BuzzSugar

Do You Watch Lifetime TV Movies?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:30:50 -0700

There are made-for-TV movies, and then there are Lifetime made-for-TV movies. Though the quality of the TV movies on Lifetime has improved over the years, they're still known for their cheesiness and melodrama. Still, I can't seem to resist watching them, no matter how over-the-top or ridiculous they are.

Today there's news of yet another one, and like so many Lifetime movies, it's a dramatization of a real news story. The network has picked up the script for Pregnancy Pact, "inspired by the news that 17 girls at Gloucester High School apparently agreed to get pregnant at the same time - and succeeded." I already know I'm going to watch this. What about you?

Do You Think Project Runway Can Succeed on Lifetime?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:30:07 -0700

We're less than two months away from the launch of Project Runway on Lifetime, and while part of me won't believe the long-lost season six actually exists till it's on my TV on Aug. 20, the network's PR machine is already trying to whip up some enthusiasm. But while I've generally been feeling positive about the show's move to Lifetime - hey, at least it's airing somewhere - this new ad gives me pause. If Project Runway usually hits at Bloomingdale's level on the glam scale, this promo is more JC Penney. Its message seems to be something like, "Look! Women love Project Runway! All kinds of women! Even some men! It's just a show for regular folk!"

Now, I'm all for Lifetime drumming up even more excitement for the show and getting it some more viewers. And, to be fair, I haven't seen Lifetime's version. But this ad is making me wonder all over again: Will Runway work on Lifetime? Or will it feel out of style?

Photo courtesy of Lifetime

TV Tonight: Army Wives Season Three Premiere

BuzzSugar — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:30:56 -0700

I know I already rounded up 10 reasons why Summer TV won't be such a drag, but today's the day when I truly believe it. The third season of Army Wives begins tonight! I've long stopped feeling silly for having this much love (and it's a lot of love) for a Lifetime original series, and instead decided to simply bond with my fellow Army Wives fans. You're out there. I know you're out there.

Check out the description for tonight's first episode: "The tribe offers their support to Claudia Joy and Michael, who are supposed to leave for Brussels, but have one little problem . . . Emmalin has disappeared. Meanwhile, Roxy has her own challenges dealing with the bar and Betty’s nephew wanting to own it outright. As for Denise, her affair with former patient Mac will have definite consequences." If you want to catch up or refresh your memory on where we left off with the wives, you can watch full episodes from season two here.

Will you be watching tonight? To see a preview of the upcoming season, read more.

Photo courtesy of Lifetime

Lifetime May Make Series Out of Mona Lisa Smile, Mystic Pizza

BuzzSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:15:52 -0700

Has someone at Lifetime been going on a Julia Roberts movie binge? At the network's Upfront presentation today, executives said they're developing drama series based on Mona Lisa Smile and Mystic Pizza.

Details are scarce at this point for both projects. The Mona Lisa Smile news just confirms that the potential show would have its roots in the movie. As for Mystic Pizza, it's being developed as a two-hour "back-door pilot" called Mystic Pizza: Another Slice and has one of the film's writers, Amy Holden Jones, on board as an executive producer.

These are just the latest two movies to potentially leap to the small screen (this year's crop of pilots already includes Parenthood on NBC and 10 Things I Hate About You on ABC Family). But they seem like kind of strange choices to me - though I suppose they at least fit Lifetime's demographic. I have a hard time imagining Mystic Pizza continuing unless it was with a whole new crop of girls - and I can't see how they'll be half as charming as the original group! As for Mona Lisa Smile, I wonder if they'd try focusing on one of the supporting characters from the movie.

Is this blasphemy? Or could you imagine either series being a success?

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Project Runway Lawsuit Settles: Show Will Air on Lifetime

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:00:01 -0700

Tim Gunn will be making it work on our TVs again before too long after all: NBC Universal and Lifetime have settled their lawsuit over the fate of Project Runway, and the decision means the show will air on Lifetime, not Bravo, from now on.

A statement from NBC said the Weinstein Company - which produces the show and set off the legal battle when it opted to take Runway to Lifetime - has agreed to pay for the right to move the show to a new channel. "All of the parties are pleased with the outcome," the statement said.

Meanwhile, a statement from Lifetime president Andrea Wong said, "Lifetime is the perfect home for this outstanding program as well as its companion series, Models of the Runway" - the model-themed spinoff that the Weinstein Company first mentioned last year. The statement says Runway will be on the air this Summer.

An entire season of Runway is ready to go, and a somewhat awkward finale filmed in February at New York Fashion Week. Could it really be on the air in just a month or two? Fingers crossed!

Photo courtesy of Bravo

TV Tonight: Army Wives Season Two Finale

BuzzSugar — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:30:12 -0800

I have been faithfully watching my Army Wives ever since the second season began over the summer. And now it's coming to a close, which bums me out because I actually think this season has been better than the first. It may sound cheesy, but I feel a little attached to these ladies, and I'll miss them when they're gone (I know, I know, so sappy).

If you've been watching lately, you know that Michael is being transferred to Brussels, upending the Holden family's life on post. Roland and Joan are adapting to parenthood together while Roxy and Trevor continue to attend Al-Anon and AA meetings, respectively. Over the season, Pamela has struggled with feeling safe while her husband is away and Denise, in the most intriguing storyline to me, is coming into her own as an individual and has found romance with one of her former patients.

The previews often make the episodes look intensely dramatic and the ones for tonight are no different, hinting at more heartbreak for the ladies. I don't doubt it since the season one finale left us with such a breathlessly tense cliffhanger. To check out the preview and some clips from tonight's show, read more.

Clip No. 1: Denise and Mac

Clip No. 2: Roxy and Trevor

Photo courtesy of Lifetime

TV Tonight: Living Proof on Lifetime

BuzzSugar — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:30:04 -0700

Raising awareness and funds when it comes to fighting breast cancer is only half the battle. Tonight's TV movie on Lifetime, Living Proof, shows that for the doctors and scientists working on a cure, the fight has just begun.

Starring Harry Connick Jr., Living Proof "is the true story of oncologist and researcher Dr. Dennis Slamon, the UCLA doctor who helped develop the breast cancer drug Herceptin, and his effort to keep the drug trials afloat."

Based on the clips I've watched, Dr. Slamon faced down messy politics and sacrificed a great deal to help women suffering from breast cancer, so it seems like an inspiring true story to air during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The movie also stars Bernadette Peters, Amanda Bynes, Angie Harmon, Swoosie Kurtz, Tammy Blanchard and Regina King, and Renée Zellweger is one of the executive producers.

Below I've included some preview clips, including a chat with Connick Jr. about the film and a taste of an original song he wrote for this project. Living Proof airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. (but check your local listings). To see the clips, read more.

Photo courtesy of Lifetime

Judge Says Project Runway Can't Move to Lifetime

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:01:55 -0700

Don't expect to see Project Runway on Lifetime anytime soon. Today, a judge ruled in NBC's favor and blocked the show's move from Bravo to Lifetime. According to an NBC statement:

The overwhelming evidence demonstrated that The Weinstein Company violated NBC Universal's right of first refusal to future cycles of Project Runway. After hearing all of the evidence, the court issued an order prohibiting The Weinstein Company from taking the show or any spinoff to Lifetime.

No statement from Lifetime yet, but I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, it's unclear what this means for any future seasons of Project Runway on Bravo. The last report from Lifetime was that casting had been done for season six with new producers Bunim/Murray, and the show would start airing in January.

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Buzz In: What Are Your Favorite Made-for-TV Movies?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:00:10 -0700

Made-for-TV-movies get a pretty bad rap, don't they? For many of us, that term makes us think of something completely melodramatic that has to do with modern damsels in distress. Many of them are like the TV version of those hilarious romance novels you see at the grocery store. But there are actually some great movies that fall into this category that I know lots of people love - even if they won't readily admit it.

For example, I was impressed with Lifetime's TV movie, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, which starred Sarah Chalke and was based on Geralyn Lucas's true story of her battle with breast cancer. The movie is pretty solid entertainment, and inspiring to boot. I also really liked Iron Jawed Angels, about suffragettes in America, as well as Angels in America (that cast!).

Of course, let's not forget that the High School Musical phenomenon started, for better of for worse, on the old tube as well.

What are your favorite made-for-TV-movies?

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First Look: Coco Chanel on Lifetime

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:39:07 -0700

With the fashion world abuzz at New York Fashion Week right now, it seems an apt time for Lifetime to premiere its look at the life of one of fashion's true icons: Coco Chanel. Coco Chanel stars Shirley MacLaine as the legendary designer (and Barbora Bobulova as the young Coco) who began life in a French orphanage and worked her way up through the fashion world, ultimately bringing us classic suits, the little black dress, and a perfume that's endured for decades.

Lifetime calls Chanel "a glamorous woman who was hard to love and harder to ignore," and that comes through in this trailer. Yes, there's the obligatory breathless "fashion! is! my! life!" declaration, but there are also some great scenes of MacLaine's Coco berating a woman for wearing a subpar outfit and literally ripping the skirt off her body. Oh, if only she could bring her sharp tongue to the Project Runway stage!

The movie premieres this Saturday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m. To watch the trailer, read more.

Photo courtesy of Lifetime