‘Kid Nation’ most notable of new reality shows

NBC has only one reality show on its fall schedule (not counting game shows “Deal or No Deal” and “The Singing Bee”), and that’s the fourth season of “The Biggest Loser” (NBC, Sept. 11, Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET) This year, the show will have a new host, Alison Sweeney, but will also see the return of trainer Jillian Michaels. She will train a secret team of contestants who were rejected by the shows other two trainers, Kim and Bob.

NBC's other reality staple, "The Apprentice," seemed dead after Donald Trump publicly announced he was essentially quitting. But now he's coming back, although for an entirely different type of show: the seventh season, which airs mid-season, will feature celebrities competing to earn money for charity.

The CW, the network formed from UPN and the WB, will bring back its reality staples. “Beauty and the Geek 3” (The CW, Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET) will be identical to previous seasons except that one pair will be reversed, featuring a hot guy and a geek girl. Tyra Banks and crew are back to put a new string of wannabe models through Tyra’s model boot camp on “America’s Next Top Model”  (The CW, Sept. 19, Wednesdays, 8 p.m. ET).  Also back will be “The Search for the Next Doll,” which returns at some to-be-announced date to find another member for the Pussycat Dolls.

New for the CW is “Farmer Wants a Wife,” a dating show that will send city women to a farm to compete for a farmer’s affections. It’s supposed to air this fall but doesn’t yet have a debut date, and perhaps that’s for a good reason; it seems like the kind of throwaway, ridiculous concept that belongs in the summer, not in autumn with reality TV’s solid, mostly respectable workhorses.

Also, on cable, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, will search for her replacement on "The Search for the Next Elvira" (FOX Reality, Oct. 13, Saturdays, 9 p.m. ET). The short, three-episode competition will end with a new Elvira being selected live on Halloween, following a viewer vote.

Andy Dehnart is a writer and teacher who publishes reality blurred, a daily summary of reality TV news.

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