NEW YORK -- Get ready for Tommy Lee as an undergrad, two separate dance contests and apprentice rock stars, apprentice chefs, apprentice fashion designers, apprentice scholars, apprentice slackers and apprentice Hiltons.

With your favourite television series hibernating for the summer, U.S. television networks are uncorking a flood of reality programming.

Broadcast networks want to do more than show reruns all summer -- but they don't want to spend much money, either. The result is reality-clogged schedules. If the networks are lucky, one or two might capture the public imagination.

New scripted series will be scarce. However, ABC has the six-hour period piece Empire, about ancient Roman rivals trying to succeed Julius Caesar starting June 28. And Fox's The Inside, which started Wednesday, is a new cop drama focusing on the Los Angeles violent crimes unit.

Following are some of the new reality shows for your viewing enjoyment.

Already airing

Beauty & the Geek: Debuted June 1 on the WB. As the title suggests, the series takes some socially challenged smart guys and couples them up with dim-witted lookers. The couple that works best together in various contests could share $250,000 and who knows what else?

Hell's Kitchen: Started May 30 on Fox; stars tightly wound British chef Gordon Ramsay, who's opening a new Los Angeles restaurant and chooses between contestants who want to cook there.

Dancing With the Stars: Began June 1 on ABC; pairs six celebrities with professional dancers to compete in a ballroom dancing contest.

Hit Me Baby: Started June 2 on NBC; exhumes has-been music stars who try to show a live audience they still have what it takes. The Knack, Vanilla Ice, Cameo, Tiffany, Wang Chung, Loverboy and Arrested Development are among the acts competing for charity.

The Scholar: Started Monday on ABC; features bright students competing for a college scholarship they might not otherwise be able to afford. They have to show book smarts, compete in oral exams and defend themselves to an Ivy League scholarship committee.

Fire Me ... Please: Started Tuesday on CBS. It films two people starting new jobs on the same day doing everything they can to be fired by midday. The person who wins will earn more than he could ever hope for from the job.

The Cut: Started Thursday on CBS; brings 16 aspiring fashion designers to compete for a job with Tommy Hilfiger. The winner gets the opportunity to design a fashion collection under Hilfiger's label.

Still to come

I Want to Be a Hilton: Debuts June 21 on NBC; Paris Hilton's mom, Kathy, guides 14 young contestants through the New York society scene. Whoever emerges as the winner gets to live the life of a rich person for a year.

The Princes of Malibu: Premieres July 10 on Fox; an Osbournes-style show that follows music producer David Foster, his new wife and adult stepsons Brandon and Brody Jenner, who move into Foster's waterfront estate.

Rock Star: INXS: Premieres July 11 on CBS. Super-producer Mark Burnett is behind this contest, where amateur singers compete for a job with the Australian rock band INXS, whose former singer, Michael Hutchence, died in 1997. The winner goes on tour and records an album with the band. CBS will air the show three times a week until it's done.

Brat Camp: Premieres July 13 on ABC; a remake of a popular British series, sends six out-of-control teens to a boot-camp-style program in the Oregon wilderness.

So You Think You Can Dance: Starts July 20 on Fox. You know the drill: embarrassing tryouts, pressure-filled performances and, finally, a winner.