During the time off for Spring Break, a number of television series will be debuting new seasons or airing for the first time. Ball State students have chimed in with their opinions on the return of leading reality shows as well as new shows hoping to become the next big must-see program.
To start the reality madness is a new season of "Celebrity Apprentice," which debuted Sunday on NBC.
This is the fourth season of the show, which has featured musicians, actors, models, athletes and a number of icons in pop culture in the quest to work with Donald Trump on a new business venture. The new cast is composed of David Cassidy, Star Jones, Dionne Warwick, Richard Hatch, NeNe Leakes, Marlee Matlin, Jose Canseco, La Toya Jackson, Lil' John, Gary Busey, John Rich, Mark McGrath, Meatloaf, Niki Taylor, Lisa Rinna, and Hope Dworaczyk.
Freshman radiography major Tiffany Douglas is rooting for Gary Busey to win.
"I think [Busey] is crazy, and it will be enjoyable to watch his crazy antics for the season," Douglas said. "He is a scary dude, and I just want to see more of him."
The sixth season of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" also premiered Sunday on Bravo. Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Barney, Gretchen Rossi and Alexis Bellino will return to the show along with newcomer Peggy Tanous.
Tanous, according to bravotv.com, is a former model turned stay-at-home mom. The season catches up with the ladies after a year of financial struggles and rocky relationships.
Junior marketing major Briana Yoder is a huge fan of "The Real Housewives" series and is excited for the new season from Orange County.
"I'm excited to see where [the housewives] are in their lives after a year," Yoder said. "I'm interested to see in Tamera and Gretchen still hate each other and what's become of Lynne and her family. I saw Jenna [a former Housewife] in a preview, so I hope that she comes back or they at least update us about her."
Yoder said her favorite housewife is Gunvalson. Yoder said she finds Gunvalson to be "a lot more down to earth than the other housewives even though she's a little crazy."
"I don't like to be in drama, but I like to watch it from afar," Yoder said. "I get drawn into [their] lives."
"Dancing with the Stars" will begin its 12th season on March 21. This year, the cast is made of Chris Jericho, Chelsea Kane, Hines Ward, Kendra Wilkinson, Kristie Alley, Wendy Williams, Mike Catherwood, Petra Nemcova, Sugar Ray Leonard, Ralph Macchio and Romeo.
David Alexander, a junior psychology major, is a dance instructor for the Ball State Ballroom Dance League. He said he stopped watching the show a while back because "[the judges] were not critical enough of the stars."
After analyzing each contestant, Alexander said he picks Romeo or Catherwood to win.
"Romeo is a very young guy with a musical background, dancing in his blood, and [he] remains athletic," Alexander said. "Although he is not as famous as he was as a child star, he will be quite a contender with his stamina, musicality, presentation and dancing background."
In competition with these titan programs are shows new to audiences. Their series is set to premiere sometime this month.
"America's Next Great Restaurant" began Sunday on NBC. According to the show's website, 21 competitors have been chosen to fight for the top prize: their own chain restaurant with locations in New York City, Hollywood and Minneapolis.
The mentors and investors of the restaurant concepts are Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone, Steve Ells and Lorena Garcia.
Freshman Ashley Bedwell, a secondary mathematics major, said "America's Next Great Restaurant" will be a "great series and will entertain people all over America."
"I would love for the show to go into detail on the restaurants and the health aspect of them. I think this show will be different because it's not like 'Kitchen Nightmares,' where they inspect kitchens for policies breakers," Bedwell said. "It's definitely not 'Man vs. Food,' so I think it will be a great addition to the television shows already displayed."
ABC will be debuting "Body of Proof" on March 29. The series follows Dr. Megan Hunt, a former top-notch neurosurgeon played by Dana Delany. After a horrible car accident, she is unable to carry on her career in the operating room and resorts to becoming a medical examiner determined to solve the mystery of what or who killed the victims.
She gets so into her work that she doesn't know where her job ends and that of a police officer begins.
Sophomore Tristan Cain is interested in the show. Due to a busy schedule, he will have to settle for watching the show online each week.
"It's a show related to crime, something that I am obviously interested in seeing as my major is criminal justice," Cain said. "I am also interested because of some of the cast members in it, including John Carroll Lynch."
Cain said he believes "Body of Proof" will be a mix of popular crime shows "Law and Order" and "NCIS." He said he hopes it is more like "NCIS" because that show has a "much more interesting storyline."
"I never got into ‘Law and Order' because they always messed up the crime scenes," Cain said. "I found [the show] to be kind of boring."
Other debuting shows:
"Breakout Kings" - debuted Sunday at 10 p.m. on A&E
"Taking on Tyson" - Sunday at 10 p.m. on Animal Planet
"The Real World: Las Vegas" on Wednesday at 10 p.m. on MTV
"Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" on March 22 at 10 p.m. on Syfy
"The Hard Times of RJ Berger" on March 24 at 11 p.m. on MTV
"Shark Tank" on March 25 at 8 p.m. on ABC
"The Secret Life of the American Teenager" on March 28 at 8 p.m. on ABC Family
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