IF the media was truly liberal (It’s not. It’s corporate) it might be interested in an idea I have for a Hit TV Show!
Given the success of Survivorman, You Versus Wild with Bear Grylls, Naked & Afraid, and so many others, why not a REAL survival show to exhibit the reality of the American Dream?
I’d suggest Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed as host of the show. We can call it Dream On America! …or maybe “Wake Up!”
In each season, the shows producers take five lucky applicants and transplant them into a real American environment with nothing but the clothes on their back, the few belongings they can fit into a plastic garbage bag, and a resume/work history that only includes work at minimum wage. In the next twenty one days, they are so seek employment, housing, food, and just for fun, there are hidden perils along the way, all carefully plotted by the show’s producers.
In episode one, Barbara, stock broker in real life but a struggling mother of a two year old in the show, has her child taken away by child protective services and must not only find a job, but secure daycare for her child. Ken, an analyst for an insurance company in real life but now, a recovering addict, must find a job and report to his parole officer to submit a urine test and on the third episode, he has to make the choice of being late for work (meaning getting fired) or missing his appointment with his parole officer (meaning going back to jail)
In all cases, the contestants must face the real, everyday life of America’s working poor and the show’s winner is the one who makes it out of poverty.
So what do you think ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX……anyone?……Buelller?……Bueller?……..anyone
At least half of the “contestants” should be black.
TLC had a show for a while about a self-made millionaire who would go to a town where he’d never been before with a couple hundred bucks in his wallet and his pick-up truck and try to build a business within a month or so using just those resources. It was interesting and he kept to the rules. You could see him struggling.
The show is called “Undercover Billionaire” and the billionaire has 90 days to build a business from scratch which will be evaluated at $1 million or else has to put up his own million. You can probably watch it online.
I think you might want to reconsider a 79 year old academic as the host. Are you willing to make the compromises to make it sizzle for the couch potatoes that I presume you are targeting?