Survivor Creator to Launch Political Reality Show on MySpace

Television producer Mark Burnett is set to launch a new reality show, "Independent", on the Rupert Murdock-owned popular social networking site, MySpace.

"We've been pitched over the years on a lot of television shows, and we've rejected every one. This instantly clicked," said MySpace Chief Executive Chris DeWolfe.

The series concept is as follows: MySpace users will be able to launch their own MySpace U.S. presidential campaign by submitting their own campaign videos and allowing other users to vote on them. The top 100 candidates will then debate on television. The one winner will be given $1 million to donate to a political cause of his or her choice, or use the money to enter the real 2008 presidential race.

According to Burnett, while the MySpace portion of the show concept is set to launch in the 2008 election year, there has been no commitment yet from Murdoch's Fox Television.

For many television producers, MySpace's nearly 100 million members provide an ideal test market for a proposed series for either an eventual television launch, or better yet the pot-of-gold-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow for the entertainment industry: a megahit example of television and Internet media convergence.

Mark Burnett is the producer of reality show hits that include "Survivor", "The Apprentice", "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?", and the upcoming show "On the Lot", which he'll co-produce with director Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks.

"Independent" isn't Burnett's first foray into creating reality shows for the Internet. In 2006, AOL launched "Gold Rush", a Burnett-produced "treasure hunt" conducted among America Online's millions of users. It's still up and running.

His latest television reality series, Pirate Master, is set to debut on CBS.

Some of Burnett's reality shows have been subject to criticism, particularly how "real" are the outcomes? In 2001, San Francisco attorney Stacey Stillman, a "Survivor" contestant, filed suit against Burnett, claiming that the show orchestrated her exit from the competition.

Mark Burnett is the winner of two Emmy Awards.

SOURCES:

http://goldrush.aol.com/