Tuned In+August 24, 2009

MTV to Show Us Its Skins

By James Poniewozik

MTV announced today that it’s making its own version of the British teen dramedy Skins, which has been running here on BBC America. I’m both excited and apprehensive. A few thoughts:

* I had hoped a while back, in my recently-neglected Unwanted Programming Advice feature, that HBO or Showtime would make a teen drama of their own, uninhibited by either network squeamishness or pressure to dumb it down. At the time, I noted, Skins was being shopped around for an American remake, so that was a good possibility: the show, at turns raunchily funny and brutally serious, would be the kind of thing a pay cabler could do well without pressure.

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Tuned In+July 29, 2009

MTV, Joan Rivers Embrace New Era of Nice

By James Poniewozik

When MTV says that it’s focusing on making earnest, socially minded TV shows, something weird is going on in America. When Joan Rivers then follows MTV to say she’s making an uplifting, aspirational TV show, something really weird is going on in America. Or at least in TV land. (And, in Rivers’ case, on TV [...]

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Tuned In+April 28, 2009

Corporate Press Release Theater: The 'M' Is for Millennial

By James Poniewozik

MTV, it is glad to remind you, continues to be a brand leader in providing entertainment to the Young People of Today. And as I’ve said before, it is a pretty remarkable accomplishment that the network, since the early ’80s, has constantly reinvented itself to remain relevant—considering that MTV, were it a person, would be [...]

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Tuned In+July 23, 2008

Heidi, Spencer to Invade Iraq

By James Poniewozik

…and while I’m on the subject of American media stars touring war zones, I would be remiss if I didn’t share this even more important news: The Hills star (and McCain supporter) Heidi Montag, and her squeeze Spencer Pratt are planning to visit Iraq, with some assistance from McCain’s daughter. (Via Politico.) Heidi evidently plans [...]

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Tuned In+May 14, 2008

MTV Is Invading My Hood

By James Poniewozik

Still time to stock up before the drunk hipsters attack! / Photo by s o d a p o p reprinted under Creative Commons license. So it turns out that I live in the 21st coolest place in the world. At least by one measure: Season 21[!] of The Real World will be taping this [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | March 24, 2008

TV Tonight: Paris, Je, Like, T'aime

By James Poniewozik

Britney, Shmitney: the real stars of MTV are returning to your TV tonight, as The Hills comes back, and we discover that Lauren’s voyage to Paris is not all baguettes and pamplemousse: The best part of that clip, as in most Hills episodes, is not the action (Lauren hearing that Brody is catting around) but [...]