MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox has announced that the host of its music-based reality show ?American idol? Ryan Seacrest will serve as the host of its ?25th Anniversary Special?, airing on 22 April.

Fox president of alternative entertainment Mike Darnell said, "Who better than Ryan Seacrest - America?s best television host and 11-year member of our FOX family - to lead our 25th anniversary celebration. This is going to be an amazing trip down memory lane filled with plenty of surprises that will showcase our hits, our misses and everything in between."

Hugh Laurie from ?House?; Kelsey Grammar from ?The Simpsons? and ?Back To You? and Tommy Davidson from ?In Living Color? join previously announced participants including Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama from ?That ?70s Show? and Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and creator Chris Carter from "The X-Files."

The star-studded special will pay tribute to Fox?s most memorable moments with appearances by Fox talent, highlights from iconic series and specials and reunions with cast members from some of the network?s fan-favorite series, among other surprises.

MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox has ordered an 11th and 12th season of the Gordon Ramsay culinary competition series ?Hell?s Kitchen?.

In the cooking series, aspiring restaurateurs are put through an intense culinary academy to prove they possess the right combination of ingredients to win a life-changing grand prize.

Each week on the show as the teams are whittled down, the chefs get one step closer to earning the coveted black chef jacket.

Eventually two finalists will compete head-to-head to impress Ramsay with their skills, and only one chef will walk away with the ultimate prize.

MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox has renewed ?Kitchen Nightmares? for a fifth season, ordering 16 new episodes of the series. The announcement was made by Fox president of alternative entertainment Mike Darnell.

The series star and executive producer Gordon Ramsay said, "It?s great to be back for a fifth season... who knew there were that many nightmares to be had?".

Throughout the show?s run, Chef Gordon Ramsay has travelled to 54 cities around the US offering restaurants on the brink of closure some much-needed guidance and, more often than not, a healthy dose of tough love.

For many establishments, Chef Ramsay?s inimitable style and unique brand of delivery is difficult to swallow. With the economy hitting the restaurant business especially hard, these restaurateurs are looking to Chef Ramsay to wake them up from their own Kitchen Nightmares.
 

MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox has announcing 2011-2012 midseason premiere dates for new and returning series, including the return of ?American Idol? the debuts of new dramas Touch, ?Alcatraz? and ?The Finder?; and the launch of new animated series ?Napoleon Dynamite?.

?American Idol? comes back for the 11th season. It begins with a two-night premiere on 18 January 2012. The show features host Ryan Seacrest and returning judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

?Touch?, the new drama created by Tim Kring ?Heroes? and starring Kiefer Sutherland ?24) will debut with a special preview on 25 January immediately following ?American Idol?. The drama, which makes its series premiere on 19 March features Sutherland as a widower and single father haunted by an inability to connect to his mute 11-year-old son. But everything changes when he discovers that his son possesses the gift of staggering genius - the ability to see things that no one else can and the patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events.

JJ Abrams? new thriller ?Alcatraz? will debut on 16 January with a two-hour premiere event. The series then makes its time period premiere on 23 January following all-new episodes of ?House?. The mysterious drama stars Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia and Sam Neill as a team investigating the shocking reappearance of Alcatraz?s most notorious prisoners, 50 years after they vanished.

?The Finder?, the one-hour procedural centering on a man with the ability to help people find the unfindable, joins the schedule on 12 January.

?Napoleon Dynamite?, the new animated comedy joins the Animation Domination lineup with a double dose of episodes on 15 January. Featuring the voices of the original cast the show follows the continuing adventures of America?s most awesomely awkward teenager and his quirky family and friends, as they navigate small-town life in rural Idaho.

From 6 March Tuesday will have a new block of four half-hour comedies led by encores of ?New Girl? followed by the second season of ?Breaking In?, the workplace comedy starring Christian Slater, Bret Harrison and new series regular Megan Mullally. The Tuesday night of comedy continues with all-new episodes of the show followed by the misadventures of the Chance family on ?Raising Hope?.

?Bob?s Burgers? joins the Animation Domination menu when it the second season kicks off on 11 March. This season, Bob (the voice of H. Jon Benjamin) and the family test-drive the food truck industry, dive into the world of synchronized swimming, search for treasure in an abandoned taffy factory and get tied up with a very needy bank robber.

MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox has ordered the second season of unscripted series ?The X Factor?. The announcement was made by Fox president of alternative entertainment Mike Darnell.

Creator of the format, Simon Cowell said, "I am absolutely thrilled with the news. I have loved making the show and I want to thank Fox, our sponsors and most importantly, the fans for supporting The X Factor."

Darnell said, "The X Factor is a monumental success. It?s won every night it?s been on the air, the talent is phenomenal, the live shows are spectacular and picking it up is a complete no-brainer. Simon and his team have done an incredible job with the show, and I?m absolutely thrilled to bring back ?The X Factor? for another fantastic season."