The 'Extra' co-host has inked an overall deal with E! to host a new entertainment news series and appear in TV specials.
- May 23, 2014
AceShowbiz - Maria Menounos officially joins E!. After months of speculation that she would leave "Extra" for the NBCUniversal-owned channel, the 35-year-old actress/journalist has inked a multi-year agreement with E! Entertainment. As part of the deal, Menounos will host a new one-hour entertainment news magazine series, "Untold with Maria Menounos". She will also appear on "Live From E!", upcoming specials, as well other projects across all platforms.
"As we continue to expand E!'s dynamic news programming line-up, 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, President, Network Strategy & E! News, E!. "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."
She adds, "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."
Menounos also comments, "To be able to host, report and produce for an entire network, one that spans globally no less, is thrilling. I'm excited to exercise my talents on both sides of the camera as my partner, Kevin Undergaro, and I have many projects to bring to the network through Underman/Omegagirl. I'm equally excited to join a team of hosts and producers that are amongst the finest in our industry."
The upcoming news series, "Untold with Maria Menounos", is described as a fresh and fun approach to celebrity and trends, covering a wide array of topics, such as Gen Y Royals, the rise of heroin in Hollywood, the popularity of electronic dance music (EDM) and the meteoric rise of some reality stars from their humble beginnings. Hosted on location, each episode will be comprised of three extensive individual stories, as well as additional segments such as celebrity sound-off and pop culture minute.
Menounos joined "Extra" in 2011. She also served as a correspondent on "Entertainment Tonight" from 2002-2005, "Access Hollywood" from 2005-2011 and co-hosted a few episodes of "Today".
