The competition is high and so are the stakes for the U.S. version of The X Factor. Judges have been selected from the cream of the celebrity music crop and with a recording contract worth $5 million the winners in each category will need to be at their best and give the performances of their lives. Simon Cowell is creator of The X Factor and will oversee the talent as well as the judges, assuring the show goes on in an audience pleasing manner. Each of the judges will handle one of the four assigned categories that include boy singers (ages 12-25), girl singers (ages 12-25), group singers, and those who are over the age of twenty five. Unlike other programs of this sort there is no upper age limit for the competitors. Judges will mentor those in their category and offer help and advise as the competition progresses. Getting that advise from the likes of Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, L.A. Reid, or Simon Cowell himself will be invaluable to the aspiring singers as they have helped fashion many super stars in the music industry. There are to be five competitive stages involved: Auditions by the producers, auditions by the judges, a Bootcamp, visitation to the judges houses, and finally the live shows where it all comes down to a single winner or group. As the five stages of the competition progress, it promises to get more exciting each week

The Kardashians are a family that became famous for their reality TV show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians". The show follows the lives of the family members, who are known for their fashion, beauty, and business ventures. The family includes Kris Jenner, her children Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian, as well as Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

"Kourtney and Kim Take New York" chronicles the continuing adventures of the unmarried Kardashian sisters as they work their strange magic on adoring fans in the Big Apple. Like magnets among loose nails, the girls draw a crowd wherever they go, cameras stalking every step. Viewers enjoy more of the intense Kardashian programming they apparently craved and demanded. On any given day, E! empowers you to keep up with some kind of Kardashian in at least three ways during approximately twelve hours of non-stop first-letter-"K" programming. If it weren't for the success of Chelsea Handler, E! News, renegade women fleeing the Playboy mansion, and "Fashion Police," the Kardashians would fill entire programming days. Apropos of "reality" programming, "Kourtney and Kim Take New York" has neither plot nor script, but it has plenty of "situations." Kim, more or less determined to remain single for an entire year, nevertheless has no qualms about exciting hook-ups with assorted styles and flavours of eligible New York bachelors. Kourtney, ostensibly the more level-headed and businesslike of the two, apparently lives vicariously through Kim. Together, they allegedly run a business in-between pictorials, promotions, parties, and "Patron"-powered club appearances. Moralists might worry, as "Kourtney and Kim Take New York," they corrupt an entire generation of impressionable "˜tween girls, but studies show thirteen-year-old boys are the Kardashian sisters' biggest demographic.

"The Climb" is a television series that follows the story of two friends, who are trying to make it in the world of rock climbing. The show is a dramedy, a mix of drama and comedy, and is set in New York City. The main characters are Kate and Michael, who are both passionate about climbing, but have very different personalities.

Cooking shows are hot on television now days, creating serious competition among the celebrity cooks as well as prospective winners in various formats on TV. MasterChef features the likes of Gordon Ramsay (Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares) along side Joe Bastianich (restaurateur/vineyard owner), and Graham Elliot (chef/restaurant owner) as judges who oversee the contestants who come from a wide assortment of occupations including housewives, doctors, lawyers, private chefs, realtors, and travel writers. From what appears to be a huge crowd in the initial tryouts they whittle the prospects down to 100, then down to 38 or so and put them all to the test. With each contestant offering their "signature" dish to the judges, the competition begins and so does elimination, one by one. It is amazingly difficult to please all three judges as they are diverse in their likes and taste preferences, and the pressure is on to perform and show they have a talent for cooking. The coveted crown of MasterChef will be given to whomever can best please the judges and keep their head about them in the heat of the kitchen.

My 600-lb Life is a reality television series that follows the journeys of individuals who are severely obese as they attempt to lose weight and regain their health. The show chronicles the challenges they face and the progress they make as they work towards their goals with the help of a weight loss specialist, Dr. Nowzaradan.