MTV2 exposes new look during Super Bowl halftime
This year, the only thing MTV plans to expose during the Super Bowl halftime is a revamped network.
After producing the infamous Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” halftime show last year, the network will launch a new look to its sister station, MTV2, during the game break on Sunday.
MTV and MTV2 will both air a preview special of MTV2, featuring a combination of music, shows and random content aimed at young males.
The official halftime show on the Fox broadcast will star Paul McCartney.
“Our audience is looking for an alternative to the Super Bowl halftime show and we felt that the new MTV2 fit the bill perfectly,” said Van Toffler, president of the MTV Networks Group.
MTV2, a network showing mostly videos since 1996, will launch a new format at midnight on Feb. 7. The new MTV2 is composed of music videos, new shows, graphics and random clips “that have been scoured from the Internet, old B-movies and the public service dustbin.”
Diddy’s on the make
P. Diddy has a date with 19 women.
The latest Sean “P. Diddy” Combs-led version of MTV’s reality talent search “Making the Band” will feature 19 women living together in a SoHo loft and competing to become members of an all-girl pop group under the hip-hop mogul’s guidance.
“(T)here is nothing like finding and nurturing new talent and watching their rise to fame,” Combs said in a prepared statement.
“Making the Band 3” premieres March 3. Contestants will be judged on their dancing ability, vocal talent, star power and willingness to be part of a group. Those who don’t meet Diddy’s standards will be eliminated.
The first (Diddy-free) version of “Making the Band” debuted on ABC in 2000, then moved to MTV in 2002 and chronicled the creation (and demise) of boy band O-Town.
Beginning later in 2002, “Making the Band 2” followed Diddy and hip-hop group Da Band (and their demise) for three seasons.
‘Beauty’ contest
Take seven brainy nerds and seven dim beauties, add Ashton Kutcher as a matchmaker and what do you get?
A television reality series, of course.
Kutcher, the brains behind MTV’s “Punk’d,” is producing a new series, “Beauty and the Geek,” for the WB network this summer. The goal is to couple seemingly mismatched pairs and see which can work best together, said David Janollari, the network’s entertainment president.
“It’s really looking at stereotypes of people and how we look at beautiful women and not-so-beautiful men,” he said.
The couples will go through a series of competitions: combining wits on a camping trip, learning how to dance and working at a deli (the guys help the girls figure out how to make change).
“The girls were like, ‘Oh, they’re so adorable, I can’t wait to buy them clothes and teach them to dance,’ and the guys had the same reaction: ‘Oh, they’re so lovely, we can teach them math,’ ” Janollari said.
“Beauty and the Geek” joins NBC’s “Tommy Lee Goes to College” as the two most colorful reality series planned by the networks this summer. The NBC series follows the rock star as he enrolls in college in Nebraska.
‘Mars’ rover
On Feb. 22, former “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Alyson Hannigan will leave demon-infested Sunnydale behind for the mystery-filled seaside town of Neptune when she makes a guest appearance on UPN’s Tuesday-night cult hit “Veronica Mars.”
She plays Trina Echolls, the struggling-actress daughter of town resident and movie star Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin), and stepdaughter of his wife, Lynn (Lisa Rinna, Hamlin’s real-life spouse). That makes Trina the half-sister of Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), the high-school foe of teen sleuth Veronica (Kristen Bell).
Trina, who was a no-show at the memorial service for Lynn (who apparently committed suicide by jumping off a bridge), suddenly appears, raising new questions about what exactly happened to her stepmother.
“It’s a pretty dramatic episode,” Dohring says. “A lot of heavy stuff happens.”
Hannigan is scheduled for one episode, with a possibility of the role becoming recurring.