Fox at TCA: Mariah Carey Phones It In; Reality Stars Dominate the Day - Ed Martin

The announcement yesterday by Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly at the Summer Television Critics Association Tour that superstar Mariah Carey next season will help fill the recently depleted judges table on quotAmerican Idolquot may have been a first of its kind during a TCA panel The superstar couldn39t appear in person to share in the excitement of the moment amp8211 or give the hundreds of critics and reporters in the room something interesting to write about amp8211 because the deal according to Reilly had been quotconcluded only hours agoquot So she did the next best thing the first best thing being an appearance via Skype She took a call from Reilly and over the speaker on his cell phone said she quotwanted to be there todayquot told everyone to quothave a great TCAquot and promised to see everyone during the Winter TCA Tour in JanuaryquotThere39s really nothing else we can confirmquot Reilly said of all the questions currently surrounding quotIdolquot He noted that while recent winner Phillip Phillips quotwent gold faster than any other artist in the history of the showquot ratings were nevertheless down for the show39s 11th season And with Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez departing and Randy Jackson39s future with the show still to be determined quotonce again we have the biggest names in the business wanting to do this jobquot he said It would seem that there is an inverse relationship between the star power of judges on quotIdolquot and the level of its ratings but that39s something Fox executives will have to figure out for themselvesThe quotIdolquot news was rather anticlimactic given the rampant speculation in recent weeks about Carey joining the show perhaps because Carey wasn39t there to break the news herself Nevertheless quotIdolquot proved to be the most interesting topic in what turned out to be a rather lowkey TCA day for the usual highenergy Fox That may have something to do with the fact that the three new shows it previewed throughout the day amp8211 comedies quotThe Mindy Projectquot and quotBen and Katequot and crime drama quotThe Mob Doctorquot amp8211 haven39t generated the same enthusiasm as the new series Fox presented at last summer39s TCA which included quotThe X Factorquot quotNew Girlquot and quotTerra NovaquotInstead Fox39s day was powered by its highprofile returning reality shows quotSo You Think You Can Dancequot quotAmerican Idolquot and quotThe X Factorquot The day began with a performance by three of this season39s standout contestants on quotSYTYCDquot and a panel with its judges and choreographers Sessions for quotThe Mindy Projectquot and quotBen and Katequot followed during which it became clear that while critics don39t actually dislike these shows they aren39t as interested in them as they had been and still are in last year39s freshman favorite quotNew Girlquot As for how they feel about quotThe Mob Doctorquot the less said the betterReilly39s session followed the highlights of which were his announcement about Carey and the details he provided about the fourth season of quotGleequot which will be set in its usual Lima Ohio location where most of the primary characters will remain as well as New York City where some of the characters will explore life after graduation Both locations will be included in most episodes he said adding that there will be quotthematic linksquot between the stories that play out in themAs for quotThe X Factorquot which is also in rebuild mode Reilly said he thinks people will be surprised by how quotfeistyquot new judge Britney Spears is and what a quotspitfirequot Demi Lovato has turned out to be He said an announcement about the new host for the show could be made as early as next week In a satellite interview with the quotX Factorquot crew later in the day Simon Cowell suggested that there will be two hosts amp8211 one male one female amp8211 but that their identities likely wouldn39t be revealed until midAugustquotX Factorquot would seem to have gotten off to a rocky start last season given that superstiff host Steve Jones and judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger were all dropped from the show after its season finale but Reilly insisted that Fox was pleased with it quotWe had one of the best falls we39ve ever had in the history of the companyquot he said suggesting that quotX Factorquot played a significant role in that accomplishmentIn the quotX Factorquot panel that came later amp8211 a satellite remote from Miami with Cowell Spears Lovato and LA Reid amp8211 Cowell comically referred to Lovato as a quotbratquot and marveled at how tough she and Spears are with contestants Responding to a question from a critic Lovato said she is qualified to be a judge because she listens to the radio and knows what young people like to listen toGiven his relative overexposure on Fox a session with chef and selfproclaimed hospitality expert Gordon Ramsay amp8211 the star and executive producer of past and present network staples quotKitchen Nightmaresquot quotHell39s Kitchenquot quotMasterchefquot and quotHotel Hellquot proved surprisingly fresh and engaging Ramsay is so comfortable and candid with the press that he puts to shame many of the other reality show personalities who appear throughout TCA tours and act as if the world will come to an end if they reveal too muchFox39s TCA day ended with a party at the superexclusive private club Soho House which was a tantalizing treat to those TCA members who had heard so much about it but had never been invited there It was an extraordinary event and it left many critics lamenting the fact that the rest of the parties scheduled for the next two weeks wouldn39t be nearly as productive or memorable

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Fox at TCA: Mariah Carey Phones It In; Reality Stars Dominate the Day - Ed Martin

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