WHAT'S NEXT? As you know, I'm a big fan of the reality tv "get a job" subgenre.
It started, as best I can tell, with MTV's WWF Tough Enough ("America's Next Top Wrestler", three seasons completed), followed by Making the Band, Model, American's Next Top Comic Who's A Friend Of Ours and, of course, The Apprentice, which America's Next Top Boxer on its way.
Key elements of all these shows include a lot of "this job is harder than you thought", a healthy portion of "life at the house", rigid performance evaluation and, at the top, a charismatic host who makes the viewer admire what that ultimate success looks like.
(As I'm defining it, American Idol both is and isn't part of the genre -- obviously, there's a job at the end of the show, but we don't see any life-at-the-house, nor is there really any behind the scenes insight into what it really takes to succeed in the industry. It's just a talent show. An incredibly popular one, but it's not the same.)
(Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the same man has helmed several of these shows -- Ken Mok produced Tough Enough, Top Model and Making The Band.)
So, I'm trying to figure out what's next -- careers to which people aspire which would make for a great television show. They could go all Zoolander and give us America's Next Top Male Model, but as Jen pointed out to me this morning, other than Tyson Beckford, can you name a male model?
I'm pinning my hopes on America's Next Top Figure Skater: all the diva-ish behavior we get from models, with the weekly thrill of seeing people fall on ice. Sign up Scott Hamilton to host, guarantee the winner a spot on the Stars on Ice tour, and you've got yourself a show.
I have a feeling, however, that someone out there has a better idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment