July 18, 2007

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable

Seth Arenstein on TV Guide Network's America's Next Producer.

Tube Stake: Programming Reviews by Seth Arenstein

• WED. JULY 18

America’s Next Producer, series premiere, 8pm, TV Guide Network.

Few were harder than we regarding TV Guide Channel’s Making News Texas Style. Fortunately America’s Next Producer is much better. Yes, it’s a reality series/contest, but the usual silliness (usually) is muted. In fact, the opening minutes feature a video montage discussing what a producer does. The answer, it seems: everything.

In tonight's premiere episode, 10 contestants, whose ages and experience as producers vary widely, must conceive, shoot and edit a 1-minute comic field piece, the sort of man-on-the-street film that Jay Leno and David Letterman feature on their shows.

This piece is supposed to reflect the style of Carson Daly’s show. The twist—and you knew one was coming—is that the 10 must do the piece in teams of two. Naturally, not every team works well (reality shows thrive on this sort of stuff, right?).

After the films are done, more silliness ensues—each team member is asked whether he or she should be cut from the show (surprise! nearly all of them say they should remain).

Fortunately, we get to see the finished products of the contestants and hear the instructive comments of the judges, who, unlike some other reality competition shows, are highly qualified and businesslike.

One, Fox Sports CEO David Hill, even blasts the inanity of choosing a team member to be eliminated. “TV is about teamwork, [and the members of this particular team] complement each other. How can you send one of them home?”

While we see promise in tonight's episode, we hear that in coming eps the contestants will reside in (wait now, there it is) the inevitable group house.

Should the series continue to emphasize the work of its contestants more than their personalities, America’s Next Producer will be worthy viewing. It might even yield a good producer. 

All times ET/PT unless otherwise noted.