• Fox to launch three new wacky reality specials, starting with 'Man vs. Beast'

  January 6, 2003
  Variety reports Fox is developing a trio of way-out-there reality specials -- including a doggie beauty pageant some are dubbing "Miss Bitch" and a multi-species athletic competition boasting, among other things, a team of little people squaring off against an 8,000 lb. elephant.

• FX Network and Esquire magazine developing 'What It Feels Like' reality program

  December 23, 2002
  Variety reports that basic cable network FX is developing a reality program based on Esquire magazine's annual "What It Feels Like" editorial feature. The magazine series, which debuted in Esquire last year, features first-person accounts of experiences such as being bitten by a shark or surviving an avalanche.

• UK network to air has-been celebrity enema and bowel movement reality TV program

  December 8, 2002
  In a move that shows no matter how low viewers might think that American reality TV has sunk, the British have proven it can sink even much, much further, the UK Independent reports that british celebrities will be shown vomiting and analysing their bowel movements in a new United Kingdom Channel 5 reality show that promises to offer the ultimate form of exposure for struggling C-list stars. Eighties singer Kim Wilde and comedian Richard Blackwood will be among four "contestants" sent to an island to undergo a week of enemas and colonic irrigation in the interests of science – and voyeuristic television viewers.

• HBO to air Nevada brothel 'Cathouse' reality TV "documentary" on December 8th

  November 23, 2002
  Call it "Big Brother" meets "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." Reuters reports that HBO will air a documentary next month in which patrons of a Nevada brothel happily appear on camera negotiating and consorting with prostitutes. "Cathouse," a one-hour special that HBO will telecast after the season finale of its mob drama "The Sopranos" on December 8th, takes viewers behind closed doors at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, where prostitution is legal. The film is part of HBO's "America Undercover" documentary series.

• Fallen pop stars might receive 'Second Chance' on new FOX reality TV show

  November 2, 2002
  The Hollywood Reporter reports that FOX and Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment are working on a variation on the "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" theme revolving around former pop stars and one-hit wonders looking to resuscitate their careers. Dubbed "Second Chance," the show was dreamed up by Fox's alternative programming guru, Mike Darnell.

• Report: Pepsi may back space reality series

  October 1, 2002
  Pepsi is floating a proposal for a TV series in which contestants would compete to win the opportunity to travel into outer space, the New York Post reports, according to Zap2It.com.

• New German reality show to award jobs to winning contestants

  September 27, 2002
  Reuters reports that Germans competing in a new television gameshow will not be bidding to win a luxury car or exotic holiday. In a country where four million people are out of work, the prize is much more sought-after: a job. In a European version of a program on in Argentina, a country reeling from economic crisis, two unemployed people will compete for one job contract in each show.

• New FX reality show to 'nominate' American presidential candidate

  September 23, 2002
  Reuters reports that inspired by the success of the Fox hit "American Idol," sister cable network FX is developing a reality show called "American Candidate" that will choose a "people's" nominee for president in 2004. FX said on Friday it has teamed up for the show with R.J. Cutler, the documentary veteran behind the Oscar-nominated film "The War Room," which chronicled Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign for president. Joining him on the project will be director Jay Roach ("Austin Powers") and producer Tom Lassally ("Totally Hidden Video").

• NBC orders 3 episodes of new 'Adrenaline X' extreme sports reality series

  September 13, 2002
  NBC has announced that it has ordered three episodes of 'Adrenaline X,' a new action-adventure reality series matching the world's elite extreme athletes in direct competition as they perform high-risk stunts.

• 'Boot Camp' producers to team with 'Men's Health' magazine to create reality TV series

  September 12, 2002
  The Hollywood Reporters reports that under an agreement announced Monday, LMNO Productions, the producers of FOX's ill-fated 'Boot Camp' reality TV series, will adapt numerous aspects of the "Men's Health" magazine brand for television.

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