They say “Everything is bigger in Texas.” I’m not sure that applies to reality shows about car-flipping, but we’re about to find out.
This is the first you’re hearing about “Texas Car Wars,” a new eight-part, hour-long series from Discovery that will premiere next Thursday, Sept. 6 (10 p.m.). Set in Austin, it follows four “extremely competitive” auto body shops as they “engage in full-on bidding wars” for the biggest piles of junk, which they can then (hopefully) turn into gems to be “flipped” for lots of cash.
The four shops — Barrett Auto Care, Rodriguez Rod & Cycle, Atomic Garage and Old Skool Kustoms — have only 10 minutes apiece to inspect the jalopies they’re eyeing at each car auction. Oh yeah — and they’re not allowed to actually start any of the cars.
* * *
Taylor Schilling (NBC’s “Mercy,” “Atlas Shrugged,” “The Lucky One”) will play the lead in “Orange is the New Black,” an original series that will be available on Netflix a la the upcoming revived version of “Arrested Development.”
Schilling will play Piper in “Orange,” which was created by Jenji Kohan (“Weeds”) and is being produced by Lionsgate Television. The one-hour drama will revolve around Piper, a Brooklynite who’s serving time in a federal penitentiary (an offshoot of her college relationship with a drug-runner). Her life in prison, and the women she meets there, will comprise the core of the series.
There’s no word, yet, on co-stars — or on a projected timeframe in which the series will be available.
* * *
“Person of Interest” will be the subject of a Sept. 24 roundtable at the 92YTribeca (200 Hudson St.), with the show’s creator/executive producer Jonathan Nolan and executive producer Greg Plageman among the attendees who’ll talk about the CBS series — following an exclusive sneak-peek of the second-season premiere (which airs Sept. 27 at 9 p.m.).
The event (7 p.m.) is also slated to include some cast members, though no one’s been announced yet. The series stars Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Chapman.
92ytribeca.org has info.
* * *
Last, but not least:
* Melissa Etheridge, Carrie Fisher, Dee Snider and Susie Essman will be among the premiere-week guests on “J
oy Behar: Say Anything!” which bows this Tuesday, Sept. 4 on Current TV (6 p.m.) . . . “Steve Martin: The Television Stuff” is a 3-DVD collection of the comedian’s TV work that’s out Sept. 18 (Shout! Factory). It includes appearances from Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, David Letterman, Carl Reiner and many other A-listers . . . “Stars Earn Stripes” and New York MTA cop J.W. Cortes hosts a season finale viewing event this Monday night (8-10 p.m.) at SRB Brooklyn (172 2nd Ave.) along with show “operative” Andrew McLaren. Proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project . . . “Iron Chef” Geoffrey Zakarian will help judge the Barenjager Bartender Competition mix-off being held Monday, Sept. 10 at The Tippler (425 West 15th) . . . The death of actor Steve Franken (he was 80) will likely go unnoticed elsewhere, but he’s a legend to me if only for one role he absolutely owned: the drunken waiter opposite Peter Sellers in “The Party” (1968), directed by Blake Edwards. Priceless.