ABC, which is owned by Disney, is canning 'Are You Hot?', a hunt for America's sexiest men and women, with ABC Entertainment chairman Lloyd Braun saying: "Ultimately, I think it was in bad taste."
The network has instead decided to show reruns of comedies such as the Jim Belushi vehicle 'According to Jim', with the station hoping to build on its moderate success.
The station has not abandoned reality TV altogether, with 'The Real Roseanne Show' screening in summer, and the autumn schedule to include another series of 'The Bachelor', where a single man "auditions" numerous single women to find his ideal mate, and 'Extreme Makeovers', where participants are given the usual hair and make-up advice, along with nose jobs, breast implants and face lifts.
'The Real Roseanne Show' is similar to MTV's hit 'The Osbournes' and will see a camera crew following the comedienne Roseanne Barr and her staff, which include her ex-husband's new wife.
Over at the CBS network, which like MTV is part of Viacom, reality television show 'Big Brother' is already providing the kind of fireworks that have been absent from the UK version.
This week one of the contestants, a 33-year-old waiter named Scott Weintraub, was ordered to leave the house after an outburst where he threw chairs across the kitchen and refused to go to the diary room when 'Big Brother' called.
Weintraub added to the drama by later apologising to his housemates and blaming the tantrum on an outbreak of genital warts. However, CBS has not yet turned the incident into ratings gold. It has so far held off broadcasting the incident on live television, although it has played on the internet.
Violence in the American 'Big Brother' house is not a new thing -- two years ago one of the contestants was thrown out after holding a knife to the throat of a fellow housemate.
US producers of 'Big Brother' have also struck on the brilliant idea of filling the house with ex partners, which has resulted in rows and tension.
In 'Big Brother' in the UK, Nush and Scott have spent time worrying about how their flirtation will be viewed by the outside world as the 'Big Brother' housemates face their final eviction vote -- from which returnee Jon is exempt.
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