Best Of 2008: Top 5 Breakout Stars

By Emily Hochberg
Fancast.com

If anyone benefited from the writer’s strike this year, it was the non-actors who competed on reality shows who deserve a hardy congratulations for cashing in on an industry crisis. This year, we gave in to our reality show guilty pleasures and mamboed with the stars, went to rehab, lived lifestyles of the rich and famous, traveled the world, and salivated over top chefs.

1. Dancing with the Stars

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; This seems to be ABC’s mantra when it comes to their hit show Dancing with the Stars. Season after season, they continue to churn out new crops of C-list celebrities looking to revive their careers and tone their bods. The last season just wrapped up and crowned Brooke Burke the dancing winner. She joins the ghosts of DWTS champions past, including Kelly Monaco, Drew Lachey, Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno, Helio Castroneves, and Kristi Yamaguchi. Oh, how fun it is to watch celebrities fall down in ridiculous costumes!
By Emily Hochberg
Fancast.com

If nothing else, TV put a lot of new faces in front of us in 2008. Here are our picks of the five who broke through, for one reason or another, as memorable.

1. Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Advertising never looked so good, and that’s thanks to Jon Hamm, who plays creative executive Don Draper on the AMC TV show Mad Men. The sleek suits, thin ties, scotch and cigarettes are tailor made for the 37-year-old Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee who has obviously come a long way since his TV debut in 2000 on The Hughleys. Hamm’s movie credits include Kissing Jessica Stein, which was starred (and was co-written by) his girlfriend, Jennifer Westfeldt. But ladies, don’t let that stop you from fantasizing. That’s what advertising is all about.

View photos of Jon Hamm

2. Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew

Celebrity Rehab is the first television series to chronicle the real life experiences of celebrities as they enter rehab. The term celebrity may be applied loosely to this group of Z-list former celebs, but nevertheless, it’s the first real peek into what happens in a drug treatment program. The show’s guru is health and addiction expert Dr. Drew Pinsky, who pop culture fans know as the host of the long running radio and television series “Loveline.” Cameras follow Pinsky and his patients, which include American Idol’s Nikki McKibbin, Rod Stewart’s son Sean, Chyna, Rodney King, and Gary Busey, at the Pasadena Recovery Center in California. It’s like The Surreal Life meets The Real World but with way more interventions. A celebrity train wreck indeed.

3. The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Following the success of The Real Housewives of Orange County and New York City, Bravo producers decided to travel down south to Hotlanta and follow the rich wives of basketball and football players and other ridiculously wealthy scions on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The rambunctious group, made up of DeShawn, NeNe, Kim, Lisa, and Sheree, seem to be louder, sassier, and even more dramatic than seasons past. It’s like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous…minus the famous part. And by the way? Kim Zolciak is so not 29!

4. The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is good old fashioned fun; though maybe not clean fun, judging by the challenges involved. Who wouldn’t want to watch teams of two race around the world and try to do each other in, while pursuing a huge cash prize? Throw in the fact that these are teams of siblings, parents, friends, strangers and couples (both together and estranged), and you have a drama-filled, quality show. Host Phil Keoghan assigns challenges and issues directions for those who make each finish line in time. It’s all the fun of seeing the world from the comfort of your couch while still being able to criticize contestants for how you and your boyfriend could do it so much better.

5. Top Chef

Pack up your knives, Top Chef is back and in New York for its fifth season on Bravo. They’ve chopped and diced in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago, and are now cooking up a storm in the Big Apple. The number one food show on cable is hosted by actress and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi and head judge Tom Colicchio, a renowned chef and owner of Craft Restaurant. Whether you’re a long time viewer or a newfound fan this show offers a peek into fast paced kitchens cooking high-end food worthy of the best gourmet restaurants. Dig in!

2. Simon Baker, The Mentalist

Up until now, Simon Baker has always been that guy - the one who shows up as the best friend, the hot man, the other guy. Hey, he was one of the hot other guys, along with Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce in the 1997 movie L.A. Confidential. Now, thanks to the 16 millioin people who watch him each week play a TV psychic-turned-detective on CBS’s The Mentalist, Baker has emerged as one of TV’s hottest, boldest names. Not that he wasn’t noticed before. In 2002, the 39-year-old Aussie, who’s married and the father of three, made People magazine’s list of “50 Most Beautiful.” He keeps the attention in perspective. “I’m flattered, you know?” he said recently. “[The attention] is related to my hair. I have to thank my gene pool.” We thank it, too.

View Photos of Simon Baker

3. Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show

Move over Anderson Cooper - there’s another hottie on a rival newdesk. We’re talking about Rachel Maddow, the razor-sharp, super-quick, strongly opinionated Air America transplant who seemed to make as much news and she reported on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. We love her not because she’s openly gay and liberal, but because 35-year-old Stanford grad and Rhodes Scholar is open and honest and smart and not afraid to go up against the big boys. Would you believe she doesn’t even own a TV? She probably reads. Well, not everyone’s perfect.

View Photos of Rachel Maddow

4. NeNe Leakes, The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Every great reality show has one - the man or woman you love to hate. If you haven’t already, meet NeNe Leakes, the designated train wreck on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta, a spin-off of the wildly successful “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” But calling Leakes a train wreck is way too harsh. She is simply out-there, larger-than-life, totally likable as she bites off her share of the American dream in the upper class Sugarloaf neighborhood of Atlanta with her real estate investment husband Gregg, and their two kids. If you don’t like it, tough. One person who does approve is CNN’s Anderson Cooper. On Ellen, the anchor said, “I don’t even know where to begin with NeNe. You have to sort of watch to enjoy the fullness of NeNe.” So true.

View Photos of NeNe Leakes

5. Christian Siriano, Project Runway

When Christian Siriano won season four of Project Runway, there was only one word to describe the 21-year-old ingénue – fierce! As we watched him sketch, design, and skewer his competition as a “hot tranny mess,” we hoped and prayed this confident and egotistical young designer had the talent for a long and colorful career. Who knows? He wowed Victoria “Posh” Beckham at Fashion Week with his haute couture worthy designs, and he showed again at Fashion Week this fall. As Project Runway’s Heidi Klum says, one day you’re in and one day you’re out, but as far as we’re concerned, right now Siriano is in.

View Photos of Christian Siriano