Mark Burnett Mark Burnett: The intermittently successful reality superproducer (seen here in early March) is pretty sure your next TV heroes are the kinds of guys who say "monetize" a lot. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment
 

by Linda Holmes

Quick, whose problems do you care about the least right now?

ABC is really hoping you didn't say "extremely rich people who capriciously hand out money like candy" or "people looking to make a quick buck in a shortcut fashion," because their next reality show, Shark Tank, is all about those two populations.

The show is brought to you by Mark Burnett -- who is always mentioned as the creator of Survivor and less commonly as the creator of Pirate Master, On The Lot, and My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad. ("What, what, and what?" you ask. To which I say: Exactly.)

Based on a highly successful U.K. show called Dragon's Den, Shark Tank will apparently feature the kind of "I got a plan!" guy who is always telling you how, for instance, he's going to genetically engineer the skinless potato and live off the proceeds for life. You will follow along as he begs a bunch of rich people to bankroll his project.

What will and will not fly in a bad economy is always hard to predict, but I have to wonder whether Burnett and the network are experiencing a fundamental lapse in reading the room on a national level. Aren't there a lot of people figuring that this kind of mad speculation is what got us in trouble in the first place?

categories: Television

1:43 - March 30, 2009

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