‘Celebrity Wife Swap’ to Feature Alan Thicke and Gilbert Gottfried
The wives of actor Alan Thicke and comedian Gilbert Gottfried trade homes for one week, on “Celebrity Wife Swap,” on Tuesday, March 12 at 8:00 pm ET on the ABC Television Network.
In “Celebrity Wife Swap,” two mothers of celebrity families, each with opposing values, trade households, lifestyles and children (but not bedrooms) in a week-long challenge. In the first part of the exchange, each mom moves into the other’s home and agrees to follow a manual of “household rules” written by the departing mother, including how to parent, manage their social life, do house work, unwind and more. Everything changes in the second half of the week, when “new mommy” takes charge, introduces her own set of rules and runs the “nest” her way. At the end of the week the two couples meet for the first time. In a raw, honest and highly-charged exchange of views, the couples will make frank assessments of each other and discuss their experiences, having had a very real taste of what life would be like in someone else’s family.
Alan Thicke is probably best known to television viewers as Dr. Jason Seaver, a role he played on the family sitcom “Growing Pains.” He and his wife, Tanya, live on a sprawling ranch in Santa Barbara, CA with Alan’s 15-year-old son, Carter, where they enjoy the finer things in life. Tanya loves to throw lavish dinner parties with the help of a large staff that tends to all of the household needs. Gilbert Gottfried lives in New York City with his wife, Dara, and their two children, Lilly (5) and Max (3). When Gilbert isn’t doing stand-up comedy or voice over work, he’s a notorious penny-pincher who likes to save money by shopping at .99 cent stores. He also walks all around the city, not wanting to waste money on cab, subway or bus fare. Dara is accustomed to Gilbert’s frugal ways and believes you don’t need to spend a lot of money on those you love just to show you care.
Upon arriving in New York City, Tanya realizes that her bedroom in Santa Barbara is as large as Gilbert’s entire apartment. When Gilbert gets home with his two children, he welcomes her with his unique style of comedy, continually impersonating and making fun of her husband, Alan. What’s more, it’s a definite shock for Tanya to experience Gilbert’s economical ways: things come to a head when Gilbert treats Tanya to an “anniversary night out” – she’s standing in for Dara as the couple celebrate their wedding anniversary — and the evening isn’t at all what Tanya might have expected.
In Santa Barbara, Dara is treated to a warm welcome by Alan and Carter and can’t believe the size of their ranch. She’s soon given her first assignment of the swap, to cook a surf & turf dinner for the family. Admitting she’s no chef, Dara gives it her best shot, and at the end of a long first day joins Alan in the Jacuzzi for champagne. Stepping into Tanya’s shoes again, Dara throws an elegant dinner party for Alan’s friends in which she has to oversee all aspects of the dinner – from place cards and menu to decor and dishes. It’s a new experience for Dara, one that definitely takes her out of her comfort zone.
“Celebrity Wife Swap” is produced by Zodiak USA. Natalka Znak, Claire O’Donohoe and Bruce Toms serve as executive producers. The series is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HD format, with 5.1-channel sound. This program carries a TV-14,D parental guideline.
Categories: Television Tags: ABC, Alan Thicke, Celebrity Wife Swap, Gilbert Gottfried, Reality Shows, television, Wife Swap
‘Celebrity Wife Swap’ Returns with Kate Gosselin, Kendra Wilkinson, Mark McGrath and Coolio
Season Two of ‘Celebrity Wife Swap’ kicks off with reality TV mom Kate Gosselin and former Playboy Magazine cover girl Kendra Wilkinson on Tuesday, February 26 at 8:00 pm ET/PT on the ABC Television Network.
In the series, two mothers of celebrity families, each with opposing values, trade households, lifestyles and children (but not bedrooms) in a week-long challenge. In the first part of the exchange, each mom moves into the other’s home and agrees to follow a manual of ‘household rules’ written by the departing mother, including how to parent, manage their social life, do house work, unwind and more. Everything changes in the second half of the week, when ‘new mommy’ takes charge, introduces her own set of rules and runs the ‘nest’ her way. At the end of the week the two couples meet for the first time. In a raw, honest and highly-charged exchange of views, the couples will make frank assessments of each another and discuss their experiences, having had a very real taste of what life would be like in someone else’s family.
In the season premiere episode, ‘Kate Gosselin / Kendra Wilkinson,’ reality TV mom Kate Gosselin is living with her eight children in rural Pennsylvania. As a single mother raising twin girls Cara and Mady (12) and eight-year-old sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel, Kate lives by a rigid set of home rules. She cooks, cleans and shops, all while working to support her family.
Kendra Wilkinson, perhaps best known as a Playboy Magazine cover girl and Hugh Hefner’s former girlfriend, resides in Los Angeles with former-NFL husband Hank and their four-year-old son, Hank IV, aka ‘Little Hank.’ Kendra and Hank have a very relaxed parenting style in which they allow ‘Little Hank’ the freedom to learn and grow without any harsh guidelines. Hank is a supportive husband who pampers his wife by cooking for her, helping out around the house and planning ‘girls’ nights out’ for Kendra and friends. The family also has a full-time housekeeper/nanny, Rosa, who runs the household so that Kendra can relax during the day and enjoy her free time.
When Kate touches down in Los Angeles, she tries to get used to relaxing — an entirely new concept to this working mom of eight. Meanwhile Kendra struggles, plunging head-first into the chaos of caring for eight kids. It’s a comic turn of events as Kendra tries to put all the kids to bed while Kate is treated to a girls’ night out. As the week progresses, Kendra continues to juggle all of her new responsibilities while Kate relishes her ‘me’ time, far away from household chores and obligations.
On March 5, it’s Coolio’s and Mark McGrath’s turn. Coolio and his girlfriend, Mimi, and her three children — Majaniek (14), Javante (10) and Tariq (5) — live in a suburban community in Las Vegas. When he’s not touring or hanging out with friends, Coolio spends the majority of his time sleeping or relaxing at home, while Mimi works as a bartender and an exotic dancer, in addition to taking care of their home and raising her three children.
Mark McGrath, who is perhaps best known as the front man of the ’90s rock band Sugar Ray, and his wife, Carin, are parents to two-year-old twins Lydon and Hartley.
When self-sufficient Mimi arrives in Los Angeles, CA to swap lives with Carin, she is surprised to see a maid, a nanny and Carin’s parents — who live with them full time. Mimi is flabbergasted when she sees how the twins have complete control over the household. She also zeroes in on Mark’s ‘helicopter parenting’ and thinks that his hovering over everyone’s interaction with the twins is a problem.
It’s a far cry from the standoffish behavior Coolio displays when Carin arrives: Sleeping the day away and hanging out with his friends, he spends little time at home with the kids or helping with the household duties. And when it comes time to implement her own set of house rules, Mimi discovers that Coolio is less than quick to accept her terms.
Categories: Television Tags: ABC, Celebrity Wife Swap, Coolio, Kate Gosselin, Kendra Wilkinson, Mark McGrath, Sugar Ray, Wife Swap
‘Celebrity Wife Swap’ Premieres on ABC, January 3
-Five celebrity couples — including an evangelical pastor, a rapper, a rocker, a professional wrestler and award-winning singers and actors — will put a new spin on the critically-acclaimed reality series, “Wife Swap,” in “Celebrity Wife Swap,” premiering Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on the ABC Television Network.
In this new series, the mothers in two celebrity families with vastly diverse values switch homes (but not bedrooms) — embarking on a journey like no other and revealing the various ways some controversial celebrities live their lives. The two moms are given the chance to see how another celebrity raises their children and deals with life in the spotlight, while allowing both couples the opportunity to re-discover why they love each other and decided to get together in the first place. It’s a mind-blowing experiment that will change their lives forever.
The featured celebrities and their families are (airdates to be announced at a later date):
- GARY BUSEY, Academy Award-nominated actor for “The Buddy Holly Story” and TED HAGGARD, Evangelical pastor.
- TRACEY GOLD, actress, formerly of “Growing Pains,” and CARNIE WILSON, singer/actress/TV host.
- FLAVOR FLAV, world renowned rapper, and DEE SNIDER, rock star.
- MICK FOLEY, professional wrestler/writer, and ANTONIO SABATO JR., actor/model.
- NIECY NASH, actress/comedienne, and TINA YOTHERS, rocker and actress, formerly of “Family Ties.”
In each of the five one-hour episodes, two mothers with very different types of households swap lifestyles and children in a week-long challenge. In the first part of the swap, each mom moves into the other’s home and adopts their new celebrity family’s lifestyle, no matter how different it may be. They agree to follow a manual written by the departing mother that sets out the rules of their new household – how they parent, manage their social life, do house work, unwind and more. In the second half of the week, everything changes. The new moms take charge. They introduce their own set of rules and get to run the new household their way. It’s a radical shock to both celebrity families. The results are explosive, enlightening, emotional and often very funny. At the end of the show, the two celebrity couples meet for the first time. In a deeply honest and highly-charged exchange of views, both couples make a frank assessment of each other and talk about what they’ve learned from the experience. In the process, everyone discovers what it’s like to live a life quite unlike their own.
“Celebrity Wife Swap” is produced by Zodiak USA. Executive producers include Grant Mansfield, Natalka Znak, Claire O’Donohoe and Bruce Toms.
Categories: Television Tags: ABC, Celebrity Wife Swap, Wife Swap

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