Hey Paula (TV series)

Hey Paula
Genre	Reality
Directed by	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)	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	000000002016-06-28-0000June 28 – July 27, 2007 (2007-07-27)

Hey Paula is 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.

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.

References

External links

• Hey Paula at the Internet Movie Database
• Hey Paula at TV.com
• Episode 1: "Forever Your Girl" Review & Recap
• Hey Paula: American Idol Judge Says ”Never Again!”