Chef Ramsay, patiently explaining why he’s about to headbutt a restaurant owner

There’s something really sad about walking past an empty restaurant, more sad than walking past an empty bar or deli. Maybe it’s the bored waiters, standing around with no orders to take and no tips to receive. Or if it’s a place with an open kitchen, the chefs standing around not making any food. Whatever it is, there’s an urge to somehow help. Except you don’t have a bottomless wallet to try all these places. But a tip landed in our inbox that you can march in to that sad, empty restaurant with: Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay is once again on the hunt for restaurants in distress. (more…)

If anyone deserves a free new house, it’s Sandy volunteers. via Facebook

What do you usually get for volunteering? A tote bag maybe, if you’re lucky. You usually need to make do with the nice warm feeling you get for doing it, which is why it’s called volunteering and not “work.” Although it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve more than a thank you and firm handshake. Sometimes you do such a good job volunteering that you deserve a whole new house. Like all of the people who rushed out to help clean up and make food and make life easier for their neighbors who got walloped by Sandy. If you know anyone who did that, don’t be shy, because HGTV wants to give them the home makeover they deserve. (more…)

Now you too can have your life’s work insulted by celebrity puppets. Via Lovelyish.

You know what they say: if you can’t make it in the real world, make it on reality TV. Well, we’re not sure if anyone actually says that, but it sure seems to be true. And that’s great for all you designers out there, because Project Runway is casting for their next season. A reality show gig could get your name and your work out there, whether or not that’s a good thing is up to you. Either way, it’s all about shooting for the stars right? Right.  (more…)

Have you seen this ghost? A new reality show wants you

Say you’re the type to hang around haunted Brooklyn locations. Maybe you’ve spent a few nights doing seances, and trying to convince your friends that those spooky noises you hear in the subway aren’t rats or things settling, they’re actually the spirits of vengeful commuters. And maybe you’ve taken your thoughts on this matter a bit far and have been hunting ghosts in your spare time. Well fortunately for you, your belief in the paranormal could be your ticket to reality TV fame, because a casting company is looking for “unconventional” ghost hunters. (more…)

Did anyone watch the premier of Big Brooklyn Style last night? We missed it, because UGH TV, but this one doesn’t seem to have quite the angry hoopla round of, say, the Bay Ridge reality show or HBO’s Awkward Sex In the Borough. The TLC show is about Lee Lee’s Valise, a Carroll Gardens boutique specializing in sizes 10-28. According to Refinery 29, each episode focuses on three customers as they “embrace and celebrate their size and shape” with new clothes from the boutique, including owner Lisa Dolan’s own clothing collection. It seems less annoying because, as Refinery 29 points out, “it’s pretty exciting to see a broader range of women represented in the fitting room (goodness knows, it can be an emotional place for anyone).”  (more…)

What a friendly chap.

Reality TV is hiring! This is your chance to find out what it’s like to be a professional NYC chef who’s getting yelled at by an irate British man instead of a two-hour line full of foie-gras craving Brooklynites (oh GoogaMooga jokes, we just can’t quit you). Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen is holding auditions right now for cooks and chefs in the NYC, NJ and Connecticut areas for the new season of the show. We know this town is full of culinary craftspeople of all shapes and sizes; are any of you into this? Or are you more the who-needs-reality-tv-let’s-open-our-own-mayonnaise-shop crowd? The casting notice says: “Maybe you come from a long line of chefs, cooked for a celebrity, were a fry cook in a fast food restaurant, old age home, summer camp, cooked for a president or somewhere interesting and different? Tell us your story!”

Find out how to apply below. (more…)

Oof.

The Oxygen Network’s latest attempt to steal MTV’s thunder turns its lens on our own backyard. The Post reports that Bay Ridge, a neighborhood you may know as near where everyone goes bat-shit with their Christmas lights, is slated to get its own “Jersey Shore-esque Reality Show” on March 26. And rather than smelling like a tub of jolly Ron-Ron juice, it will most likely reek of whipped-cream flavored vodka and hatred. The series, titled Brooklyn 11223 (which is definitely not Bay Ridge, as commenters point out below), will focus on a “once tight-knit group of girls from the Brooklyn ’hood [who] are still at each other’s throats over an alleged heinous act of betrayal years ago,” according to the Post. Since the people responsible for The Bad Girl’s Club are at the helm of Brooklyn 11223, we can expect nothing less than a gaggle of thick-accented girls in bodycon dresses calling each other “fake bitches” and “followers.”  (more…)

We’ve already told you plenty about bed bugs: from avoiding hand-me-down critters and shopping without fear to getting rid of them on the cheap and knowing which buildings to avoid. If you’re still infested and too broke to take care of it, maybe it’s time to call in some major help from the people who brought you the Crocodile Hunter and Whale Wars. Animal Planet is looking for “extreme infestations” of any kind (roaches, raccoons, bed bugs, etc) in the city for an upcoming new reality show. They’ll set you up with an accredited pest control company for free, all while recording the process. Interested? Here’s how to apply. (more…)

Bravo's Work of Art season 2, featuring you?b

Because we can’t afford TV, it’s hard to keep up with all the reality shows in the lineup these days, even the ones with a Brooklyn connection. But the internet says there’s a popular (though critically disappointing) show called Work of Art: The Next Great Artist on Bravo, which is like a Project Runway for artists, wherein creative types compete for a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum. If you’re a fan or a starving artist, some good news: Bravo announced this week a second season is on the way, and it’s holding open  auditions in Brooklyn Sept. 25. (more…)

Project Runway wants some BK stitches for next season

If you’re either one of the two, you’ve got a chance to make your mark on reality TV. And if you’re both a well-tanned hottie and fashion designer… we don’t want to hear about it. There are a couple of casting calls going on right now that are bound to land Brooklyn in the reality TV spotlight. Project Runway is looking for Brooklyn clothing designers for next season, and the upcoming beach-party-of-a-show Brooklyn Beach Club is looking for anyone tanned, toned, oiled and willing to party. In case you weren’t entirely clear on where Brooklyn’s TV personality was headed. (more…)