American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show, 2007–present
TMZ on TV (also known as TMZ on Fox and simply as TMZ or TMZTV) is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007 (its major carriage is among television stations owned by Fox's). It is essentially a televised version of its sister operation, TMZ, a news website which has a heavy emphasis on gossip about celebrities' personal lives, and which debuted in December 2005.
The television program is produced at studio facilities that serve as the headquarters for the parent website; they are located at 13031 West Jefferson Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.[1] “TMZ” is an insider term standing for "thirty-mile zone" (also known as the studio zone), which refers to the film studio area of downtown Hollywood.
In November 2019, Fox Television Stations renewed its commitment to TMZ on TV through the 2022–23 season.[2]
Format
TMZ on TV is broadcast in two formats: the weekday edition is broadcast as a half-hour program; a one-hour weekend edition, composed of select stories featured in each of the weekday editions from the previous week, is also produced; during major holidays occurring on a weekday, that episode may feature a format similar to the weekend edition but featuring a compilation of stories from past editions centered around a particular theme (for example, a Christmas episode may center on celebrities who have been bad or good in the past year).[citation needed]
Unlike most entertainment news programs, TMZ on TV does not use a format of anchors in a studio delivering the stories and correspondents reporting on many of the stories in each edition; instead, most story packages are delivered via an announcer, and "in-studio" segments are taped during a morning staff pitch meeting at TMZ's Jefferson Boulevard headquarters, with some TMZ staffers delivering story pieces themselves.[citation needed]
The series delivers most of its stories in a humorous manner, mainly about certain celebrities, and features tongue-in-cheek jokes and double entendres, although more serious entertainment stories (such as a breaking entertainment story or celebrity death) – which appear on the program sparingly – often warrant a serious tone. Pieces often feature archived clips from television series and movies often for comedic effect, although they may sometimes be used to reference a project in which an entertainer is known for performing. Many pieces are shown in the "man on the street"-type question and answer format synonymous with paparazzi, although some celebrities do not answer certain questions asked to them by the videographer; a common recurring theme within the program is how certain TMZ videographers sometimes ask their subject extremely trivial or bad questions.[citation needed]
In lieu of regular daily segments such as a rumor mill segment, the program often shows recurring segments that appear over several episodes that feature a humorous or satirical introduction (for example, after the Tiger Woods adultery scandal broke in November 2009, all stories involving Woods began with the introduction: "TNN: The Tiger News Network", using a logo and name parodying that of cable television channel CNN, a then-sister channel to TMZ.com and the then-distributors of the television series, Warner Bros. Television and Telepictures, all owned by Time Warner). For the first few weeks of the show's run, the series carried a daily segment called "Full Frontal Fashion", featuring celebrity fashion blunders, but it was dropped after roughly one month.[citation needed]
On-air cast
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adding to it. (November 2019)
Notable former cast members
Criticism
TMZ was criticized for purchasing stolen items pertaining to the fourth Indiana Jones film. On October 2, 2007, IESB reported that a number of production photos and sensitive documents pertaining to the production budget had been stolen from Steven Spielberg's production office.
According to IESB, TMZ.com obtained some of the stolen property and was on the verge of running the story on the TV show until Paramount lawyers stepped in. After IESB broke the story, TMZ on TV broadcast details about the Indiana Jones production budget on the October 3, 2007, program.[3][4]
International broadcast history
In Canada, TMZ is shown on E!. In Australia it was broadcast on cable/satellite channel Arena until October 2008. It began broadcasting on the digital-only free-to-air channel GO! on August 9, 2009. The show was taken off the air in September 2015 to make way for expansions for children's content.[citation needed]
In the Philippines, Jack TV aired the show until the network's closure in April 2020.[7]
