seat in the show's studio audience, which will be used for "breaking the fourth wall" reactions to the contestants' antics. Members of the audience will then compete (again the details are not clear) to replace the kicked off member and join the other contestants on the resort. Tom Gutteridge and Charles Thompson are the executive producers of the project, which is from Mentorn, a production subsidiary of the United Kingdom's The Television Corporation.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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