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TV Tonight: The Stylista Finale

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:30:18 -0800

If you're anything like me - and frankly, if the ratings are any indication, you're probably not - the most important item on your TiVo tonight is the season finale of Stylista. So OK, the show hasn't exactly been a hit (think: half the ratings of your average Gossip Girl episode), but it's basically defined the term "guilty pleasure" with all of its childish outbursts and infighting.

Tonight's finale comes down to three aspiring Elle editors: Megan, Johanna, and Dyshaun. Every reality show must have its "I'm not here to make friends" moment, and Megan's had about a dozen, alienating almost every contestant along the way. Johanna's had her share of nastiness (she was pretty harsh with poor Danielle), but she has a pretty interesting back story - military analyst! - and clearly sees this job as her last shot at a fashion career. And then there's Dyshaun, who's just a big blank to me. Has he done anything notable in the competition? Have I just blocked it out? So I guess that all adds up to me rooting for Johanna as we roll into the final episode.

Stylista's been its most fun (and train wreck-ish) when the contestants really get to yelling at each other, so it should be interesting tonight when all of the eliminated folks return to help the finalists with their last task. Is anyone else still hanging in there with this show? If so, which contestant are you rooting for? You can check out a couple of preview clips if you read more.

Photo courtesy of The CW

Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:30:14 -0800

Thanks to everyone who chipped in captions for this pic from The CW's new reality show Stylista:

Now it's time to decide which one should win! Here are the finalists:

In a not-so-surprising twist, another group of New York waiters hopes to make it big in the fashion industry.
"Dost not our offerings appeal?"
"We must serve before we can lead."
(Aside from Danielle, front left) "When did 'mean girls' go co-ed?"

Who wins the BuzzSugar T-shirt? Get voting!

Photo courtesy of The CW

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:30:58 -0800

Welcome to the Caption It game on BuzzSugar! Every other Wednesday, I'll post a photo still from a TV show or movie here and challenge you to think of the most hilarious caption possible. I'll announce the finalists the following Tuesday, and you'll get to vote for the best caption; the winner will get a fabulous BuzzSugar t-shirt!

First, congrats to rickimc, whose winning caption last week was totally inspired and hilarious:

"Why can't we get this baby to smile?"

Today's photo comes from The CW's new reality show Stylista:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PST on Monday, Nov. 17, to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun! To see a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, just read more.

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

Photo courtesy of The CW

Link Time! 11/6

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:30:25 -0800

Megan from Stylista speaks! - TV Filter
Oooh - Joan Holloway (OK, Christina Hendricks) in an old Everclear music video. - Videogum
Dishing on the Top Design finale. - CasaSugar
7 great Michael Crichton movies. - Cinematical
Do these 8 reasons explain why House is such a jerk? - Clique Clack TV
Who are your favorite TV idiots? - Popwatch
Ever wondered what it would be like to watch a video of a nude Steve Guttenberg jogging in Central Park? Well, it happened so you might as well watch. - GiggleSugar
Here's what Project Runway contestants would design for Michelle Obama's inaugural gown. - The Daily Beast
Can the Daily Show survive an Obama presidency? - Vulture

Photo courtesy of The CW

TV Tonight: Stylista

BuzzSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:00:00 -0800

OK, I have to know: Is anyone enjoying the CW's Stylista as much as I am? Yes, it's insubstantial fluff, but sometimes that's exactly what I need - and the show's filling the cattiness void left behind by this past season of Project Runway quite nicely.

The show can be a little overdramatic (last week's hospital trip, anyone?), but I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how much the tasks handed down to the assistants so far seem like something one might be asked to do at a real magazine. That will get tested in tonight's episode, though, as the remaining aspiring editors are asked to throw a birthday party for Anne Slowey's niece. That seems a wee bit high-maintenance even for a woman who only eats almonds once they've been soaked overnight - but maybe there will be one heck of an editorial challenge to make up for it.

I guarantee, I'll be watching this show at least till Megan gets kicked off, because I can't wait to see how she reacts when someone tells her she's not the queen of everything. (As for which contestants I'm rooting for? Johanna and Ashlie, so far.) Is anyone else hooked, or do you all think I'm nuts? To watch an interview with Slowey and a clip from tonight's episode, just read more.

TV Tonight: Stylista

BuzzSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:30:32 -0700

Maybe it's a little bit of wish fulfillment or just my journalist nerdiness coming out, but I'll watch pretty much any show having to do with work at a newspaper or magazine. So when I first heard about Stylista, the new Tyra Banks-produced reality show that premieres on the CW tonight, I had a sense it might be right up my alley.

Stylista pits 11 aspiring magazine editors against each other as they perform various assistant tasks (think The Devil Wears Prada) and editorial assignments under the withering glare of Anne Slowey, a high-ranking Elle fashion editor. (Serious Project Runway fans may remember her as a guest judge in the early seasons.) In one episode, the wannabe editors have to give their personal style a makeover and then create a magazine page about it; in another, they're sent to Chinatown to find and write about a hidden gem.

I watched the first two episodes, and while Stylista follows the predictable format of today's ubiquitous "11 aspiring [insert profession here] compete at [insert tasks here]" shows, it's delightfully catty and pretty darn fun to watch. And if ever there was proof that casting is everything in the reality world, Stylista's it; by about 10 minutes into the first episode, I'd vowed to keep watching at least until my love-to-hate-her villain of choice is eliminated.

Do you think you'll give Stylista a shot? To watch a preview, just read more.

Photo courtesy of The CW

The CW's Fall Schedule: My Take

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:30:01 -0700

The CW announced its intention to bring a bunch of rich kids back to the big screen at the network's upfront presentation yesterday, scheduling a 90210 remake and a show about surviving the "filthy rich". Now that I've had some time to mull it over, here are some of my thoughts on the schedule:

I'm surprised that the CW is putting 90210 and Surviving the Filthy Rich on the same night. Why not pair Gossip Girl with 90210 and One Tree Hill with Filthy Rich? Seems like that would give all the shows a boost.
I'm actually looking forward to Stylista, Tyra Banks' The Devil Wears Prada-esque show about assistants trying to work their way up the fashion magazine ladder. I'm surprised Anne Slowey is the magazine personality involved, though - when she's guest-judged Project Runway auditions before, I haven't found her terribly charismatic.
Speaking of Stylista, I guess we'll see if that gets big enough to make up for Elle reportedly losing all its ties to Runway!

Some other thoughts - plus pictures of the new shows - so read more.

Hooray for Reaper! The buzz had been sounding good on a renewal for a couple of days now, but that doesn't mean I didn't breathe a big sigh of relief when I saw the announcement. The current plan seems to be putting Reaper on Thursday nights with Supernatural once Smallville finishes its run, and I could see those two shows pairing well together.
We heard a few weeks back that the CW was drastically cutting back on comedies - but I didn't picture that meaning only having two on the schedule and dumping them on Friday nights! Also, there was talk at some point of wrapping Girlfriends up with a TV movie, but I haven't seen anything official about that.
Will this be the year the CW can really break out? It seems like they're going really hard for this teen and 20something niche, and I'm not sure if that will work forever - but hey, it worked for the old WB back in the Dawson's Creek ad Felicity days, right?

Some photos:
Surviving the Filthy Rich

View 2 Photos ›

Stylista

View 2 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of The CW

The CW's Fall Schedule: Rich Kids and Beverly Hills

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:02:45 -0700

Hmmm, think the CW knows its target demographic? At its upfront presentation today, the network introduced several new shows that seem to appeal to the same audience that tunes in for, say, Gossip Girl.

One of those shows is the 90210 remake, now known simply as 90210 (pictured above), which will pair on Tuesday nights with another show about wealthy teens, Surviving the Filthy Rich. We first heard about the latter show when it was still called How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls; like Gossip Girl, it's based on an Alloy Entertainment book, this time focusing on a young woman who serves as live-in tutor to a couple of wealthy Palm Beach twins. The network also officially unveiled Stylista, a reality show about the fashion magazine world produced by Tyra Banks and starring Elle magazine's Anne Slowey.

Also notable: The CW is almost completely out of the comedy business, moving its two remaining comedies (Everybody Hates Chris and The Game) to Friday nights. Sundays, meanwhile, have been outsourced to another company that will create original programming to air on the CW.

As rumored earlier this week, Reaper will indeed be returning, with 13 episodes scheduled for midseason. Aliens in America, meanwhile, didn't make the cut. Here's the CW's full press release, and you can see the schedule and descriptions of the new shows if you read more.

All caps = new show
** = new time slot

MONDAY
8 p.m. Gossip Girl
9 p.m. One Tree Hill

TUESDAY
8 p.m. 90210
9 p.m. SURVIVING THE FILTHY RICH

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. America's Next Top Model
9 p.m. STYLISTA

THURSDAY
8 p.m. Smallville
9 p.m. Supernatural

FRIDAY
8 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris**
8:30 p.m. The Game**
9 p.m. ANTM repeats

Midseason: Reaper

Here's how the CW describes the new shows:

90210
An edgy, contemporary spin-off of the iconic drama Beverly Hills, 90210, the new 90210 looks at life through the eyes of Annie Mills (Shenae Grimes, Degrassi: The Next Generation) and her brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds, The Wire), whose first day at West Beverly Hills High School leaves no doubt they're not in Kansas anymore. The Mills family, including dad Harry (casting TBD) and mom Debbie (Lori Loughlin, Summerland), has relocated to Beverly Hills to keep an eye on Harry's mother Tabitha (Jessica Walter, Arrested Development), a feisty-but-faded former television star and a charter member of the Betty Ford Clinic. For Annie and Dixon, the awkwardness of being the new kids is made worse by the fact that their dad has taken a job as the high school principal. The school is one big culture shock for Annie, a sweet and friendly girl with a passion for the theater, and Dixon, a star athlete and scholar who was adopted by the Mills family after they took him in as a foster child. Annie and Dixon have a close sibling relationship, which they'll need to help them cope with all the new cliques and classmates, including Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord, Nip/Tuck), a hot, spoiled, rich girl; Ethan (Dustin Milligan, Runaway), a popular jock whose abilities rival Dixon's; Navid (Michael Steger, The Winner), an aspiring reporter who heads up the school's daily newscast; and Silver (Jessica Stroup, Prom Night), a rebel who produces and stars in a YouTube-type video series. Even the faculty seems hip and sophisticated at WBHHS, such as smart and funny teacher Ryan Matthews (Ryan Eggold, Dirt) and beautiful guidance counselor Kelly Taylor (guest star Jennie Garth, the original Beverly Hills, 90210). The Mills family has just begun to realize how much their lives are about to change.

Surviving the Filthy Rich

Twenty-three-year-old Megan Smith (JoAnna Garcia, Reba) has a Yale education, a relentlessly positive attitude and a plan to conquer the world of journalism, despite the fact that she is currently slaving away at a tabloid rag. Megan's plan is thrown off course when, in one whirlwind day, she gets fired, meets cosmetics mogul Laurel Limoges (casting TBD) and becomes the live-in tutor for Laurel's twin teen granddaughters in the heady Palm Beach world of wealth and power. The girls, Rose (Lucy Kate Hale, Bionic Woman) and Sage (Ashley Newbrough, The Best Years), are beautiful, rebellious and less-than-thrilled with their new tutor, but Megan is determined to win them over as she enjoys the perks of her new job - breathtaking private suite, gorgeous convertible and live-in chef Marco (Allan Louis, Stomp the Yard). Even the neighbors are fabulous in Palm Beach, and Megan quickly catches the eye of Will (casting TBD), the wealthy and extremely hot dilettante who lives on the estate next door and just happens to be dating Megan's estranged sister Lily (casting TBD). Completing this romantic quadrangle is Megan's best friend Charlie (Michael Cassidy, Smallville, The O.C), who is secretly in love with her. Despite her own complicated romantic and family relationships, Megan is committed to making a difference in the lives of her two headstrong charges as she navigates the treacherous waters of high society in Palm Beach. Surviving the Filthy Rich is based on the Alloy Entertainment book How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls by best-selling author Zoey Dean (The A-List).

Stylista
If The Devil Wears Prada were a reality show, it would be Stylista. Eleven aspiring fashion enthusiasts vie for a much-coveted editorial job with Elle magazine. They work as assistants to Elle's Fashion News Director, Anne Slowey, a demanding but well-respected fashion icon. The competitors will carry out an assistant task and a fashion editorial assignment in each episode. Each week, in consultation with Elle's Creative Director, Joe Zee, Anne fires one person, until the last assistant standing gets "promoted" to the coveted real-life job opportunity. The grand prize includes a paid editorial position at Elle magazine, a paid lease on a great apartment in Manhattan, and a clothing allowance at H&M, all for one year, valued at $100,000.

Photo courtesy of the CW