While we’re trying to cope with the demise of, uh, a show no one in their right mind will admit to watching, here’s a happier announcement from E! News (link swiped from Sports Media Watch)
The NBA superstar and sometime actor and rapper Shaquille O’Neal will star in a six-episode reality series for ABC in which he will help a bunch of overweight elementary and junior high school students shed pounds while educating the kids and TV viewers about the perils of childhood obesity.
The network confirmed that work has begun on the still untitled series. O’Neal will shoot the series when not shooting hoops for the Miami Heat, coaching kids on location in Broward County, Florida. The show is slated to air this summer.
According to Variety, segments will feature O’Neal working with local politicos to overhaul school lunch programs to promote better nutrition. The show will also focus on the kids’ lives outside of school and examine the reasons behind their propensity to pack it on.
O’Neal is no stranger to the reality format, having previously appeared as himself on NBC’s Fear Factor and MTV’s Punk’d and headlining ESPN’s sports-themed Shaquille. He is also a frequent guest on TV shows, with credits ranging from Curb Your Enthusiasm and SNL to The Parkers and My Wife and Kids.
But the ABC deal marks the first time he will be headlining his own prime-time gig on a major broadcast network.
The show draws its inspiration from the U.K.’s Ian Wright’s Unfit Kids, in which the British soccer star served in a similar capacity.
Yikes. At least they aren’t drawing inspiration from Ian Wright’s ads for Chicken Tonight Tiki Masala sauce. Far be it for me to suggest the Diesel can’t handle this challenge on his own, but if he’s in need of a sidekick, who better for the producers to turn to than the hotter-than-hot Donnie Davies?