Reuters reports that days after news broke that CBS was planning a reality-series revival of "The Beverly Hillbillies," the FOX network said it is working with 'The Real World' producers Bunim-Murray Productions to develop a nonfiction comedy that mirrors another hickfest: "Green Acres."
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While details are still being hammered out, the show will take a rich, upper-class family or individual -- possibly a celebrity -- and move them from a big city to a much more spartan existence, most likely in the South. Cameras will observe as the former socialites, deprived of access to their bank accounts and Beemers, attempt to get a job, buy groceries and fit in with average Americans.
Producers say the series has been in the works for several weeks and precedes the revelation of CBS' tentatively titled "The Real Beverly Hillbillies." Whether the series will ultimately retain the 'Green Acres' title is uncertain. Neither Fox nor Bunim-Murray owns the rights to the 'Green Acres' name and the rights holders of the title are represented by the Endeavor Agency, and while there's industry buzz that Fox has made inquiries into using the title, no deals have been made. Except for the fish-out-of-water idea, "Our final concept may end up being real different (than 'Green Acres')," said Mary-Ellis Bunim, Murray's partner in Bunim-Murray. That possibility, combined with concerns that using the title could alienate more viewers than it would attract, will ultimately favor into the title decision.