ABC to search for "Hot" hunks and babes
Tue Nov 19, 7:57 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters/Variety TV to My Yahoo!
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The ABC network is looking for America's next ______ symbol.
Marking the latest entry in a parade of gonzo "reality" shows headed to U.S. television, ABC will scour the nation in search of undiscovered hunks and babes to compete for top eye-candy honors in an upcoming series titled "Are You Hot?"
The Walt Disney Co.-owned network has ordered six episodes of the program, which is expected to premiere sometime next year, an ABC spokeswoman said.
It's the latest brain child of producer Mike Fleiss, creator of ABC's hit made-for-TV mating game "The Bachelor" and another reality series in development, "The Will," in which contestants will compete for the inheritance of a rich relative in prime time.
The concept of "Are You Hot?" more closely follows the mold of the Fox network's talent-search sensation "American Idol," with a panel of judges winnowing down a pool of wannabe pinups while viewers cast their votes from home. The champion hotties, one male, one female, will take home six-figure cash prizes.
But unlike "American Idol," in which the winner, Kelly Clarkson (news) could sing and landed a recording contract, "Are You Hot?" will be all about looks.
No pretense is made about talent. And no one will earn points for congeniality or intelligence or quick wit or a sudden desire to promote world peace. But the swimsuit competition will be a key component of the contest.
"We want to find people with true outer beauty," Fleiss told Reuters in a telephone interview. "We'll definitely have skimpy little bathing suits. Whether we can go further than that will be up to the network's standards and practices."
Fleiss said he envisioned his talent scouts even picking some contestants out of the crowd at football games, the way former "Baywatch" beauty Pamela Anderson (news) was discovered.
"Viewers want to see beautiful people on television, and that's what they're going to get on this show," he said. "We'll get some other funny stuff, people who think they're good-looking getting brought down to Earth, but mostly they'll get tons of eye candy."
Contestants from around the country will compete during the first four episodes of the series to make the cut as one of 40 quarter finalists, equally divided between men and women.
Viewers will then play a role in choosing 16 semifinalists who will fly to Los Angeles to take part in a string of pageant-like contests and makeover treatments. The winning male and female contestants, picked in a telephone poll by viewers, will be crowned the "sexiest in America" on the series finale.
Meanwhile, ABC's second edition of "The Bachelor" ends its highly rated run on Wednesday when Aaron, the eligible bank executive from Springfield, Mo., chooses between Brooke and Helene as the woman of his dreams. A new installment of the franchise, "The Bachelorette," starring the runner-up from the original "Bachelor" series, will likely debut in January. Reuters/Variety
Tue Nov 19, 7:57 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters/Variety TV to My Yahoo!
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The ABC network is looking for America's next ______ symbol.
Marking the latest entry in a parade of gonzo "reality" shows headed to U.S. television, ABC will scour the nation in search of undiscovered hunks and babes to compete for top eye-candy honors in an upcoming series titled "Are You Hot?"
The Walt Disney Co.-owned network has ordered six episodes of the program, which is expected to premiere sometime next year, an ABC spokeswoman said.
It's the latest brain child of producer Mike Fleiss, creator of ABC's hit made-for-TV mating game "The Bachelor" and another reality series in development, "The Will," in which contestants will compete for the inheritance of a rich relative in prime time.
The concept of "Are You Hot?" more closely follows the mold of the Fox network's talent-search sensation "American Idol," with a panel of judges winnowing down a pool of wannabe pinups while viewers cast their votes from home. The champion hotties, one male, one female, will take home six-figure cash prizes.
But unlike "American Idol," in which the winner, Kelly Clarkson (news) could sing and landed a recording contract, "Are You Hot?" will be all about looks.
No pretense is made about talent. And no one will earn points for congeniality or intelligence or quick wit or a sudden desire to promote world peace. But the swimsuit competition will be a key component of the contest.
"We want to find people with true outer beauty," Fleiss told Reuters in a telephone interview. "We'll definitely have skimpy little bathing suits. Whether we can go further than that will be up to the network's standards and practices."
Fleiss said he envisioned his talent scouts even picking some contestants out of the crowd at football games, the way former "Baywatch" beauty Pamela Anderson (news) was discovered.
"Viewers want to see beautiful people on television, and that's what they're going to get on this show," he said. "We'll get some other funny stuff, people who think they're good-looking getting brought down to Earth, but mostly they'll get tons of eye candy."
Contestants from around the country will compete during the first four episodes of the series to make the cut as one of 40 quarter finalists, equally divided between men and women.
Viewers will then play a role in choosing 16 semifinalists who will fly to Los Angeles to take part in a string of pageant-like contests and makeover treatments. The winning male and female contestants, picked in a telephone poll by viewers, will be crowned the "sexiest in America" on the series finale.
Meanwhile, ABC's second edition of "The Bachelor" ends its highly rated run on Wednesday when Aaron, the eligible bank executive from Springfield, Mo., chooses between Brooke and Helene as the woman of his dreams. A new installment of the franchise, "The Bachelorette," starring the runner-up from the original "Bachelor" series, will likely debut in January. Reuters/Variety
