Jean-Christophe Novelli runs Bravo's "Chef Academy."

Two reality-competitions wrap up this week, while another launches, and the first Christmas specials break the pre-Thanksgiving barrier. (At least they waited until after Halloween.) Here’s all that and more.

“Chef Academy,” 9 p.m. Monday on…

The fall TV season’s first casualty is “The Beautiful Life: TBL,” the CW network’s mostly unseen drama about the “glamorous” world of modeling. After two airings with low and really low ratings (barely over 1 milion this week), the CW…

For some reason, I wasn’t a “Melrose Place” fan during its run in the 1990s. In fact, in the days before I was paid to watch TV, I’m not actually sure I saw it more than once or twice. That’s why I’m…

The calendar says summer isn’t quite over, but it’s clear that fall has arrived. Leaves were changing along I-64 as I came home from a long weekend in Louisville; I’ve switched to my new fall purse; and the season’s first premieres and…

Dylan McDermott in "Dark Blue."

First, there are eight shows on this edition of “seven shows.” Feel free to disregard the one of your choosing. Second, I didn’t include the All-Star Game (7 p.m. Tuesday on Fox) , but that doesn’t…

“Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill” will trade places on the CW’s Monday night schedule in the fall. In St. Louis, where KPLR delays CW programming an hour, that means “One Tree Hill” at 8 p.m. and “Gossip Girl” at an…