E! Keeps It 'Simple'

Zap2It.com | July 12, 2008

Paris Hilton

Series gets another season, feud or not

As far as we know, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie haven't made up and still aren't talking to one another. That doesn't seem to matter to the folks at E!, however.

The cable network, which picked up the duo's show "The Simple Life" after FOX discarded it, has decided to keep Paris and Nicole together for another season. The extra season may or may not bring the two back together, but E! President Ted Harbert is banking on them to help keep the channel's ratings up.

"Since premiering the show in June, it's improved its time period by 135 percent in households," Harbert says. "That's 65 percent by Paris and 65 percent by Nicole" (which only adds up to 130, but we'll give him the other 5 percent).

E! also acquired the back catalog of episodes that aired on FOX, and those shows have drawn 22 percent more viewers than the network's average. Harbert also says that some 12 million people have caught "The Simple Life" on E! since the fourth season premiered last month.

The current incarnation of the show, subtitled "Til Death Do Us Part," has Hilton and Richie -- separately -- moving in with families and taking on the role of wife and mother. Based on what's aired, the two didn't spend even a moment together during filming.