|
WB's next-gen reality TV
Faded stars mix it up in a sitcom environment
By Jim Jazwiecki
Imagine watching Dustin "Screech" Diamond taunt Mayim Bialik after beating her at a game of MarioKart, or seeing Richard Dean Anderson hand Mr. T a plunger and order him back into the bathroom.
That sort of compellingly bizarre interaction is the premise behind "The Surreal World," a new semi-sitcom coming this fall on the WB that features pop culture icons who are thrown into a house and forced to behave as a family.
It will be consistent with the formula for reality TV, where the characters are called upon to act in character, without appearing to overact, in out-of-the-ordinary situations. It falls to the producers to create the challenges and then deftly edit the resulting material to create engaging story arcs.
But now, in concept at least, this all must sound very familiar, and indeed it is.
"The Surreal World" grabs its very obvious name from MTV's "Real World," arguably the first reality series, and it is cousin to MTV's smash hit if this summer, "The Osbournes" (as well as a series of award-winning ads created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty for Lipton’s "Sizzle & Stir" brand).
Where "Surreal World" departs from “The Osbournes” on one side and “Big Brother” et al on the other is in the casting. Like Fox’s “Celebrity Boxing,” “The Surreal World” will feature washed-up sitcom stars, past-their-prime pop singers and the like, selected for their ironic appeal rather than their cultural currency.
Call it the first post-modern reality series.
"We wanted to come up with a reality show structured with the humor of a sitcom," says executive producer and co-creator Mark Cronin of MindlessEntertainment. Along with Cris Abrego and Rick Telles of Brass Ring Productions, the three were looking to create "a sitcom 'family' out of real-life sitcom stars."
The producers have already confirmed a slate of stars and surprise guests, the identities of whom they will disclose in an announcement later this month.
The specifics of plot development are also under wraps, but they are said to focus on the creation of sitcom-style "A" and "B" stories with a definite beginning, middle and end.
Demographically, "Surreal World" makes a grab for clusters beyond of the WB's core audience of teens.
Reality television has proven to reliably score across all ages and genders, and the inclusion of sitcom stars that parents may be more familiar with creates an added pull for older viewers. One of the criteria for selecting participants is the ability to appeal to viewers in a range of age groups.
But that’s not to say that the show’s content will be overly family-friendly.
Cronin suggests that the WB is not averse to a smattering of Osbournes-style profanity.
"Whatever happens, happens. We'll have to see,” he says. “If things get tense and the profanity starts flying we'll have to work with the network to decide how much of it to show."
Certainly a blast of curdling obscenity from the mouth of “Perfect Strangers” star Bronson Pinchot would be one way to achieve the show’s primary aim: to get people talking around the water cooler.
The producers also envision a wealth of free publicity in tabloid pages as primetime unscripted celebrity interactions unite with the buzz of an edgy hit show to form the sort of immense rumor-generating bolus that proves irresistible to the scandal sheets.
"I think the entire show is a tabloid dream," says Cronin, "I think the tabloids and entertainment news outlets are going to eat it up."
August 5, 2002© 2002 Media Life
-Jim Jazwiecki is a New York writer.
Send to a
Friend| Printer-Friendly Version
Cover Page | Contact
Us