By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, December 10, 2015
So you think Ryan Seacrest has tied up all the hosting gigs? It's actually Steve Harvey.
The part-time Atlantan already has a successful syndicated talk show he shoots in Chicago and "Family Feud" in Atlanta.
Now he will host the Miss Universe pageant, which will air live on Fox December 20 from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, the town where he used to host the Neighborhood Awards.
“I am thrilled to be hosting this iconic event for the first time ever,” said Harvey in a press release.
Donald Trump sold the Miss Universe Organization to talent agency WME-IMG in September.
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Oxygen's new series "Finding My Father" features a Carrollton 20 year old seeking out a father he knew little to nothing about on the December 16th episode airing at 9.
Alec James Mott Zais, a University of West Georgia junior, said his mom broke up with him when he was very young so he has no memories of his dad. She ultimately remarried but the older he got, the more he wanted to know who his biological father is.
"I knew very little about him," Zais said. "I didn't even know his full name for the majority of my life. I didn't see a photo of him until recently."
During the episode, not only does he reunite with his father but he also learns why the break up between his parents was so harsh.
Zais said he ran across an ad for the show online and applied, with no expectation he'd get picked. He said the production company helped him track down his dad and the family he had never known.
Although he didn't provide all the details, he said he now has a relationship with his dad. "It's already been amazing," he said.
The hour-long episodes actually features two different stories, going back and forth between them.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Currently, two scripted dramas focused on African-American church life are being produced in Atlanta at the same time. I've already written about "Greenleaf" for OWN, which is set in Memphis and is produced by Oprah Winfrey. She also has a recurring role on that show.
But Atlanta-based Bounce TV is creating its own drama about life inside a Southern Baptist Church called "Saints and Sinners" that is also being shot locally. It's the network's first original scripted drama.
The show, which features a family faced with their own demons of ambition, greed and pride as they try to save others, is set to debut in 2016. I don't have any cast details yet but will update this when I do.
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