CBS has set premiere dates for its summer slate of reality television programming, including three returning and one new series.
“Secret Celebrity Renovation” kicks off the lineup with a July 28 premiere followed by the Aug. 2 debut of “Big Brother” Season 25. The all-new musical game show “Superfan” will launch on Aug. 9, and finally “The Challenge: USA” returns for its second season on Aug. 10.
“Big Brother’s” 25th season will debut with a special 90-minute episode on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. ET while a group of new Houseguests arrive at the “Big Brother” house. Following its premiere, the series will air on Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. followed by Thursdays at 9 p.m. featuring live evictions.
The brand new “Superfan” series features hosts Nate Burleson and Keltie Knight as they lead contestants battling it out to prove that they are their favorite artist’s number one supporter. Featured celebrities this season include Kelsea Ballerini, Gloria Estefan, Little Big Town, LL COOL J, Pitbull and Shania Twain.
The CBS version of MTV’s hit franchise “The Challenge” will premiere for its second season on CBS with “The Challenge: USA” on Aug. 10 at 10 p.m. Each week, two episodes will air on Sundays at 9 p.m. and Thursdays at 10 p.m. Fan favorite contestants from previous CBS reality programs including “Survivor,” “Big Brother” and “The Amazing Race” return to compete amongst “The Challenge” icons.
Nischelle Turner will host “Secret Celebrity Renovation,” which is slated to premiere on July 28 at 9 p.m. Featured celebrities for the season include Damar Hamlin, Phil Keoghan, JB Smoove and Max Thieriot. Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano and interior designer Sabrina Soto return to join the design team.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Ally Love has joined NBC’s “Today” as a contributor, the network announced on-air Tuesday.
Love will debut a regular series “Love Your Mornings” centered around mindfulness and motivation. At “Today,” she will contribute to the lifestyle vertical centered on wellness, health and fitness topics.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ally to the ‘Today’ family,” said Libby Leist, executive vice president of ‘Today.’ “As we rapidly expand our ‘Start Today’ wellness community, Ally embodies why we are so passionate about this space. Her enthusiasm is inspiring, and we can’t wait to share it with our audiences.”
Love is a Peloton instructor and host of Netflix’s dance competition series “Dance 100.” She is also the founder/CEO of Love Squad, a platform used to empower women through conversation.
“I’m excited and truly grateful to be joining the ‘Today’ family,” said Love. “I believe in the daily work of this community and am honored to jump in across all platforms. I look forward to sharing small attainable changes we can all make to create a huge impact in our day-to-day lives when it comes to wellness and taking care of ourselves and others.”
TRAILERS
Max’s upcoming romantic-documentary dating series “Swiping America” will debut on June 15, the streamer announced Monday. The upcoming eight-episode series will premiere with the first two episodes on June 15, followed by four episodes on June 22 and the final two episodes will drop on June 29.
According to the official logline, “Swiping America” follows “a group of diverse singles from New York City on an introspective, eight-city dating app journey, as they explore personal issues around sex, relationships, love and connection. Each episode finds the group in a new American city, [including] Asheville, Miami, Austin, New Orleans, Santa Fe, Boulder, Seattle and Honolulu.”
Created and executive produced by Johnnie Ingram and Stephen Warren, “Swiping America” is also executive produced by showrunner Stephanie Schwam, director Jyllian Gunther, Eli Holzman, Sabrina Mar, Jennifer O’Connell and Aaron Saidman.
Take a look at the trailer below.
STREAMING
Kino Lorber and First Look Media have joined together to form a new streaming venture. The new company will house and operate First Look’s Topic streaming service and Kino Lorber’s MHz Choice SVOD service.
As a US streamer dedicated to international series, MHz Choice will soon join Topic’s library of thrillers, mysteries, dramas and documentaries.
Kino Lorber’s MHz Networks founder Frederick Thomas will oversee the upcoming service’s programming, marketing and technology. Topic general manager Ryan Chanatry and Topic VP of programming strategy, acquisitions and sales Jennifer Liang will consult throughout the transition.
“As North American audiences embrace entertainment from around the world, we’re proud to now be the home for the two best-in-class streaming services for international series and films,” said Kino Lorber president and CEO Richard Lorber in a statement.
PROGRAMMING
The career launch of As1One, an all-male Israeli-Palestinian pop group, will be documented in a five-episode docuseries via Paramount. The boy band is Universal Music Israel’s first international signing and was assembled through an audition process led by seasoned music executives James Diener and Ken Levitan. The former signed Maroon 5 to their first label deal; the latter managed Kings of Leon for 20 years.
The Paramount series will follow the artistic journeys and backstories of the six-member boy band, which is made up of singers, rappers and instrumentalists, and chronicle their international launch.
@amitnaim
Along with EPs Levitan and Diener, James Carroll, whose credits include Netflix’s “Waco: American Apocalypse” and “Night Stalker: The Hunt For A Serial Killer,” will executive produce. Carrol will also co-direct and edit the series. InventTV, the Los Angeles-based production company behind the series, has also been behind “Megan and Harry,” “After Neverland,” “The Oprah Conversations” and “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”