With several of the genre’s all-time biggest hits, including “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” to his credit, producer Mark Burnett is unquestionably the king of reality TV. But the past two years, he’s been making more misses.
Fox’s “On the Lot,” his filmmaking competition with Steven Spielberg, is flopping badly, and “The Contender,” NBC’s heavily hyped and very expensive boxing show, fizzled after one season. Meanwhile, “Apprentice” was canceled after its lowest-rated season, and “Survivor” hit an all-time low for its finale.
But Burnett hopes that the combination of “Survivor”-style hijinks and the current pirate craze brought on by Johnny Depp's “Pirates of the Caribbean” will help boost his new show, “Pirate Master,” into a summer success. It premieres tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Sixteen contestants are put aboard a ship in the Caribbean, where they sail for a month searching for hidden gold coins. Like “Survivor,” there are weekly challenges and eliminations. The winner will get $500,000.
Though the title might sound juvenile, “Pirate” could draw in the adventure-loving viewers who made “Survivor” into the biggest summer hit in years back in 2000. It seems to have the sense of humor displayed by other recent top summer shows, like ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”
But it will face fairly solid summer competition in ABC’s “National Spelling Bee,” Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” and TNT’s NBA playoffs.
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A look at this week’s top TV draws |
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THURSDAY, MAY 31
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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NBC
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"Today" (N)
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"American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks performs.
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8 p.m.
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CBS
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"Pirate Master" (R)
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Series premiere. Only in the summer will you find programming where someone can win $1 million for acting like a pirate.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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"Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" (G)
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Game show did well during the season, we'll see how it holds up this summer.
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9 p.m.
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BBC America
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"Innocent" (D)
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The crew tries to figure if a murder victim actually committed suicide.
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9 p.m.
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Sundance
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"John Safran vs. God" (N)
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Safran takes his shtick to Japan to examine Buddhism.
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9 p.m.
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USA
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"Starter Wife" (D)
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Series premiere. Debra Messing plays a woman trying to get things together when her Hollywood marriage ends.
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10 p.m.
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History Channel
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"History Rocks" (N)
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Conclusion of the show that looks at rock bands from the 1970s.
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FRIDAY, JUNE 1
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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ABC
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"Good Morning America" (N)
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Former "Idol" contestant Daughtry performs.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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"TV's Funniest Moments" (A)
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A look at 30 memorable clips from the past 60 years of TV.
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8 p.m.
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CMT
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"Born Country" (R)
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The title to this episode should say it all: "Karaoke Moms."
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8 p.m.
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Discovery
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"Edge of Existence" (N)
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Series premiere. Examining primitive people in the face of a modern world.
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9 p.m.
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VH1
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"40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs" (A)
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A countdown of the best songs you've ever heard in an elevator.
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9 p.m.
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WE
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"Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter" (R)
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Sabree misses her curfew, then goes against her punishment.
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SATURDAY, JUNE 2
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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1 p.m.
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NBC
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"Tennis" (S)
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Early-round action from the French Open.
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3 p.m.
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CBS
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"PGA Golf" (S)
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Third round of the Memorial Tournament from Dublin, Ohio.
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3:30 p.m.
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Fox
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"Major League Baseball" (S)
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Either Cards-Astros or--you guessed it--Yankees-Red Sox.
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8 p.m.
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NBC
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"NHL Hockey" (S)
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Game three of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Ducks and Senators.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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"Cops" (R)
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A cop in Vegas is forced to chase down a suspect on foot.
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10 p.m.
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MTV
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"X Effect" (R)
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A show focusing on ex-boyfriends and girlfriends.
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SUNDAY, JUNE 3
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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1 p.m.
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NBC
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"Tennis" (S)
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More early-round play from the French Open.
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2:30 p.m.
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CBS
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"PGA Golf" (S)
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Final round of the Memorial Tournament, won last year by Carl Pettersson.
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8 p.m.
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ABC
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"NBA Basketball" (S)
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Still to be determined, but should be a Finals game.
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8 p.m.
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MTV
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"MTV Movie Awards" (A)
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The 16th annual event, this time airing live, hosted by Sarah Silverman.
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9 p.m.
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HBO
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"The Sopranos" (D)
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The show's penultimate episode has Tony testing loyalty within his crew.
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10 p.m.
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BBC America
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"Real Queens of England" (A)
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Less Victoria and Elizabeth and more, say, Elton John.
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10 p.m.
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HBO
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"Entourage" (C)
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Season finale. Vince's director choice for "Medellin" doesn't match with the movie's financial backer.
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A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show
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