Love it or hate it, the TLC network's "Extreme Couponing' show is back for a third season.
The first 30-minute episode airs at 10 p.m. Monday, May 28.
If you've never seen the show, it features over-the-top coupon shoppers buying massive quantities of groceries and storing them in every spare nook and cranny of their homes.
And I do mean over the top.
In some cases, the featured couponers have turned entire rooms of their homes into grocery storage, resembling miniature convenience stores.
Love it or hate it, the controversial TV show "Extreme Couponing" has spawned a spin-off series scheduled to debut next week.
"Extreme Couponing All-Stars" will air at 10 p.m. Dec. 27 on the TLC network. It will be the first show in a seven-part series.
If it's anything like the original show, "All-Stars" is likely to feature over-the-top coupon shoppers loading multiple grocery carts to over-flowing, then paying pennies on the dollar after redeeming hundreds coupons.
According to Entertainment Weekly's Inside TV blog:
The X-Factor (8pm, Fox) - Auditions continue tonight and tomorrow night.
H8R (8pm, CW) - Tonight, Kim Kardashian meets a hater. In other words, Kim Kardashian meets America.
Suburgatory (8:30pm, ABC) - A new comedy about a single dad (Jeremy Sisto) who moves his teenage daughter (Jane Levy) from Manhattan to the suburbs so that she might be exposed to more wholesome influences. It's very funny (my short review). Also stars Cheryl Hines and Ana Gasteyer.
Happy Endings (9:30pm, ABC) - In the Season 2 premiere, Penny ponies up to buy her first home, which she hopes will be just the thing to turn her life around. Meanwhile, it's the one-year anniversary of Alex and Dave's aborted wedding and Jane thinks the two exes should engage in an honest dialogue about the non-event.
Luther (10 pm, BBC America) - Idris Elba returns as the tortured British detective John Luther for four new episodes. When we last saw them, Luther; his homicidal stalker Alice; and Luther's wife lover are standing on a train platform, after Alice blew away Luther's best friend, a dirty detective. (We hear Alice has a smaller presence this time.) This season, Luther hunts down a masked killer.
Revenge (10pm, ABC) - Emily goes after the hedge-fund manager who helped get her father thrown in prison, and she and Daniel have their first date.
Nova (10pm, UNC-TV) - Survivors of the 2011 Japanese tsunami reflect on decisions that saved their lives. Features professional and amateur video of the disaster as it unfolded.
Extreme Couponing (10pm, TLC) - Two episodes tonight, but the 10:30 episode features a North Carolina woman. Read more about that controversial episode.
In case you missed it, I wrote a story in Sunday's N&O about two North Carolina shoppers being featured in the upcoming new season of the controversial TV show "Extreme Couponing."
Both women shopped at Lowes Foods, a Winston-Salem-based grocery with stores throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.
As I reported in the story, Lowes Foods spokesman Lisa Selip said the store now regrets participating in the taping of the show, which airs on the TLC network and has stoked controversy from the start with the questionable couponing techniques of many of its featured over-the-top shoppers.
Today, Lowes Foods released a statement on its Facebook page responding to comments it has received regarding its decision to be a part of the show.
Great story in today's News & Observer by Amy Dunn, about the TLC show "Extreme Couponing." This week's season premiere features a North Carolina shopper at Lowes Foods, and folks at Lowes describe some pretty dishonest stuff going on with the filming. Other people say the show is "unhealthy" and promotes "greed." It's a good read.
Bachelor Pad (8pm, ABC) - This three-hour season finale begins in Las Vegas and ends in Los Angeles. The winners get $250,000, but their dignity may be lost forever. One of the finalists (and a favorite to win) is Graham Bunn, a Raleigh native who played basketball for Appalachian State University and who appeared on "The Bachelorette" in 2008. On the show (and in real life, apparently), Graham is romancing Michelle Money (from "The Bachelor," Brad Womack/Emily Maynard season), who admitted earlier this year to having an affair with former Duke star Carlos Boozer while Boozer was married.
Gaga by Gaultier (8pm, CW) - Lady Gaga is interviewed by fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris. The singer discusses her meteoric rise to fame, her unique relationship with her fans, and her love for art and fashion.
Miss Universe Pageant (9pm, NBC) - Women from around the world compete in swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories. Hosted by Natalie Morales and Andy Cohen from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Closer (9pm, TNT) - In tonight's summer finale, the team looks for clues in the shooting death of a deputy sheriff, and Brenda's civil case comes to a head when the judge must make a crucial decision. The series returns with five final episodes in November.
Rizzoli & Isles (10pm, TNT) - Maura and Jane investigate when a young man is killed in a jail bathroom just as he was about to be released from prison. Sinister serial killer Charles Hoyt (the bad guy from the show's pilot) claims to have inside knowledge about the slaying.
Extreme Couponing (10pm, TLC) - A Detroit couponer who's trying to save money to move her family out of a dangerous neighborhood. Also, a Connecticut woman uses couponing to help her family and friends. Also, do not steal coupons.
In case you missed it, we ran a story today about how the popularity of TLC's "Extreme Couponing" show is being linked to an increase in Sunday newspaper thefts across the country. (To those thinking it's no big deal to steal newspapers, let me remind everyone again that taking papers without paying for them takes money from the pockets of hardworking independent contractors, not some faceless corporation).
I personally think "Extreme Couponing" has a lot of problems. For one thing, the kind of couponing they promote is about an inch away from hoarding. What family needs hundreds of tubes of toothpaste? I'm guessing TLC keeps the names of the shoppers they profile on hand so that they can go back in a year or so and feature them on their "Hoarding: Buried Alive" show.
