Thursday, May 22, 2014

BREAKING. Maria Menounos signs to join E! Entertainment; will do red carpet coverage and her own new show, Untold with Maria Menounos.


Maria Menounos has signed a multiyear contract with E! Entertainment (DStv 124) to do live red carpet coverage for the TV channel, and will also be doing her own show, Untold with Maria Menounos.

Her contract comes a day after longtime E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic extended her contract by a further two years and news that Giuliana Rancic recommitted herself to E!, not wanting to appear "pushed out" when Maria Menounos joins - which she now did.

"As we continue to expand E!'s dynamic news programming lineup, we're so excited to have Maria join the E! team to help drive the growth and expansion of E! as the global entertainment news leader," says Cyndi McClellan, E! president of network strategy and E! News in a statement.

"With her undeniable charisma and deep industry relationships, Maria has a huge fan following as one of the premiere entertainment news personalities in Hollywood today. While conceiving Untold, we always thought Maria was the ideal host because of her varied experiences not only in entertainment, but also in global reporting".

"We're thrilled to bring her talents to the network and to collaborate with her as we create and develop exciting new programming together".

Maria Menounos will join E!'s red carpet coverage team and will also be doing other specials.

Untold with Maria Menounos will cover celebrity trends.

"The series will cover an array of topics including Gen Y Royals, the rise of heroin in Hollywood, the popularity of electronic dance music and the rise of some reality stars from their humble beginnings. Each episode will be comprised of three extensive individual stories, as well as additional segments such as celebrity sound-off and pop culture minute," says E!.

"To be able to host, report and produce for an entire network, one that spans globally no less, is thrilling," says Maria Menounos in the statement.

"I'm equally excited to join a team of hosts and producers that are amongst the finest in our industry".