Hey Paula (TV series)
Hey Paula was an American reality television series starring and co-produced by American television personality Paula Abdul that aired from June 28 to July 27, 2007, on the Bravo network. The series was also broadcast in Britain on the ITV2 channel and Arena 105 in Australia.
| Hey Paula | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality |
| Directed by | Paula Abdul Jason Sands |
| Starring | Paula Abdul |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Paula Abdul Cori Abraham Frances Berwick Amy Introcaso-Davis David Russo Scott Sternberg |
| Producer(s) | Paula Abdul Ken Abraham Jill Synder |
| Editor(s) | Joshua Altman Michael Griffin Chase Peel Andrea Tucker Mike Verna |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Bravo |
| Original release | June 28 – July 27, 2007 |
Synopsis
The program showed the private life of Paula Abdul as she promotes an upcoming season of the Fox series American Idol while simultaneously developing the Bratz movie as well as a new fragrance line. It also featured Abdul preparing for and making a variety of public and/or television appearances.
Abdul's persona on Hey Paula was considerably less genial than that of her established reputation as "the nice one" on American Idol.[1][2] Abdul's behavior on the show, particularly toward her staff, was revealed to be less than exemplary.[3] She frequently dissolved into tears and childish tantrums over seemingly inconsequential occurrences, and was even caught on camera privately bemoaning being "...tired of people not treating me like the gift that I am."
Ratings and reception
In spite of the tremendous success of American Idol, the ratings for Hey Paula were reportedly low.[4]
The show was generally panned by critics, even those who identified themselves as fans of Abdul's previous work. The show was fodder for comedians, especially Kathy Griffin, who mocked Abdul's behavior in her stand-up act.
Aftermath
Abdul criticized the way the program's segments were edited. She explained, "That was hard for me to watch. Disturbing. They’d put a camera on me when I got wind that my dog was in a coma, and they’d make it (seem) like it was about hair and makeup."
During the filming of the series, Abdul was fired from the Bratz movie. Though her reaction to this was captured on camera, Abdul and her handlers subsequently denied the veracity of the segment, attributing Abdul's highly emotional on-camera break-down to "creative editing."[5]
Abdul ultimately announced that she would not be willing to participate in another similar reality series.
List of episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "This Is My Life" | June 28, 2007 | |
| Paula gets all glamorous to attend the Grammy Awards but her pooch, Chomps, chews on her loaned million dollar ring. Later, Paula goes to a home shopping network to promote her new jewelry line. | |||
| 2 | "Sleepless In New York" | June 28, 2007 | |
| Paula attends a fashion gala and is awarded a Fashion Icon Award. Later, a tired Paula talks with her perfume manufacturers and does various American Idol interviews. | |||
| 3 | "Woman of the Year" | July 5, 2007 | |
| Paula holds a staff meeting to discuss her recent bad publicity and then she goes shopping. Las Vegas beckons, meaning she'll have to face the press head-on. | |||
| 4 | "All that Glitters" | July 12, 2007 | |
| Paula hosts a charity event to help animal victims of Hurricane Katrina. Later, she appears on the home shopping network once again and prepares for an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman". | |||
| 5 | "Snowed In" | July 19, 2007 | |
| As Paula prepares to head to New York for the day to rest and then give an interview on "The Late Show with David Letterman", things totally go haywire as a snowstorm mixes up Paula's plans. Paula is stuck in Philadelphia after doing a segment on QVC until the snow storm dies down. Will Paula ever make it to David Letterman? | |||
| 6 | "Summer Rental" | July 26, 2007 | |
| Paula plans to rent a house while her home is being remodeled and asks her best friend/hairstylist Daniel to help her decorate. Daniel tours the rental house with Deb the interior designer to determine décor. Daniel and Deb make decorative executive decisions, and move in new furniture the very next week. But when Paula arrives to look at the house, she hates it and calls Deb to complain. After reconsidering, Paula decides to hold off on remodeling her house, and lets go of the newly decorated rental house. | |||
| 7 | "Shut Up and Dance" | August 2, 2007 | |
| In the season/series finale, Paula auditions dancers for a new project. Then we see how she deals with her chronic pain problems in her daily life -- a problem that gets worse after she trips over one of her beloved dogs and damages the cartilage in her nose. We meet her acupuncturist while she does an interview with Billy Bush of Access Hollywood. Later, Paula meets with producer Peter Lord, whom she hasn't worked with for over ten years, to discuss her getting back in the music game. Paula's boyfriend throws her a birthday party and surprises her with her dad and other family members. | |||
References
- Paula Abdul's Bio - American Idol
- E! News - Paula Abdul Says No to Drugs, Alcohol - Paula Abdul
- Levine, Stuart (2007-06-22). "Hey, Paula". variety.com.
- "Ratings: Burn Gets Noticed, But Not Hey Paula - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com". Archived from the original on 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- Usmagazine.com | EXCLUSIVE: Paula's People Say She Broke up With Bratz