Dating isn’t getting any easier. Luckily, MTV is helping us tackle the snags, ambiguity and awkwardness we encounter in everyday relationships with the help of author and relationship expert Tionna Smalls. This Brooklyn native turned relationship guru will provide honest advice and makeovers in her new series “Girl, Get Your Mind Right” which premieres tonight – May 20th at 6pm ET.

You might remember Smalls’ candid and outspoken style from her stint helping TLC’s Chilli find love on the VH1 reality show “What Chilli Wants”. Smalls a former relationship blogger for Gawker built her powerful advice brand from a personal mission to help women achieve satisfying relationships. Like most young women, she navigated a big breakup and was let down by the dating scene. Yet instead of just recounting her experiences with friends, she used her relationship ‘girl talk’ to build her brand.  

“I was in a relationship a longtime when I was younger, a teenage relationship, that went onto college and we broke up and I started dating. I started to date and being out here dating was the worst experience ever. So I said I am going to write a book about love and relationships and it was self-published. I promoted myself, started a blog, I was on What Chilli Wants, then I got a book deal and now “Girl Get Your Mind Right” is a show on MTV. So the grind played off.” – Tionna Smalls

“Girl Get Your Mind Right” will air daily and Smalls will work one-on-one with women to get to the core of their problems and give them a dose of her straight talk. Whether it’s a look, an attitude or a behavior change, she confronts real women with real advice to break bad habits. Then she puts her own advice to the test – going undercover to spy on dates to make sure her tips really work.

Smalls used social media to build her brand and she is passionate about staying connected to her following – she affectionately calls her fans, ‘loveys’.  “I take my responsibility to my ‘loveys’ very seriously – because I don’t feel there are enough people that are authentic out here” Smalls said. “I’m all the way real and I like that about myself. That’s one thing I bring to the table.”

She won’t bite her tongue, and always emphasizes that she will always stay true to her personality and Brooklyn roots. In addition to encouraging us all to check out her new show – she wanted to leave her loveys with these words of wisdom.

“You can’t listen to negative people. People who have never done it are going to tell you that you can’t do it and you just can’t listen to it. If there is something you want to do – be the best at it.”

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Not too shabby at all.  Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele — stars of Comedy Central’s Key & Peele — have earned the number 18 spot on Fast Company‘s annual list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business.  Regardless of what you think of listicles, reporter Joe Berkowitz’s cover story on  the duo contains some pretty awesome insights into their creative process.

This sense of co-conspiracy extends to Key & Peele’s creation process, a rigorous winnowing down of more than 330 sketches to the 82 slots for the upcoming season. A giant whiteboard in the creators’ office is awash with notecards bearing neatly scrawled words such as “honest bully.” Many represent “dooks”–half-baked scenes unloaded at the writers’ meeting. Everyone dog-piles on these ideas, trying to figure out the comedic engine that will make them work as sketches. Once that’s thought through, the dook originator writes a draft. Then come notes from Key and Peele, an internal table read, and more than three presentations to the network before Key and Peele decide which sketches get on air. “Anyone who’s really utilized collaboration,” says Peele, citing Pixar and the Muppets, “has a philosophy like, ‘Let’s throw it all against the wall and see what sticks.’ That’s how we do it. At a certain point, we’re cutting scripts that we love.” Key adds, “When it gets heart wrenching is when it gets exciting. And that’s where we are with the third season right now.”

If you’re an aspiring comic studying Key and Peele the way they’ve studied Chaplin and Chappelle, the article also includes Jordan Peele’s tips on “How to Create a Catchphrase.”  But, perhaps most encouragingly, Fast Company reports that season 3 of Key & Peele — premiering September 25 — will see the return of Samuel and LaShawn (WE’RE HAVING A BAAAAAABY!!!!) and a “spiritual sequel” to the East-West College Bowl sketch.  Cannot wait.

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SpongeBob SquarePants: Passionate about chasing jellyfish.

Does the man who created Walter White, antihero of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” (with a heavy emphasis on the anti), think there’s room for nice guys in today’s television landscape?

Do animated sponges who live underwater count?

Vince Gilligan thinks so.  In an interview in today’s New York Magazine, the creator and showrunner of “Breaking Bad” makes his pick for the last interesting do-gooder on television.

Are there any honest-to-God nice characters on TV that you still find interesting?

SpongeBob SquarePants is a great show, and it centers on a character that is courageously nice. Why is SpongeBob interesting? It’s because he has passion. He has a passion for chasing jellyfish. I’m very glad people love Breaking Bad, but the harder character to write is the good character that’s as interesting and as engaging as the bad guy. My hat is off to the SpongeBob showrunners. It’s like how Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backward and in high heels. That’s kind of the struggle you face when you’re writing the good guy now instead of a bad guy.

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If you ever wanted to learn about going vegan without missing the pleasure of cage-free eggs and mussels, or how to break your cheekbone and lose seven teeth at once – this was the conversation to hear. Steve-O walked into the Berlin press conference with flip flops, and introduced journalists not only to his new show, but also gave deep insights into his career, future plans and how to make this world a better place. He touched on a range of topics like traveling with “a passport thick as a sandwich” to the thrill of naked wrestling, keeping the audience enthralled and comfortably amused.

 In a Killer Karaoke live performance, a man was waxed while singing and he proceeded to wax his body long after the karaoke song ended. But you will never see Steve-O singing karaoke on his quirky talent show. If he did flex his vocal cords, the songs would probably be from Iron Maiden or Mötley Crüe, as he points out. He is – surprisingly – just not that singing guy and is more into real action.

Thanks Steve, for some words of wisdom and the guarantee to never be mean to our German symbol of freedom – David Hasselhoff.

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Pink handcuffs, puppy chow and fake tattoos might not be what you’d expect at the office, but it was all part of the fun for CMT’s “Dog Pound” during the premiere of Dog and Beth: On the Hunt.

The Dog Pound, made up of 16 social media strategists, graphic designers, marketing  managers and IT gurus, was at work long before the show aired; their goal was to connect with fans using social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook, GetGlue, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, and Vine.

“Our goal for the social media command center was to drive significant, real-time conversation about the series premiere of ‘Dog and Beth: On the Hunt,’” said John Monson, Manager of CMT’s Social Marketing.  “We wanted to be in the living rooms with our fans and interact with them everywhere on social media. We also wanted to provide unique experiences that built brand and show loyalty. When we establish a personal relationship with fans, they will keep coming back for more.”

Engaging with fans has become pivotal to television’s success, as the competition for viewers is growing increasingly strong with entertainment options such as DVR, Netflix, and Hulu. Social media is a pivotal vehicle to competitively set programming apart.

“Real-time marketing has proven to be very effective,” Monson said. “Many people watch TV with a second screen in their hand and don’t want to be left out of what their friends are enjoying.”

Unlike the recent premiere of A&E’s Duck Dynasty, which relied on partnerships with agencies such as Interactive Group R/GA and Horizon Media, the social-response effort was championed by CMT team members alone, who created memes, gathered photos, and prepared content.

During the show, graphic designers created personalized bounty hunter badges using fans’ Twitter avatars. These badges were an audience favorite, and generated a multitude of requests from both fans and celebrities. Watch party photos submitted were edited by designers to include images of Dog, Beth, and Leland, and then sent to the fans via social media. All hands were on deck to respond to viewers’ comments and questions, resulting in full-fledged audience interaction.

The efforts were successful, and within five minutes of the premiere’s opening, #CMTDogAndBeth was trending in the United States on Twitter. From two hours before show time until the following morning, the show was mentioned 25,000 times on Twitter, and over 10,000 tweets used #CMTDogAndBeth.

The Facebook page grew to 227,000 fans, securing the page as CMT’s fourth most popular. During the premiere, the Dog Pound was met with staggering interaction – an average of over 8,000 likes, 800 shares, and 700 comments per post. The social media team employed a new Dog Pack Facebook app for fans that had over 22,000 registered users by the morning after premiere.

Of the app’s success, Chris Nelson, Director of Social Marketing, said, “This is a phenomenal number, and blows away participation numbers from any previous Facebook apps.”

There were over 3,500 check-ins on GetGlue, and a ranking of #3 only following “Game of Thrones” and “Once Upon a Time.”

The premiere of Guntucky, which followed “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt,” received what Nelson called “a healthy volume of conversation,” with 5,500 show mentions on Twitter.

Overall, both shows were well-received and proved successful on social due to the huge team effort of the Dog Pound.

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EPIX Premiere of “Amar’e Stoudemire IN THE MOMENT”

Amar’e Stoudemire, power forward for the New York Knicks, is a force both on and off the court and one of the most recognizable athletes in the country. While his story about dedication and perseverance to the game of basketball is fascinating to watch, it isn’t the most surprising part of the EPIX Original Documentary Amar’e Stoudemire: In The Moment. Rather, it’s the background of his story that truly makes the film something to behold – including honest perspective on a tough upbringing, an intimate view into his everyday devotion to his family, and candid conversations about staying positive in the face of setback, something EPIX took to heart.

With the documentary done and ready to go, all hands were on deck for promotion, and then roughly one month before its premiere, Amar’e suffered a knee injury that would sideline him from the game for an indefinite period of time. The question before EPIX was what to do with a documentary chronicling Stoudemire’s goal to win a championship when he was now injured. Without any time to waste, the decision was made to reenter production and stick with the original premiere date, April 19, the eve of the playoffs. The result was an even more honest film – giving fans the whole story of Amar’e’s commitment through a very recent surgery and rehab process, and allow viewers to watch his story unfold in real time as Amar’e works to get back on the court in time to help the Knicks prevail in the Playoffs.

All the hard work paid off, with tremendous response and fanfare for Amar’e and EPIX with a major premiere event in NYC with Amar’e and other Knicks in attendance, including Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Chris Copeland and Iman Shumpert.  As fans wait for the return of Amar’e, we’re right there with them cheering on the Knicks.

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Laura Hobson, Coordinator, Integrated Marketing, Viacom Entertainment Group

When Laura Hobson found out she won a walk-on role on TV Land’s hit sitcom “Hot in Cleveland,” she was shocked beyond words.

“I was laughing because I didn’t know what would come of this and I was overwhelmed by everyone calling and emailing me about the news,” said Hobson, Coordinator, Integrated Marketing for Viacom Entertainment Group.

Hobson, who won the unique opportunity at the network’s annual All Hands meeting, soon learned that she wasn’t the only special guest — the episode also featured guest stars Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Jean Smart.

“When I arrived at rehearsal, Betty (White), Carol and Jean were going over their lines in casual clothes,” said Hobson. “It was wild.  I walk in and look over and right in front of me they are working on a scene and going through it.  It was in that moment that it really hit me that I was witnessing people known for their craft and really practicing and working on it.”

In her scene, Hobson was seated behind White and Burnett in a bar, giving her a first-hand experience of watching the two Emmy®Award-winning actresses interact.  During rehearsal, she even had the opportunity to watch Conway give Burnett a hard time about her lines.  “It was just great to see them interact as people, peers and friends, especially since there is such a background there professionally and personally.”

After rehearsal, Hobson went to prep, change, and pick up her cousin — a huge Golden Girls fan — who would be attending the taping with her.  Since she wasn’t scheduled till the last scene, Hobson watched most of the taping from the Green Room, where she was pleasantly surprised to meet Burnett, who was spending some downtime there was well.

Once it was call time, Hobson took her place with the other extras.  “I’ve never done this before, so I asked the extras next to me ‘do I really speak out loud or do I mime this conversation?’ to which they laughed at me,” recalled Hobson.  “Thankfully, they taught me the ropes and everyone nailed their scenes.”

After a long, exciting day, Hobson’s scene wrapped and the taping was over.  But not before she had an opportunity to get up close and personal with the entire “Hot in Cleveland” cast and guest stars for a post-show group photo.  The photo is one she will cherish for many years to come. “I couldn’t sleep that night. I called my family after the show and kept trying to replay what had just happened.”

While it was a day Hobson will never forget, she is nervous to see the episode air.  “I’ll probably have my hands in front of eyes the entire time the first time I watch the episode.”  While she may be covering her eyes, the rest of TV Land will be tuning in to see their friend and coworker make her television debut.

TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland returns on Wednesday, June 19 at 10pm ET with a LIVE episode.

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The Cote D’Azur was laughing whole-HART-edly earlier this month as comedian, actor and producer Kevin Hart joined Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) to kick off events at MIPTV 2013, the bi-annual international television market and creative forum.  Hart was excited to showcase BET’s brand new, faux reality show “Real Husbands of Hollywood” as it launched for international syndication.

Debra Lee, Chairman and CEO, BET Networks; Stephen Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials, BET Networks; Mike Armstrong, SVP and General Manager, BET International and Paramount Channel; and MIP veteran, Caroline Beaton, SVP of International Programme Sales, VIMN all joined Hart to celebrate the international syndication of the hit BET program. Hart was elated to see his show’s global appeal when he tweeted to his 7 million+ followers: “This is crazy, they got pictures of my show “Real Husbands of Hollywood” all over Cannes, France #MIPTVFestival #RHOH #international comedic rockstar”.

At a cocktail reception full of content buyers, Viacom representatives and international press, Caroline Beaton introduced Kevin Hart to speak and within seconds he had everyone roaring with laughter with his quick wit and outrageous one-liners. He was keen to stress that he’s not your typical LA celebrity and is very eager to chat with anyone — once they’ve cleared it with his assistant, of course! He spoke passionately about the unique strength of the show and the standout ratings it secured in the US (claiming confidently “the numbers don’t lie, people”). Kevin relinquished the mic and then met with and took photos with all the attendees.

Inspired by Viacom’s hottest new franchise and its unique take on the reality genre, Caroline Beaton participated in a panel session for MIP Formats, to discuss and explore “New Perspectives on Reality”.  Speaking alongside Felix Wessler, Business Development Manager at FilmPool / All3Media, the session, moderated by Ed Waller, Editor of international TV trade outlet, C21, explored the newest trends and examined how the genre is steadily evolving, providing a timely opportunity to showcase Viacom’s broader, unparalleled reality portfolio.

Addressing the impact of social media on today’s content landscape (spanning all genres, not just reality) Beaton identified that the new shows of today owe as much to the viewer’s themselves as they do to the programme-makers.   Social media is not only used to create a buzz around content and engage audiences; but it enables audiences to take charge, declare what they like and don’t like. For example, Real Husbands of Hollywood is a show borne from a two-minute sketch that debuted and created social buzz at the 2011 BET Awards. The tables have turned and as Caroline was quick to state, “To be successful, content creators must channel this new reality.”

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“Onstage Ms. Schumer’s jokes are lean, her delivery precise and her control of the audience commanding. Comedy is not a science, but she makes it look like one.”

And, she’s so self-assured and forceful on stage, Zinoman points out, that it’s easy to miss that much of her humor is self-deprecating.

“Amy can represent confidence and vulnerability at the same time, which is why she’s so interesting to watch,” head writer Jessi Klein told the Times. “She takes you to stuff that isn’t O.K., but you sense that you don’t have to worry about her.”

Inside Amy Shumer premieres Monday, April 30 on Comedy Central.

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It’s an all new season for Awkward., and an all new year of high school on the show — junior year has begun and things are about to shift monumentally. In anticipation of tonight’s premiere and the season to come, we sat down with Molly Tarlov, who plays “mean girl” Sadie (despite her super sweet, approachable real life demeanor), and Beau Mirchoff, who plays one point in the show’s love triangle (fans have even taken alliances – see Buzzfeed’s reasons you’re “Team Matty”), to talk about the forthcoming season and their evolving characters, and to speculate on what it is, exactly, about this show that so resonates with its viewers. Here’s what they had to say.

Can you tell me a bit about the development of your character Sadie through the seasons – from “bitchy” girl to someone who’s actually more self-conscious than she tries to let on? How will you continue to grow this season?

MT: There are going to be a couple major events this season that affect Sadie greatly. Stuff happens over the summer that forces Sadie to redefine who she is. She has always operated from a place where it’s very important to her how other people view her. And everyone around her is going to try to figure out how to view her as well because she’s really different – she’s shifted, in a certain sense – in the first episode. There’s going to be a ton of rumors, and everything will come out – questions will be answered – and she’s going to have to really get more comfortable with herself because a lot is happening. So we’re going to see that struggle a lot more overtly. We’re going to see her clawing her way back onto solid footing. And we’re going to see more Sadie in this season, in general.

What do you pull from, as an actor, to be mean on screen as Sadie?

MT: First of all, there are so many insecurities written into that character in the script. We’ve been playing these characters so long it just sort of lives in me – maybe that’s scary! – but also because she’s so outrageous, I have to suspend disbelief in the first place. Plus the things she says and the things she does are so outrageous – it’s funny so there’s a lot of comedy that goes into and makes it easier. I don’t have to play mean completely — the comic timing helps.

Beau, your character is a main love interest in the show, one point of a love triangle, but there’s more there. We know you’re complicated – how will Matty continue to become more three-dimensional in this season?

BM: It took a long time for Matty to be able to be honest with himself. The reason is because he’s insecure – people think he’s this fun-loving guy, which he is, but there’s a lot of insecurity stemmed from his parents, his brother, he doesn’t want to end up like his brother – it’s a lot of things – his mom’s crazy, which you get to learn about this season. As Matty has gotten older, he’s been able to reflect a little and be more comfortable. Some things have gone his way – he got the girl. And that’s all good – it’s sort of coming together and forming Matty as a young adult. It’s cool to see and as the season progresses, you get to see his relationship progress in a very adult way. He says what’s on his mind, he says what’s bothering him, he comes up with ideas for solutions. As he’s evolving, maybe Jenna’s devolving. And maybe it’s Matty’s turn to be the mature one and pick her up.

Is there anything viewers should especially be excited about this season?

MT: There are a couple big things we can’t share at all or dance around at all because they’re so monumental and they’re cut-and-dry, but I can say I am excited about the exploration of new relationships. The first season it was Jenna and it was everything relating to her; second season got more fleshed out; and this season each character has his or her own life going on.

BM: By the third season, a lot of shows start to dip a little in story – but this year is such a drastic change, yet it’s in such an organic way. It’s not a surface-level show – it’s even more impactful and thought-provoking.

In real life our opinions of people and our relationships change, and I think we’re going to see a lot of that. In high school, it’s ever-changing; in your whole life it is. My birthday is in September and it was always weird because I would have my birthday party at the beginning of the school year and then two months in, I’d be like “Oh my God, I love you so much and you weren’t at my birthday party!” Everything changes. Not that I ditched friends, but relationships evolved. I think there’s going to be a lot of things like that and role reversals.

Do you feel that you have a unique relationship with your fans?

BM: I know we do have a very direct way of reaching out to fans and talking to them via social media. We are their age – we are younger – we’re in our twenties – we’re closer to their demo so there’s this innate relationship that makes us perhaps a little closer to the average fan.

MT: The show is such the underdog show and I think people really love it – and when they love it they really love it. And something special about that is I know when fans come up to me and I can see that it’s their favorite show.

BM: Sometimes we deal with an issue on a show and it actually makes them think about it or changes them in any positive way – that transcends the show and is really cool – and it happens sometimes.

What is it about this show that so resonates with the audience?

BM: The base of it; the relatability; the characters are real, breathing people with real problems. That’s a testament to the writing, and the acting, too.

MT: I think it really lets people in. We’re all kind of in on the joke – the characters, the audience, everyone.

BM: It’s not trying to be something it’s not, either. It deals with topics in a fun way.

MT: And I think we all have fun making it, and you can see that. That’s another thing with social media – you can see that we really love the show because we watch it altogether and stuff like that.

When you were in high school, how were you guys different/similar from the characters you play?

MT: That’s so weird – I actually just thought about that question for real for the first time. And I’m completely different. Not even just how mean she is – just everything is not like me.

BM: I’m similar in a lot of ways and different in a lot of ways.

MT: Tell us about that.

BM: [Laughs] I never really thought about it. It’s kind of weird. I was very confident in high school and probably a little less naïve than Matty – maybe a little smarter, too. I did very well in school, I got along with a lot of different crowds, I wasn’t self-conscious. I was more mature than Matty in a lot of ways. We grow up fast in Canada. I acted, too, so I was always traveling to go on auditions – so I was in my own world doing things. Not worried too much about what other people thought.

And Beau, do you have a girlfriend?

BM: Maybe…

Awkward. premieres on Tuesdays at 10/9C on MTV, beginning April 16.

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