Popular Olympic swimmer poised to become TV personality

Multiple reality show offers are being floated to Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Lochte, 28, won five medals in London. However, that had as much to do with his appeal as his admission of urinating in the pool, his attempt to wear a $25,000 diamond-and-ruby American flag mouth grill while accepting the gold medal for the 400 meter individual medley (which Team USA forced him to remove), and his own mother decrying his penchant for one-night stands. ("He's more of a love 'em and leave 'em type," she told "Today" last week.)
Plus: Olympic TV efforts
Lochte's sports agent told THR that "two different reality show concepts have been offered and one additional is being discussed."
Lochte -- who plans to relocate to Los Angeles following the Olympics -- also told reporters in London that he would love to do "Dancing With the Stars," perhaps in a square-off with U.S. swimming teammate Michael Phelps.
Plus: Reality TV stars who need introductions | Summer TV guide
Last week, Lochte was named "America's Sexiest Douchebag" by a blog called Jezebel.
In related news, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino was discovered moving over.
Primetime coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics airs nightly at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC until Sunday, Aug. 12.
Kevin McHale joins Khloe Kardashian and others on list of reported possibilities
Kevin McHale might be the perfect option for a new "X Factor" co-host, which is the latest gossip being reported by TV Guide. After all, the "Glee" star, best known as that show's wheelchair-bound academic decathlete Artie Abrams, already has a veritable six degrees of separation from the reality talent competition. TV Guide Network series and its star vie for more viewers and buzz in Season 2

No one could ever accuse nail-salon owner and overnight reality vixen Katie Cazorla of being dull. Find out just how wild Cazorla's life can be when the star of the TV Guide Network's top-rated unscripted series "Nail Files" returns for a sophomore season of employee/client drama, business expansion and glamour.
Bing: More on 'Nail Files' | Katie Cazorla
The Season 2 opener debuts Sunday, Aug. 19, and will not disappoint with its high number of overblown crises. For starters, Cazorla, 34, must attend the ASCAP awards with her fiance Walter Afanasieff, a music producer, but doesn't have a dress. Gasp!
Later in the episode, Cazorla, who has a whole new roster of nail techs, has to reprimand an employee for feeding foot scrub to a client. Egats and ewww!
Plus: Reality TV stars who need introductions | Summer TV guide
But Cazorla is as ambitious as she is likeable and despite the show's insipid nail-salon setting, this woman who started out in Hollywood as an extra on "Suddenly Susan," is magnetic. How else can you explain the 1.1 million viewers, mostly women, who tuned in when the show debuted last year?
Sure, Cazorla's salon attracts C and D-listers such as Candace Cameron (last season) and Marissa Jaret Winokur (this season) but it's Cazorla who draws you in and keeps you watching.
"Nail Files" returns for a second season Sunday, Aug. 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the TV Guide Network.
Tyra lures Alicia and Tyler for Cycle 19
Upcoming series to spotlight unique fisherman
Animal Planet is following up "Hillbilly Handfishin'" and "River Monsters" with another fishing reality show. According to TV Guide, the humorously -- though only tentatively -- titled "Eel of Fortune" will follow a gaggle of eel fisherman earning their living in Maine.
Bing: More about Animal Planet
And quite a living it is. Their prize, the elver -- or juvenile -- American eel, can fetch up to $2,400 a pound, or $40,000 for a single night's haul.
Plus: The fate of your favorite shows | 2012 Primetime Emmy nominees
However, the real prize is a permit to catch elver eels in the first place. Only 400 are issued by Maine each year. And South Carolina is the only other state to even allow the practice.
The tentatively titled "Eel of Fortune" will premiere in 2013 on Animal Planet.
With Mariah locked down, gossip mill turns toward hip-hop producer and pop star
Twelve years ago, on the hook of Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love You," producer Pharrell Williams crooned, "I'm a hustla baby/I just want you to know/It ain't where I been/But where I'm about to go." If insiders at Us Weekly are to be trusted, turns out he was ultimately headed for a judge's chair on "American Idol."Network continues to throw legal stones at 'The Glass House'
The legal wrangling over CBS' "Big Brother" and ABC's "The Glass House" is far from over, said Nina Tassler, the Eye network's entertainment president.
Bing: More on CBS' lawsuit against ABC | CBS' 'Big Brother' | ABC's 'The Glass House'
"It's still ongoing so I really can't discuss it right now," Tassler told reporters Sunday at a Television Critics Association press panel. "But the message that needs to be communicated is that we're incredibly protective of our brands and the creative infrastructure of the shows themselves."
Plus: Olympic TV efforts | 2012 Emmy nominees
Oddly enough, ABC's entertainment president Paul Lee seems to be unaware that the fight is raging on. On Friday, he told reporters it was over.
"It was totally worth it," Lee said when asked whether or not he regretted his decision to make "The Glass House. "And that lawsuit is over."
Perhaps Lee should talk to his legal department.
Plus: Summer TV guide | The 2011-2012 TV season in review
In case you haven't been paying attention, CBS filed a lawsuit against ABC accusing the rival network of ripping off its long running hit "Big Brother." "The Glass House" employs 19 former "Big Brother" producers and staff.
Despite the lawsuit and a subsequent restraining order to stop "The Glass House" from airing, the show debuted to a disappointing 4.2 million viewers. Conversely, "Big Brother" also suffered from lower ratings this season with an average 6 million viewers, down nearly a million viewers from last year.
"Big Brother" airs Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. "The Glass House" airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Famous twins talk about their hit reality show, marriage and motherhood
The words "positive" and "reality TV" don't normally go hand in hand. But for twin acting duo Tia Mowry Hardrict and Tamera Mowry-Housley, the stars of the Style Network's "Tia & Tamera," creating a series where hair isn't pulled and faces aren't slapped is a point of pride.
Bing: More on 'Tia & Tamera' | Tia Mowry Hardrict | Tamera Mowry-Housley
MSN TV caught up with the 34-year-old sisters, best known for their 1990s sitcom "Sister, Sister," when they plugged their second-season show at a Television Critics Association's press panel Wednesday in Beverly Hills.
"Tia & Tamera" airs Monday nights and is the top-rated reality show on the Style Network with 1.3 million viewers.
Plus: The fate of your favorite shows | 2012 Primetime Emmy nominees
MSN TV: Can you talk about the lack of catfights on "Tia & Tamera" and why that has been so important to you both?
Tia Mowry Hardrict: It's funny that you say that because we see a lot of that on our Twitter page. A lot of fans were just saying, "Oh, my gosh, you guys are such a breath of fresh air" and they're very grateful that there is a show out there like that that's positive. And we do see ourselves as positive role models.
Tamara Mowry-Housley: Your kids can watch our show. And we're just so grateful to the Style Network for allowing us to be who we are. We didn't have to change ourselves to fit into what everyone else is doing. And my grandmother always said dare to be different. And Tia and I have been different and positive all our lives. And we also want to thank our producer Jason (Carbone) for allowing us to be ourselves as well.
Is one of the reasons you two don't get into fisticuffs your mom?
Tia: A lot of people don't know that our mother was a drill sergeant. We may be grown and women now, but we are still her children.
It seems like you two don't get to see each other as much because of jobs and other obligations. Is that hard? Can you talk about that?
Tamera: Well, I always like to say happiness is a choice. You can't really be in control of, you know, your circumstances or your situations. But the fact is, is we are grown women now. And we have our own lives. We have husbands. She has a child and I have a baby on the way. So I think, like Tim Gunn says, we make it work. I think we are very blessed to be able to have well, for me, I have two homes. I live in Napa. I mean, hello. And I live in Los Angeles, where I can do what I love to do, and that's continue to act. Act individually and act with my twin sister. But we like a little space every now and then.
Tia: And to be the realist here, I definitely have to say that, because we have families -- I have a child and she's about to have a child -- it does make it difficult at times to spend a lot of time together. But like we said my sister and I love each other. We never go to bed angry. We always like to talk things out. So we definitely make it work. I mean, that's just a part of who we are and a part of our DNA. I mean we've been in the womb together.
Are there any disadvantages to having a twin in the same business in Hollywood?
Tamera: Because we're twins, we look alike and we talk alike, people automatically assume that we are the same person and that we're on the same path, we're on the same journey and they tend to compare. So say Tia has a job for a couple of years and I don't, people are always looking at me, going, "Oh, my God. What are you doing? Are you OK?" Or one's prettier than the other. I get "Tia's prettier."
Tia: Or one's fatter than the other. I get "Tamera's prettier." I take it as a compliment. I'm like, "Oh, I look like you."
Tamera: We look alike but people are going to naturally compare. We've just learned throughout the years just to accept that.
Do you think you all will do a third season of "Tia & Tamera"?
Tamera: Of course. I can be very private, which is kind of ironic because I'm doing a reality show. But I thank God for my sister because she really just paved the way for me and said, "You know, it's going to be OK. If you just allow yourself to be yourself, you're going to be relatable." And I think that's what makes this show so great. Tia and I try really hard to keep the real in reality because that's the only way it's going to be successful.
Tia: It was hard for me. I wanted to do a reality show, but it's difficult because all our lives you can be judged by a particular character that you play. And I'm like, "Well, I didn’t write it." No, just kidding. But when you're on a reality show, they're judging who you are as a person. And that can hurt a little bit. But at the end of the day, I love who I am. It definitely has made us stronger.
"Tia & Tamera" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the Style Network.
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Deanna Barnert | Los Angeles, Calif.
Entertainment journalist Deanna "TVDeeva" Barnert visits sets, interviews industry players and critiques the final product. Buzz's daytime TV queen covers it all for MSN TV, but loves her sitcoms, soaps and any juicy drama that doesn't call itself Reality TV.



