Emmy Award winning EXTRA is taking entertainment news to the next level for the new season premiering on September 5th with a dynamic group of hosts and innovative approach to celebrity news. Joining Mario Lopez, who has been touted the "Dean of Entertainment News" is a seasoned roster of TV personalities including Tanika Ray, Renee Bargh, and AJ Calloway as co-hosts and British TV sensation Mark Wright as correspondent.
Ray making her return to "Extra" after serving as a host and correspondent from 2004 to 2009. Known for her quick and witty on-air banter, she was the host of the CW's award winning competition show "OhSit!" in 2013 and in 2011, and hosted 2 shows, "Design Star" and "HGTV'd" for the
HGTV network as well as serval reunion shows for
VH1 and Lifetime. She most recently took a hiatus from TV to welcome her daughter into the world.
Australian native Bargh joined "Extra" in late 2010 and has served as "Extra Weekend" co-host and "Extra" correspondent, covering every major awards show and interviewing the biggest celebrities. In her time in Los Angles Bargh has quickly become known as a tastemaker, inspiring a new franchise segment, "Renee Likes," highlighting fashion icons, beauty treatments, and wellness.
A New Jersey native, AJ Calloway has been the New York City correspondent for "Extra" since 2008. AJ is at the center of all things entertainment in the Big Apple, interviewing the most talked about celebrities, athletes and notables in the world. AJ was one of the original hosts of, "106 & Park" and has had cameos in "Drumline" and "Chicago Code."
Wright is a British TV personality and radio show host who boasts millions of followers on social media and is best known as one of the stars of "The Only Way Is Essex." Since Wright left the show in 2012, he had an impressive hosting career in the UK including, "Take me out the gossip," "Surprise surprise," "The Dengineers," "All back to Essex," and the soccer show, "Match of the day." He has hosted a radio show for the wildly popular Heart
FM and is an accomplished DJ playing for sold out crowds in Ibiza, Mallorca, and London.
Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, Senior Executive Producer of "Extra" said, "Mario, Tanika, and Renee will be an unstoppable team and together they will bring a fresh new energy to the show. Loyal Extra viewers will remember Tanika's magnetic personality and we are thrilled to have her back. Renee has become the go-to reporter in Hollywood, she has equity with the stars and she's become a tastemaker from style to wellness. AJ owns entertainment in New York City and we look forward to showcasing him more this season. And, rounding out our team is Mark Wright, who is one of the biggest TV personalities in the U.K., now he's ready to conquer America on Extra."
The on-air changes part of a fresh evolution for the series with more live elements showcasing the hosts personalities and points of view. The ensemble will share their take on the most talked about headlines of the day. Viewers will also get unprecedented access to the show with a unique behind the scenes look at the hosts allowing them to get to know them and the day-to-day operation of the show.
"Extra" will continue to broadcast from Universal Studios Hollywood, in front of the studio's iconic globe and various locations in New York, showcasing more two on one interviews, becoming the only show in the genre to have a full time team of hosts on both coasts who shoot in front of a live audience.
About "Extra" "Extra" is the second longest-running entertainment news magazine on U.S. television, with host Mario
LOPEZ reporting in front of a live audience from the show's hot location at Universal Studios Hollywood. In June of 2014, "Extra" won its first Daytime Emmy® Award for the new category of Outstanding Entertainment News Program and took home the Daytime Emmy for a second time in 2016. Unlike any other show in the genre, "Extra's" audience becomes a part of an electric new experience, getting to interact live with Mario and the A-list celebrities who come to Universal Studios Hollywood and take part in interactive, unpredictable and "event-style" interviews. The show takes viewers on a coast-to-coast trip in every episode, from Hollywood to Las Vegas to Times Square and beyond. "Extra" continues to provide a hip, fresh and unique approach to breaking entertainment news. "Extra" is produced by Telepictures Productions and is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Check your local listings for stations and times.
Photo credit: Brian Bowen Smith/WB
