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Osbournes Reloaded

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Osbournes Reloaded
StarringOzzy Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Jack Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No.of seasons1
No.of episodes6 (5 unaired)
Production
Running time35 minutes
Production companyFremantleMedia
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseMarch 31, 2009(2009-03-31)

Osbournes Reloadedis a 2009variety showthataired its only episodeonFox.The show was hosted byThe Osbournes—Ozzy,Sharon,JackandKelly— and premiered Tuesday March 31 on Fox followingAmerican Idol.[1]FremantleMedia,the producers ofAmerican Idol,produced the show. The show was also taped in the same studio asAmerican IdolatCBS Television Cityin Hollywood.

The show consisted of sketches, stunts, celebrity cameos, live action audience participation and live musical acts such asFall Out Boy,and would have included taped parody skits often featuring Ozzy in drag playing such characters asAudrinafromThe HillsandJuno.Other bits include the Osbournes working "real jobs" (Ozzy and Kelly working drive-thru fast food for example), a recurring Littlest Osbournes segment (British kids swearing like Ozzy and Sharon), and the Osbournes meeting other families from across the country that share their name.[2]

Although planned as an hour-long show, the premiere episode was cut down to 35 minutes andAmerican Idolwas extended to an hour and 25 minutes.[3]The show was universally panned by critics, with Roger Catlin of theHartford Couranteven going so far as to call it the "worst variety show ever"[4]andTom ShalesofThe Washington Postlabeling it "Must-Flee TV".[5]

Backstory

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In July 2008, Fox announced that the Osbourne family would be hosting a new variety show tentatively titledOsbournes: Reloaded(working title was 'Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous').[6]The show started taping at Television City in December 2008 before a live audience.

The Osbourne family appeared together to host Fox's Sunday nightAnimation Dominationblock on March 29, 2009.

Preemption

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At least 26 Fox affiliates opted topreemptthe program, 10 of them delaying it until a later time and at least 16 not showing it at all, due to concerns over the nature of the program, most of them part of the station groupsLocal TV LLCandRaycom Media.[7]All Raycom owned/operated affiliates (WBRC,WDFX-TV,WFLX,WTNZ,WPGX,WXIX-TV,WFXG,WXTX,andWSFX-TV(the latter two are owned bySoutheastern Media Holdingsand operated by Raycom)) preempted the program outright. [7][8][9][10]

In the case of many of the Local TV-owned stations, this was the first preemption of a Fox program due to content in their histories after the July 2008 sale of seven Fox O&O stations to Local TV. These stations had previously shown promotions and commercials for the show, as the preemption decision came after the network offered the stations a six-minute preview reel of the episode's content.[7]

InMilwaukee,WITI,a former Foxowned-and-operated stationowned byLocal TV,decided to air the show at 1:05 a.m. due to the content of the show in order to show a round table program aboutdrug abuse,"Dealing with Drugs".[11][12]The station manager stated that, as many young people watch its lead inAmerican Idol(especially with, as anchor Brad Hicks said as the special started, the presence of local contestantDanny Gokeyin the show[13]), the Osbournes show would be more appropriate for late-night, and that a show on the drug problem (an issue that was heavily covered in the preceding few weeks due to a rash of young adult deaths from drugs in the area) would be more appropriate to followIdol.[14]Sister stationWDAF-TVinKansas Cityalso moved the show to 1:05 am and aired the station's 60th anniversary special instead. However the promotions during Fox network time listing the "up next" starting time on both stations were not changed to disclaim the new time.

WGHP,theHigh Point, North Carolinaaffiliate serving the Piedmont Triad market, opted to delay the program until midnight, filling the original time slot with consumer reports from the news department. Station manager Karen Adams told the Greensboro News & Record that 60% of the email feedback she received was critical of the decision, although many of those viewers had missed the station's announcement of the rescheduling.[15]

Stations not owned by Raycom or Local TV, suchWRAZ(owned byCapitol Broadcasting Company),[16]andWACH(owned byBarrington Broadcastingat the time)[17]moved the show to a later time.[7]

The network, however, did manage to convinceSinclair Broadcasting Group,one of the network's largest affiliate groups and known as a conservative-leaning broadcaster, to air the show as scheduled.[7]

Cancellation

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The March 31 episode was billed as a special preview, with regular episodes to begin airing in the summer of 2009. However, Fox was forced to cancelOsbournes: Reloadedin August 2009 after 14 percent of Fox affiliates threatened to pre-empt the show. This would have resulted in too many pre-emptions for the show to gain enough viewership to be viable. Five episodes remain unaired.[18]

References

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  1. ^"Osbournes Reloaded on Fox".fox. Archived fromthe originalon March 17, 2009.RetrievedMarch 23,2009.
  2. ^"Kelly and Ozzy: Osbournes Reloaded".SuicideGirls.March 26, 2009.RetrievedMarch 26,2009.
  3. ^Schneider, Michael (March 30, 2009)."'Idol' to bleed into Osbournes launch ".Variety.RetrievedApril 1,2009.
  4. ^"'Osbournes Reloaded:' Worst Variety Show Ever? ".Archived fromthe originalon July 18, 2012.RetrievedApril 1,2009.
  5. ^Shales, Tom (April 1, 2009)."'Osbournes' So Bad, It's Must-Flee TV ".The Washington Post.RetrievedApril 1,2009.
  6. ^"The Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous: Summary".tv.RetrievedJuly 7,2008.
  7. ^abcdede Moraes, Lisa (April 1, 2009)."TV Column by Lisa de Moraes: Some Fox Stations Won't Air 'Osbournes: Reloaded'".The Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 18,2016.
  8. ^AP, via WESH: "Fla. TV Station Snubs 'Inappropriate' Osbournes", 3/30/2009.
  9. ^Panama City News-Herald: "Fox affiliate axes Osbournes variety show", 3/30/2009.
  10. ^Cincinnati Enquirer: "Channel 19 says no to Osbournes", 3/30/2009.
  11. ^Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "No" Osbournes Reloaded "on Milwaukee TV", 3/29/2009.ArchivedOctober 8, 2012, at theWayback Machine
  12. ^Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Channel 6 bumps Osbournes to 1 a.m., schedules drug special instead", 3/30/2009.
  13. ^"Dealing With Drugs - WITI".fox6now.Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2009.
  14. ^"Channel 6's Osbournes' explanation".RetrievedDecember 18,2016.
  15. ^Greensboro (NC) News and Record: "Local Fox affiliate delays airing of Osbournes special", 4/1/2009.
  16. ^Why You Didn't See "Osbournes Reloaded"– blog article inThe News & Observer,April 1, 2009.
  17. ^Group, Sinclair Broadcast (December 18, 2016)."Columbia News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News".RetrievedDecember 18,2016.
  18. ^"The Osbournes: Over and Out at Fox".August 6, 2009.RetrievedDecember 18,2016.
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