Kate Gosselin
Monday night's episode found Gosselin and her brood in Australia, where they played with elephants and swam with sharks. Gosselin told her children that the animals eat "like you guys at breakfast time."
But it's not all fun and games for the family. If "Kate Plus 8" fails to boost its ratings, Gosselin might have to leave the reality TV realm for a more traditional job.
"The pressure is on for her," said Marsia Guthrie, senior television writer for The Hollywood Reporter. "She's generated headlines on 'Dancing With the Stars' and 'Sarah Palin's Alaska,' but there are signs that her status as a reality TV headliner might be fading."
"Kate Plus 8's" June 2010 debut drew 3.4 million viewers, but the second episode dropped 33 percent to 2.2 million. The rest of the season's episodes hovered around 1.6 million viewers each. "Jon & Kate Plus 8," by contrast, drew 9.8 million viewers with its season-five premiere, shattering TLC's past ratings high. (Granted, that was the episode in which the couple revealed their relationship woes.)Producers likely aren't expecting "Kate Plus 8" to break records. Season five of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" drew viewers because it chronicled a crumbling marriage; Gosselin and her gang, while cute, aren't quite as dramatic. But pulling in upwards of two or three million viewers on a regular basis may be necessary to keep the show alive.
"They want to see it do at least as well as the first cycle, if not better," Guthrie said. "Kate and her producers realize that she needs to sort of prove her worth to the network. That's why she's going to Australia, she's camping -- they're putting her in dramatic situations. They're trying to ratchet up the action."
If that fails, there's always plan B: men. Gosselin's tug-of-war with Jon Gosselin, even during their good times, dragged fans to the TV.
"I don't think any new viewers are going to tune unless she gets married again and has someone to bicker with," said Eric Andersson, a senior writer for Us Weekly magazine.'m kind of out-ish, sort of," she said in a Monday interview with E! News. "I was out in New York ... It was kind of weird. You never really picture yourself back in that scene after you're done with it in your twenties."
"But I'm trying to be a little more open-minded," she added. "If there's anybody out there that wants to deal with us, that would be good."
Don't expect her to hook up with a fellow celebrity just to gin up the show's ratings, though. Once a tabloid fixture, Gosselin has been hesitant over the past year to draw attention to her personal life.
"As calculating as Kate may seem, I don't think she'd hook up with someone just to get ratings," said Andersson. "She's a mom, she's got eight kids, so unless it happens organically and fits into her schedule, I don't see that happening."
Ultimately, Gosselin's household-name status could keep her on television whether or not the show's viewership increases. TLC's managers pulled the plug on their other star-driven show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," in January; they may need Gosselin as much as she needs them.
"For better or for worse, she's kind of the face of TLC," Andersson said. "Even if ratings aren't that great, as long as it's not that expensive, I think they'll keep her and the show to have that celebrity cachet on the network."
These reality stars will not be expected to carry the site but will help draw the initial attention needed. They were selected because “they have some established, credentialed expertise in a given subject area, such as finance, health, education and so on”.
Bloggers on this site will be paid per post. Their posts must be original and exclusive to Parentables. There is a possibility that if a blogger receives enough positive feedback, a show could be built around them. Kelly Day, EVP and GM of Discovery Communications’ Digital Media and Commerce division, told paidContent in an interview:
“We obviously would always hope a show would come out of it,” Day said. “We spoke with [Discovery Group President] Eileen O’Neill when we were thinking of doing this last fall. The programming people were excited about this and getting the talent on board. But the main focus for this is online and building an independent social network. Still, and I don’t want to speak for the network, if an emerging digital superstar were to be found within Parentables, it would be looked on as an added bonus.” Congratulations to Kate Gosselin on this new project!
Kate Gosselin will be a part of the celebrity line up for the Kentucky Derby Festivities that take place in Louisville, Kentucky next month. She will appear in the annual Pegasus Parade and at the celebrity luncheon.
According to a report from the Greenfield Reporter, the Kate Plus Eight star will join a number of celebrities including SNL's Tracy Morgan, former Disney star Raven-Symone, and Miss America 2011.
This sort of line up makes one wonder what--if any--the significance is behind this particular group of celebrities with regard to the Kentucky Derby. The media hasn't published any relevant information about Kate Gosselin being a horse enthusiast, professional gambler, or having any deep-rooted ties to Kentucky. Miss America is an understandable choice, but Raven-Symone and Tracy Morgan? It would be interesting to learn what--if any--were the reasons behind these selections.
Maybe Kate Gosselin will be breeding horses on a future episode of Kate Plus Eight. That might be her new means of financial security in light of the tentative nature of her reality TV show. Alas there may be no rhyme nor reason to the selection of Kentucky Derby festivities whatsoever, and if that's the case, more power to Kate Gosselin. This will be an experience she'll undoubtedly enjoy and share with her little charges. One day their famous mom will have a lovely photo of herself in some sort of silly wide-brimmed hat.
On Wednesday (March 28), the former Kate Plus 8 star celebrated her 37th birthday! And yes, Lady Gaga, now 26, shares the same birthdate.
“My kids often remind me how old I’m getting with comments like, ‘You were born in 1975, Mom?!!’” Gosselin wrote in her latest blog post for CouponCabin.com. “‘Wow, that was a loooong time ago! It was last century!’”
“Mady has repeatedly announced, ‘You’re 37 with no wrinkles,’ as if reminding me of my new age AND that wrinkles are around the corner is a NICE thing to say!” she continued. “I told her to get her eyes checked because I, in fact, have plenty of wrinkles!”
So what do you get this mom of 8 for her birthday? “My kids each hand made me an adorable card and hid them under their beds until they couldn’t stand it anymore. They’ve already presented them to me a bit early and I LOVE each cute little creation!” she exclaimed.
Gosselin finished with, “Happy Birthday to me. Now if only this extra year could be traded to someone who is looking for an extra one…I’d give it to you for a really great deal! Any takers?”
We have to admit – we sort of miss Kate and her kids on our TVs. Any takers for a new reality show with them?
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