Fox Family enters reality game with 'Race'
Skein pits 2 families in global competition
"It's 'National Lampoon's Vacation' married to 'Around the World in 80 Days,' " said Eytan Keller, the family-friendly cabler's exec VP, reality programming and specials. "It will test the family bonds with the true human stories of heartache, competitiveness and pressure set against the world's largest canvas."
Although Fox Family developed "Race" inhouse, the cabler is in negotiations with outside companies about producing the one-hour primetime series. Fox Family plans to air 13 episodes of the show, but Keller said that number could be expanded. Series will debut in early first quarter 2001.
Each family will receive a set amount of money that must last for the entire 40-day, 25-country endeavor.
Family challenge
Viewers will tune in during primetime to catch the latest chapter in the global adventure saga as each family faces the challenge of making it from one exotic locale to the next before the other family. Along the way, the families will also face-off in competitions that will present challenges unique to each geographic location.
Keller, for instance, envisions the two families building bridges on the River Kwai. Their adventures also may take them through the Amazon jungle, down the Nile and even across the desert on the train last used by Lawrence of Arabia.
Three camera crews will follow the families to document the frustrations, surprise mishaps, and relationship tensions they encounter along the way.
As for whether or not the families will be driven to eat rats, Keller said it's a possibility. "That will be completely up to them," he said.
Undetermined prize
The first family to make it around the world and to the Statue of Liberty without spending all of its money will win a substantial cash prize, but Fox Family hasn't yet determined how much that will be.
To assist in their journey, each family will be equipped with hand-held wireless Internet and global positioning satellite devices.
Beginning in late July, the cable net will undergo a national search for the two families of four who will compete. Families interested in competing will be able to register on a Web site, Keller said, or send videos to the cabler.
Keller declined comment about how much money Fox Family is investing in "Race," except to say it's "on a broadcast network level."
