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Bravo’s ‘Miami Social’: A Cure for Reality Fatigue?

May 31, 2009

To quote the prolific Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, “You gotta get a gimmick if you want to get ahead.”

That axiom applied to the strippers in the Broadway musical, and it also applies to producers and networks trying to stand out in today’s immense ocean of reality programming. No longer is it enough to have a killer concept or compelling material. And gone are the days when you’ll automatically get eyeballs just because you launch on a big network with a major publicity blitz. (Raise your hand if you watched “High School Musical: Get in the Picture.” That’s what I thought.)

I work in the reality biz. It’s my job to stay on top of trends and sample as much programming as possible.

But even I’m suffering from chronic “reality fatigue.” I can only imagine how Joe and Jane Six Pack feel about the bottleneck on the reality highway.

Today you need a hook — and a big one — if you’re going to convince viewers to invest in your product week after week. For that matter, you need a hook if you’re going to convince viewers to even sample your program in the first place.

Enter Bravo’s “Miami Social,” a “ “Real Housewives” -style docusoap about hotties living and loving in (wait for it…) Miami. The show doesn’t premiere until July 14th, but it’s already in my DVR queue.

Why? Well, besides the promised intrigue, romance, glitz and catfights we’ve come to expect from Bravo, “Social” also features two reality pioneers making their long-awaited (at least by me) comeback to the genre.

Hardy Ames Hill (the hunky boy scout from the long-ago-but-not-forgotten “Big Brother 2”) and Katrina Campins (the young real estate diva from the landmark first season of “The Apprentice”) have been cast to stir things up, and hopefully reconnect with past fans. This is big news in a world where we’re used to seeing the same faces year after year on MTV’s “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” or VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab”… or even (God help me) “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!”

It’s certainly not a re-invention of the wheel, but stacking a new show’s cast with long-lost reality vets from a kinder, simpler era and putting them in a new situation is certainly fresh and somewhat innovative. Given the insatiable appetite viewers have for Bravo’s delicious and decadent docusoaps, out-of-the-box ideas like this can only help Social’s prospects. If the show succeeds, I would think the Burnetts, Fleisses, Grodners and Roth’s of the reality world will certainly be combing their archives for graduates of their franchises who might be ready for a comeback.

What do you think? Will you be watching “Miami Social”? And what stars from the reality history books would you like to see return to the screen in a different vehicle? I’ll go first: “Survivor’s” Sue Hawk on the next season of “Ice Road Truckers.”

Nancy Dubuc, are you listening?

38 Comments

  1. GOOD STUFF JONATHAN!:-)

  2. Ariel, he’s one hell of a character from what the Miami Social trailer shows. “Get the fat girl out of my table” it’s seem to be he seems interesting and smart. Id’e like to see more of him. Deffinatly look forward to catching this season.

  3. I honestly thought that they would have done Housewives of Miami I’m sorta sad that they are going to do Miami Social H.S of Miami would have been great!

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  26. I’m a fan of several other shows like Desperate Housewives and more. I’ve seen the trailer of Miami Social and I say I am looking forward in watching its new season. And watching my favorites shows does remove fatigue in my system since I can sit back, relax and enjoy watching my favorite shows.

  27. I’m a fan of several other shows like Desperate Housewives and more. I’ve seen the trailer of Miami Social and I say I am looking forward in watching its new season. And watching my favorites shows does remove fatigue in my system since I can sit back, relax and enjoy watching my favorite shows.

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