[Photos: Zuma Press]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Here’s some great news for reality TV fans!! Both Amazing Race and Survivor have been picked up for additional new seasons following the seasons that will premiere in February. I know I’m ready to celebrate!
After ten years and 20 season, Survivor will return for two more season making them the 21st and 22nd seasons of the pioneering reality show.
And CBS has also ordered the 17th season of my personal favorite, Amazing Race. It’s thrilling news!
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains premieres on Thursday, Feb. 11 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) and Amazing Race 16, featuring Jeff & Jordan from last summer’s …read more

[Photo: Lynn DeVries]

I can’t tell you how very sad I am today to report that Survivor: Palau veteran Jenn Lyon lost her battle with breast cancer on Tuesday evening.
I had the privilege of meeting and sharing some wonderful laughs and fun with Jenn at a charity event in her honor in the fall of 2008. She was one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I have had the pleasure to meet. I had hoped that she would be able to beat the cancer with her strength and positive attitude. Sadly, she died at home after a five year battle. She …read more

[Photos: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.]

I’m already getting very excited about the new season of Survivor! It should be a very interesting one, since the 20 former Survivors we’ll see return to the show are all very memorable. Some of them I’ve had the opportunity to meet and I’ll let you know my impressions about them if I have.
Here’s a photo, some brief info and commentary as well as a short video clip for each of the Heroes we’ll see this season:

[Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.]RUPERT BONEHAMAge: 45Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.Current Residence: …read more

[Photos: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.]

On last night’s People’s Choice Awards show, Jeff Probst gave us a sneak peek at the new cast of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians. I was thrilled to see Rupert Boneham there. He’s such a sweet, nice man. I can’t wait to see how he does.
The 20th season of the show takes place in Samoa once again and if you’re like me, you love some of the new cast members, hate some of them too. Here’s last night’s preview clip:

Of course, we all want to know the details about why each of …read more

[Photo: courtesy of In Touch Weekly]

No, Jenna Morasca does not have cancer, but she has been dating fellow Survivor winner Ethan Zahn since 2003 and he has had his Hodgkin’s disease return. She has vowed to stay and fight it with him.
We all remember that Jenna left the Survivor: All-Stars season early because she wanted to be with her mother who was dying of cancer. She’s had a lot of experience being supportive of cancer patients. And this time, she plans to help him be a winner over it.
Here’s what Jenna says about finding out about the return of Ethan’s …read more

[Photo: © Lynn DeVries, do not re-use without permission]

One of the most charismatic and interesting former Survivors that I have met is Rupert Boneham. Every Survivor fan knows that he’s the original pirate and first caught our imagination when he stole the other tribe’s shoes on his first season on Survivor. Then, after appearing on the Survivor: All-Stars season, he was awarded $1 million for being the fans’ favorite Survivor.
I can tell you that he is truly one of the kindest, warmest individuals I’ve met. He looks gruff on the outside, but he’s a marshmallow on the inside. He is …read more

They have given the show more class this year. It needed it! I had several people at various reality star charity events mention to me that they thought the show was less of an awards show and more of a trailer park brawl.
I mentioned that to a contact of mine at FOX Reality Channel and it must have been heard by the Powers That Be. This year, the show was considerably classier than in the previous three years!
The award statue itself is now very nice. Instead of the giant, plastic martini glass, it’s now a crystal obelisk with a huge …read more

Here’s a bit of a spoiler for this week’s new episode of Survivor: Samoa. The tribes have been enduring some of the most difficult conditions of any season so far. (Although I remember that on Survivor: Outback they were also in danger of starving.) The weather added to the food situation made things nearly unbearable for them. Except for Russell H. I guess evil doesn’t get hungry…
Then, in one of the challenges, Russell S. goes down. I hope he’s alright!

[Photo: Newscom]

What fan of Survivor doesn’t remember Richard Hatch, the winner of the very first season of the show? And of course, we all remember when he pulled the biggest boneheaded move in reality TV history…he evaded paying taxes on the $1 million prize and went to jail. The moral of that story is to always pay your taxes. The IRS doesn’t care what show you won.
Well, he can finally walk free again. Here’s a snippet from the official AP press release:
He’s being released Friday from the Barnstable County Jail in Bourne, southeast of Boston.
Hatch was imprisoned in 2006. He …read more

[Photo: Newscom]

In 2002, Ethan Zahn was at the top of his game when he won Survivor: Africa. Then, he proved what a great person he is when he started a charity to help children with AIDS in Africa. But one thing that doesn’t play favorites is cancer. Unfortunately, Ethan is now fighting his second round of a rare form of Hodgkin’s disease.
He’s got a heavy treatment cycle ahead of him, but he remains positive:
Ethan says, “Whatever things are thrown at you, you’ve got to battle through with a smile on your face and the important people in your life around …read more