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

Ever since Candid Camera way back in TV show history there has been a wicked delight in watching ordinary people be caught up in pranks that wind up being out loud laughably funny. Shows such as Totally Hidden Video, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Pranked, and Punk'd have each had something in common and that was to watch as ordinary people who do ordinary things can be extremely funny when things don't go just quite right. Betty White takes that brand of humor to another level when her crew of blue haired senior citizens turn the tables on much younger people. They play pranks on the young resilient generation and show they still have a broad sense of humor too. Starring and hosted by the venerable 90 year old Betty White who has seen her career blossom and her life become increasingly busy recently gives us the chance to laugh out loud at ourselves through the cameras provided by NBC. If the younger set were to play practical jokes on the seniors the show would lose much of its humor but in this case the senior citizens prevail. Also on Betty White's Off Their Rockers are Madison Dylan (Entourage, Accidentally on Purpose), Elizabeth Carlisle (Pretty Little Liars, Parenthood), Reatha Grey (Baby Boom, The Fabulous Baker Boys), and Ann Benson (A Little Push, Patrick Carman's Dark Eden).

Fast Foodies is a television show that debuted on TruTV in 2021. It features a group of foodies who try to recreate popular fast food items from scratch in their own kitchens. The show is hosted by Kristen Kish, a former winner of the cooking competition show Top Chef, and features chefs Jeremy Ford and Justin Sutherland as regular guests.

As if anyone needs to be reminded, we love our fighting men (and women) and cannot wait for them to return home to us. This latest reality type show presented on the Lifetime Network could be considered a reality tearjerker because there are many crying children and adults involved. But these are all tears of joy because their loved ones have returned safely from active duty in the military. Whether they served in Afghanistan or Iraq, all they really want to do is return home safely and see their family again. Children miss their daddy or mommy and emotions run high in anticipation of their safe return. Now take those tender moments and put them onto the television screen before millions of viewers and you can see where this idea may get really personal. It's almost amazing how many of these veterans opt to put their family through the emotional intensity of their sudden arrival. The show brings these veterans home quite unannounced in order to see just how high their loved ones emotions can be. Hosted by Matthew Rogers (American Idol contestant).

"Big Brother" numbers among those long-running (unreal) reality shows that keep rolling along on their own momentum long after the thrills have gone. Originally adapted from a popular Dutch series, "Big Brother" puts thirteen carefully chosen strangers in a house heavily wired with cameras and microphones, capturing every word, gesture, and nuance. The producers challenge their "guests" to complete a series of physical and mental "stunts," periodically polling their feelings about who among them should go home. The one guest who stays longest goes home with half-a-million American dollars. Although "Big Brother's" novelty has faded, even the most stony-hearted and cynical critics must accord the superannuated series its props: When an online streaming service attempted a similarly contrived "residential situation," capitalizing on the industry's newest, most sophisticated audio and video technology, it faded to black in less than a month. At the other end of the scale, when MTV adapted "Big Brother's" premise for use along the New Jersey coastline, it became a cultural phenomenon, and "Snooki" became a household word. Clearly, it's not the premise but the chemistry that determines the show's fate. Therefore, credit "Big Brother" with good chemistry and agree to roll along with the momentum.

"Forged in Fire" is a reality television show that airs on the History Channel. The show features four bladesmiths who compete against each other in three rounds of challenges to create a variety of bladed weapons, including swords, knives, and axes. Each round presents a unique set of challenges that test the bladesmiths' skills and creativity. The winner of each round then moves on to the final round, where they have five days to create a historic weapon from scratch.