24 Hour Restaurant Battle: Food Network Reality-based Cooking TV Series

24 Hour Restaurant Battle is a Food Network reality-based cooking television series hosted by Scott Conant.
In each episode, two teams of two or three people compete. Each team must turn a blank space into a restaurant in 24 hours. The teams are responsible for a concept, decor, and food. Each team's menu must include at least one Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert, but there is no maximum limit for any course as long as it fits within their budget. Both teams get a $4,000 budget for food and decor. Each team also gets painters to color the walls, one sous chef to help assist the cooking, and waiters to seat people at tables and deliver food. After 24 hours, the restaurant's doors are open to diners who get to choose the restaurant they would like to attend based on the menu and decor. Four judges eat at both restaurants and determine a winner based on the "concept, execution and viability" of the restaurant. The winning team gets $10,000 to invest into creating their own restaurant.
The judges change each episode (except for Scott Conant), though they are from a selection of 9 restaurateurs and critics: Karine Bakhoum, Alison Brod, Jason Denton, Gabriella Gershenson, Ben Leventhal, Drew Nieporent, Marcus Samuelsson, Steve Schussler, and Geoffrey Zakarian.

30 Rock: American Television Comedy Series

30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live. 30 Rock takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the address of the GE Building where NBC Studios is located, 30 Rockefeller Plaza. This series is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger, Inc., in association with NBCUniversal.
30 Rock is produced in a single camera setup, and is primarily filmed at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York, with some scenes filmed on location at Rockefeller Center. The pilot episode premiered on October 11, 2006 and four full seasons have aired since, with the fifth currently underway. The series has an ensemble cast that currently consists of 13 regular cast members, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Alec Baldwin, Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, John Lutz, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman and Maulik Pancholy.
30 Rock has been a critical success, winning several major awards (including Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007, 2008, and 2009), and achieving the top ranking on myriad critics' year-end best of 2006 and 2007 lists. On July 14, 2009, the series was nominated for 22 Emmy Awards, the most in a single year for a comedy series. Despite these accolades, the series averaged a low 5.8 million viewers in the United States during its first season, according to the Nielsen ratings system, and ranked 102 out of 142 television series. On November 15, 2010 NBC renewed 30 Rock for a sixth season.

American Idol: Reality Television Singing Competition

American Idol (also known as American Idol: The Search for a Superstar) is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment, which began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it is a spin-off from the UK show Pop Idol. The concept of the series is to find new solo recording artists, and has since become one of the most popular in the history of American television. As of January 2011, it is the most-watched TV series in the Nielsen ratings and is the only program to have been number one for six consecutive seasons, surpassing All in the Family and The Cosby Show, which were both number one for five consecutive seasons.
The program aims to discover the best singer in the country where the winner is determined by the viewers. Through telephone, Internet, and AT&T SMS text voting, viewers have chosen as winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, and Lee DeWyze (listed in chronological order).
The series employs a panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original three judges were Grammy Award-winning record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, Grammy Award-winning pop singer and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Paula Abdul and award-winning music executive and music manager Simon Cowell. Since January 2011, the judging panel currently consists of Jackson, award-winning singer/actress and record producer Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steven Tyler. For all seasons the show has been hosted by radio disc jockey Ryan Seacrest.
The show was described by rival TV executives as "the most impactful show in the history of television." It has also become a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. As Entertainment Weekly puts it, "It's given us Kelly, Carrie, Daughtry, and J. Hud. Idol rules the reality roost because the winners of Fox's ratings juggernaut actually do go on to greatness. And Taylor Hicks? He's the exception that proves the rule."

Archer: American Animated Television Series

Archer is an American animated television series created by Adam Reed for the FX network. A preview of the series aired on September 17, 2009. The first season premiered on January 14, 2010. The show carries a TV-MA-LSV rating.
Inspiration behind Archer came to Reed while in a cafe in Salamanca, Spain. Finding himself unable to approach a beautiful woman seated nearby, Reed conjured up the idea of a spy who "would have a perfect line". Reed conceived the show's concept while walking along the Via de la Plata in 2008. He pitched his idea to the FX Network, which accepted it and ordered six episodes, along with an additional four scripts. The show ended its first season on March 18, 2010, and the second season premiered on January 27, 2011. The season 1 DVD was released in Region 1 on December 28, 2010. On December 17, 2010 the first season of Archer also aired in Germany on Comedy Central Germany. On March 29, 2011 it was announced that FX Network had ordered a 16-episode third season of Archer.

Bones: American Crime Drama Television Series

Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) to the forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel). The rest of the cast includes Michaela Conlin, T. J. Thyne, Eric Millegan, Tamara Taylor, and John Francis Daley.
Created by Hart Hanson, the series is very loosely based on the life of author and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, who also produces the show. Its title character, Temperance Brennan, is named after the protagonist of Reichs' crime novel series. Conversely, Dr. Brennan writes successful mystery novels based around a fictional (in the Bones universe) forensic anthropologist named Kathy Reichs. Bones is a joint production by Josephson Entertainment, Far Field Productions and 20th Century Fox Television.
The series was renewed for a sixth season, which premiered September 23, 2010.

Community: American Television Comedy Series

Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television clichés and tropes. The series premiered Thursday, September 17, 2009, and airs in the 8:00 pm ET time slot. It previously aired in the 9:30 pm ET time slot, beginning with its premiere, but later relocated with its fourth episode. On March 5, 2010, Community was renewed for a second season and premiered on September 23, 2010. On March 17, 2011, NBC renewed Community for a third season.
Community centers on Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), a disbarred lawyer going to school for the first time after his bachelor's degree is revealed as fabricated. The series focuses on the experiences of Jeff and the study group he accidentally forms while pursuing Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), a student trying to get her life back on track. The other members of Jeff's study group include Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), a millionaire on a late in life voyage of self discovery; Annie Edison (Alison Brie), a young straight-laced student; Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), a former high school star quarterback; Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), a single mother going to school to jumpstart her brownie business; and Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), a pop-culture obsessed film student. Former Spanish teacher, now student Ben Chang (Ken Jeong) eventually is accepted into the study group.

Nikita: American Television Drama

Nikita is an American television drama for The CW Television Network. It is based on the French film Nikita (1990), the remake Point of No Return (1993), and a previous series La Femme Nikita (1997). Nikita premiered on September 9, 2010, and airs on Thursdays at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central Time in the United States. The series stars Maggie Q as Nikita, a spy and assassin who has gone rogue. She is now working to bring down Division, the secret government agency that recruited her. Meanwhile, Division trains its next crop of young killers.
The series centers on a secret organization known as Division. Recruiting young people with a troubled background, Division erases all evidence of their past lives and molds them into efficient spies and assassins. However, Nikita has gone rogue and Division is unaware that she has placed a mole... Nikita is the first recruit to escape and promises to bring down her former employers. Having trained Nikita, Michael, a Division operative, is ordered by his boss Percy to deal with his former student. In the meantime, Division continues training recruits Thom, Jaden, and, the newest, Alex.

Parks and Recreation: American Comedy Television Series

Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series that debuted on NBC on April 9, 2009. It was co-created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, part of the creative team on the NBC version of The Office. The series follows Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), the Deputy Director of the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Knope takes on a project with a nurse named Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) to turn an abandoned construction pit into a park, while trying to navigate her way through the politics of local government.
Despite initial speculation it would be a spin-off of The Office, the two programs are not related beyond using the same mockumentary style and the same actress, Rashida Jones, playing a different character.
On January 29, 2010, Parks and Recreation was renewed for a third season. It was held back as a mid-season replacement and season three started January 20, 2011. On March 17, 2011, the series was renewed for a fourth season.
The series follows the ambitions of perennially upbeat mid-level bureaucrat Leslie Knope, on her quest to better the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. As deputy director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, her sense of enthusiasm is rarely shared by her unmotivated colleagues, who include the wisecracking Tom Haverford, the placid city planner Mark Brendanawicz, the deadpan antigovernment department head Ron Swanson, and his apathetic assistant April Ludgate. Leslie's best friend is local nurse Ann Perkins, whom she meets when Ann's boyfriend, Andy Dwyer, falls into a large pit near Ann's house. Leslie takes on the quest to turn the pit into a park, which becomes her ultimate personal project. However, she finds herself repeatedly frustrated by bureaucrats and townspeople who stand in her way. While the pit-park storyline occupied the show's first season, the pit was filled in during second season.
In the show's second season, the plot gradually began to explore Leslie's other projects and personal issues, including a fledgling romance. The second season also focuses on the personal lives of all the Parks Department employees, as well as Ann's new romance with Mark and April's affections for Ann's ex-boyfriend, Andy. This was Mark's last season due to the departure of Paul Schneider.
The third season added two new characters, Chris Treager and Ben Wyatt, two state auditors who arrive to help bring the Parks department out of bankruptcy which occurred at the end of season two. The addition of these characters has opened up opportunities for new romance storylines, most notably between Ann and Chris. The storyline of the romance between April and Andy is also continued.

Swamp People: Documentary Television Series

Swamp People is a documentary television series on the History Channel that follows Cajuns living in the Atchafalaya River Basin swamp in Louisiana, USA who hunt American Alligators for a living. The series premiered August 22, 2010 and set a ratings record for History.
Alligator season in Louisiana begins on the first Wednesday in September and lasts 30 days. In this time limit, many of the alligator hunters, following a tradition dating back 300 years, earn most of their yearly income in a high risk vocation dependent on experience and the whims of weather within strict regulation by wildlife laws.

The Office: American Comedy Television Series

The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the previous BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. To simulate the look of an actual documentary, it is filmed in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience or a laugh track.
The Office was adapted for American audiences by executive producer Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill and The Simpsons. The creators of the original BBC series, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are executive producers and also co-wrote the pilot episode with Daniels and wrote the season three episode, "The Convict". It is co-produced by Daniels's Deedle-Dee Productions, and Reveille Productions, in association with Universal Media Studios. The show debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement on March 24, 2005.
Off-network syndication of The Office began in early 2008, notably on TBS and Fox-owned stations in the United States. The Office was renewed for a seventh season which premiered on September 23, 2010. Steve Carell confirmed that season seven will be his last season on the show. Despite this, NBC renewed the series for an eighth season on March 17, 2011.

The Real Housewifes Of New York City: American Reality TV Show

The Real Housewives of New York City is an American reality television program on the Bravo cable TV network. A spin-off of the Bravo series The Real Housewives of Orange County, it is the second city featured in The Real Housewives of... franchise. It was tentatively titled "Manhattan Moms" while in production for Season 1.
The first season premiered March 4, 2008 and starred Bethenny Frankel, LuAnn de Lesseps, Alex McCord, Ramona Singer, and Jill Zarin. Contrary to the series title, the women featured were not all actually housewives. Frankel was unmarried and had her own business, and McCord, Singer, and Zarin all had jobs outside the home. Singer owned her own business.
The series was renewed for a second season and premiered February 17, 2009, adding a sixth "housewife", Kelly Killoren Bensimon.
The third season premiered on March 4, 2010. Sonja Morgan, the show's newest housewife, joined the cast in the seventh episode of season 3. The third season reunion was filmed on May 26, 2010 and was aired as a three-part special. Event planner Jennifer Gilbert joined the cast, but her appearances were extremely limited and she was not featured as one of the housewives in the show's trademark open, which features each woman with her name on-screen.
Season 4 has been announced and filming began in late September 2010. Singer confirmed that Cindy Barshop will be joining the cast.
Season 4 was slated to premiere on Tuesday, February 15. However, filming had only finished 2 weeks prior to the original premiere. Not wanting to miss anything, Bravo pushed the season premiere in favor of The Real Housewives of Miami. Season 4 is slated to premiere on April 7, 2011.

The Vampire Diaries: American Television Series

The Vampire Diaries is an American television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, and is currently in its second season. The series follows the events in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, a fictional small town haunted by supernatural beings. The main focus of the series is the love triangle between the female protagonist Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and Stefan and Damon with dark pasts. Later the light is thrown on the mysterious past of the town involving Elena's malevolent doppelgänger Katherine who seeks revenge against the town, Stefan,Damon,and Elena.
The pilot episode attracted the largest audience of any series premiere since the network began in 2006. The first season averaged 3.60 million viewers. The show initially received average reviews, but critics agreed that the series improved over the course of the season; the second season premiered to generally favorable reviews. The show has received numerous award nominations, winning a People's Choice Award and seven Teen Choice Awards. Dawn Ostroff has mentioned a spin-off that could possibly happen in a few years.