Authentic Entertainment
The week before Christmas is probably one of the slowest of the year for new TV series premieres as the networks pump out holiday specials and reruns, knowing the average TV viewer is occupied with other things and the nets don’t want to burn off an original episode when no one is watching. So this week only one decade produced new shows, and both of those were on cable, and both were in the reality genre.
This week in 2012 saw the premiere of Cheer Perfection on TLC, which was a sort-of spin-off of another TLC series, Toddlers & Tiaras, which featured Perfection Studios on some episodes. The series focused on the world of competitive cheerleading instead of child pageants, but it ran into some trouble when one cast member, Andrea Clevenger, was arrested on charges of raping a 13-year-old boy. TLC released a statement that the series had already been cancelled, after two seasons, when that happened and no reruns would be aired.
The H2 network, sister to the History Channel, aired a docuseries titled America Unearthed that purported to reveal an alternative history of the North American continent, before the United States, through the investigation of mysteries and artifacts. H2 carried the series for three seasons and then it moved to The Travel Channel for one additional season. The series was born out of a History Channel special, Holy Grail in America, where host Scott Wolter, who also hosted the series, explored the idea that the Kensington Runestone (which was allegedly discovered in Minnesota in 1898) was evidence that the Knights Templar sailed to North America about 100 years before Columbus. The special, like the series, was called entertaining but much of its ‘scientific investigation’ was called into question.
And that’s it for this week. Now, do you remember either of these shows? Tell us in the comments section below!
1952
- No new series debuted this week in 1952.
1962
- No new series debuted this week in 1962.
1972
- No new series debuted this week in 1972.
1982
- No new series debuted this week in 1982.
1992
- No new series debuted this week in 1992.
2002
- No new series debuted this week in 2002.
2012
Committee Films
- December 19 – Cheer Perfection (TLC, Two seasons, 16 episodes)
- December 21 – America Unearthed (H2, Three seasons, 39 episodes / Travel Channel, One season, 10 episodes)
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