Reality Show

If you're a celebrity flying Southwest Airlines out of Baltimore or Denver this weekend, get ready for your close-up - and be on your best behavior. The airline famous for kicking celebs off its flights is teaming with TLC and ITV Studios for a reality series that begins filming this weekend in those two hubs. The 13-episode series promises to take viewers “behind the scenes of the modern air travel experience, sharing the large-scale operations and personal customer stories at Southwest Airlines,” according to a TLC statement.

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams may have moved around a lot as a child, but she left her heart - or at least her appetite - in Chicago.  The self-proclaimed army brat and DePaul grad, who co-stars in the BET comedy "Real Husbands of Hollywood," knows exactly what she misses most about her old stomping grounds: the food. "In Chicago bad food is everywhere but it's so delicious. There are five-star, world-class places too, but I miss the Italian beef dipped with cheese, hot peppers and sweet peppers; deep-dish pizza; Chicago-style hot dogs with a whole pepper," the 31-year-old...

Billy Corgan's love of wrestling led him to create Resistance Pro Wrestling, which has been holding events in Chicago since November. Now, he wants a reality television show to document Resistance Pro Wrestling. "We just signed a deal with a big reality show producer," Corgan told MLW Radio Network. "A guy with an incredible track record. We're in good hands. ... We believe that wrestling is fascinating on many, many levels - socially, politically, even economically. The struggles independent wrestlers go through to try to find work, those are real struggles...

***1/2 (out of four) There aren't many second acts for former stars of non-competition reality TV series. For Dawn Richard, formerly of “Making the Band” group Danity Kane and Bad Boy R&B experiment Diddy-Dirty Money, the story is just getting interesting. Richard's solo debut, “Goldenheart,” is a fiercely distinct, self-contained hour of freewheeling, genre-bending music. It opens with an interpretation of Phil Collins' “In The Air Tonight,” then plays with sounds that could pass for an Enya/Sade collaboration and dips into the occasional burst of house music.

For most of people, filming yourself in underwear and posting the finished product on YouTube is never a good idea. But for Chicago-based actor Scott Anderson, who'd set aside his performance career for a "real" job, it landed him a starring role on "Reality Show," a new Showtime dark comedy created by and co-starring Chicago native Adam Rifkin. Anderson plays Dennis Warwick, a strait-laced dad whose life unravels when his family is filmed without their knowledge for a "real" reality show.

2013 begins on a divisive note today as talks between Republicans and the Obama administration led to a partial deal following a marathon session of neg - Oh, shit, wait, hold on. Kim Kardashian is pregnant! Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening. Wow. And it's not just some mediocre basketball player's sad spurt of sperm either. It's Kanye's! Shit, OK, anyway, um, the main focus of the talks demonstrates Barack Obama's sharp learning curve over the first four years of his presidency, in which he continuously attempted to reach common,...

***1/2 (out of four) There aren't many second acts for former stars of non-competition reality TV series. For Dawn Richard, formerly of “Making the Band” group Danity Kane and Bad Boy R&B experiment Diddy-Dirty Money, the story is just getting interesting. Richard's solo debut, “Goldenheart,” is a fiercely distinct, self-contained hour of freewheeling, genre-bending music. It opens with an interpretation of Phil Collins' “In The Air Tonight,” then plays with sounds that could pass for an Enya/Sade collaboration and dips into the occasional burst of house...

I kind of hoped 6-year-old Alana Johnson's 15 minutes of fame were up after she became a sensation for her appearances on "Toddlers & Tiaras," TLC's reality show about the train wreck known as child beauty pageants. My hopes, however, have been dashed. Why? Because "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" ( 9 p.m. Wednesday, TLC; 1 star ). That's right, TLC has given the "go-go" juice-swilling camera hog a six-part series of her own, and while watching the premiere I sat, slack-jawed and scratching my head, wondering why TLC wants so badly to hold this...

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams may have moved around a lot as a child, but she left her heart - or at least her appetite - in Chicago.  The self-proclaimed army brat and DePaul grad, who co-stars in the BET comedy "Real Husbands of Hollywood," knows exactly what she misses most about her old stomping grounds: the food. "In Chicago bad food is everywhere but it's so delicious. There are five-star, world-class places too, but I miss the Italian beef dipped with cheese, hot peppers and sweet peppers; deep-dish pizza; Chicago-style hot dogs with a whole...

The more cynical TV viewer might knock the suspenseful new horror drama "The River"as a rip-off of such flicks as "Paranormal Activity"and "Blair Witch Project. " I'm glad I'm not cynical - as least in that respect. "The River" ( 8 p.m. Feb. 7, ABC; 3.5 stars ) is an exciting and scary trip that begins with back-to-back episodes Tuesday. In the first hour, we meet Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), who with his family has starred for more than two decades on a TV wilderness reality show in which the family travels to remote areas...

2013 begins on a divisive note today as talks between Republicans and the Obama administration led to a partial deal following a marathon session of neg - Oh, shit, wait, hold on. Kim Kardashian is pregnant! Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening. Wow. And it's not just some mediocre basketball player's sad spurt of sperm either. It's Kanye's! Shit, OK, anyway, um, the main focus of the talks demonstrates Barack Obama's sharp learning curve over the first four years of his presidency, in which he continuously attempted to reach common, bi-partisan ground only to be...

Hannibal Buress has had a busy year - and shows no signs of slowing down. The Chicago native, who has been hyped by Chris Rock and Aziz Ansari, currently co-stars on "The Eric Andre Show" on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. In May, he debuted a Comedy Central special, "Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace," and he's just signed a deal with ABC to write and co-star in a comedy pilot. And he hosts a weekly stand-up show at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. This weekend Buress returns to the Chicago area for six shows - three on New Year's Eve at Zanies...

As Chicago's foremost rock star/wrestling company founder/tea house owner, Billy Corgan is a busy guy. On Friday his wrestling organization, Resistance Pro, will host its one-year anniversary show. On Monday, The Smashing Pumpkins will reissue their biggest commercial success, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. " And then there are shows to play, teas to brew and Bears games to watch. Through it all, Corgan always has something to say and doesn't really care whether you like it. He talked to RedEye about wrestling, revisiting his most successful album and a...

For most of people, filming yourself in underwear and posting the finished product on YouTube is never a good idea. But for Chicago-based actor Scott Anderson, who'd set aside his performance career for a "real" job, it landed him a starring role on "Reality Show," a new Showtime dark comedy created by and co-starring Chicago native Adam Rifkin. Anderson plays Dennis Warwick, a strait-laced dad whose life unravels when his family is filmed without their knowledge for a "real" reality show.

I kind of hoped 6-year-old Alana Johnson's 15 minutes of fame were up after she became a sensation for her appearances on "Toddlers & Tiaras," TLC's reality show about the train wreck known as child beauty pageants. My hopes, however, have been dashed. Why? Because "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" ( 9 p.m. Wednesday, TLC; 1 star ). That's right, TLC has given the "go-go" juice-swilling camera hog a six-part series of her own, and while watching the premiere I sat, slack-jawed and scratching my head, wondering why TLC wants so badly to hold this little girl...

John Vermiglio, the last Chicago man standing on "Around the World in 80 Plates," was voted off the show by his fellow chefs on Wednesday's episode. "I was super-pleased to outlast everyone else from Chicago," said Vermigio from New York, where he was in town for a cast finale party. "That was a definite goal of mine once I got there and met everyone, so yeah, I was able to do so and hopefully I've done the city proudly, but I'm not coming home with $150,000.”" We talked to Vermiglio on Friday morning about watching his elimination live, his favorite city...

There's something to be said about a good argument, isn't there? It gets the blood boiling and has been keeping bars and barbershops lively for a long time now. Even - gasp! - the Internet likes to stir it up from time to time. On Monday, thedailybeast.com dropped its list of The 13 Most Useless College Majors. (That grunt you heard was the collective outrage of a lot of grads - a group that likely included many of my co-workers. Journalism was No. 8 on the list.) While that story cited some stats, some people will say just about anything to spark outrage.

CBS on Wednesday morning revealed its primetime schedule for the 2012-13 TV season and the big news is timeslot reshuffling. "Two and a Half Men" moves to Thursdays after "The Big Bang Theory," while "2 Broke Girls" shifts to "Men's" 8 p.m. Monday spot. "The Mentalist" will replace canceled "CSI: Miami" at 9 p.m. Sundays. Oh yeah, the network also presented seven new series. The dramas "Elementary," "Vegas" and "Made in Jersey," along with sitcom "Partners" will bow this fall. The comedy "Friend Me," drama "Golden Boy" and the reality series "The Job"...

Billy Corgan's love of wrestling led him to create Resistance Pro Wrestling, which has been holding events in Chicago since November. Now, he wants a reality television show to document Resistance Pro Wrestling. "We just signed a deal with a big reality show producer," Corgan told MLW Radio Network. "A guy with an incredible track record. We're in good hands. ... We believe that wrestling is fascinating on many, many levels - socially, politically, even economically. The struggles independent wrestlers go through to try to find work, those are real struggles...

CBS on Wednesday morning revealed its primetime schedule for the 2012-13 TV season and the big news is timeslot reshuffling. "Two and a Half Men" moves to Thursdays after "The Big Bang Theory," while "2 Broke Girls" shifts to "Men's" 8 p.m. Monday spot. "The Mentalist" will replace canceled "CSI: Miami" at 9 p.m. Sundays. Oh yeah, the network also presented seven new series. The dramas "Elementary," "Vegas" and "Made in Jersey," along with sitcom "Partners" will bow this fall. The comedy "Friend Me," drama "Golden Boy" and the reality series "The Job" join the line-up at...