Roth
Nine strangers are currently holed up together in a secret bunker somewhere in California -- and the TV network that put them there won't let them out until they come to a unanimous decision as to who among them should walk away with $1.5 million.
Yes, Fox and Mike Darnell are involved.
Project in question, dubbed "Unanimous," is being produced by J.D. Roth's 3 Ball Prods., the company behind the hits "Beauty and the Geek" and "The Biggest Loser." Skein marks the first time Roth and Fox reality chief Darnell have worked together.
In addition to exec producing the show, Roth will serve as host.
Fox quietly began production on "Unanimous" a few weeks ago and will debut it Wednesday, March 22, at 9:30 p.m. Barring sked changes, reality series will be the first Fox has slotted for a weekly run behind "American Idol."
"Unanimous" -- which will be promoted on-air as "Unan1mous" -- is also one of the rare half-hour reality skeins in primetime. Roth, Todd Nelson and Lincoln Hiatt are among the exec producers.
Darnell and Roth said the show is designed to test how far people will go to win big money -- and whether they're willing to let someone else win if they can't.
"This is really playing out much more like a sociology experiment than a reality show," Darnell said.
After finding nine players from various walks of life, producers began the show by blindfolding the contestants for several hours. They were then placed in a sunless studio, completely disoriented about where they were and what the aim of the game was.
"The first person who spoke thought they were on a floating barge," Roth said. "They had no sense of time or place."
Contestants are told they can walk out of the bunker any time they want. All they need to do is unanimously agree who should get the coin.
After a certain point, the $1.5 million pot begins to get reduced, providing further incentive for the players to agree on a winner. There will be an elimination process for players, too -- but with a twist.
Each week, someone will lose their ability to compete for the cash. The eliminated players will remain in the bunker, however, and stay on the jury.
Roth said he's been fascinated by scripted dramas with high stakes, including "Lost."
"The idea that you have these people in a bunker and every 90 minutes they have to reset a clock is fascinating," he said. "This is also a psychological study of human nature."
Early in the development of "Unanimous," Fox and producers talked about making each episode of the show self-contained. As the project evolved, the decision was made to unfold the story over several weeks.
Because the players are still said to be locked in the bunker, Darnell and Roth said they have no idea exactly how many episodes of "Unanimous" will be produced. Aim is to produce at least eight segs.
After a flurry of warm and fuzzy reality skeins (think, to a certain extent, Fox's own "Skating With Celebrities"), Darnell said "Unanimous" reps a return to edgy unscripted fare.
"It feels like the right time for an aggressive show like this," he said. "This is more 'Survivor' than 'Extreme Makeover.' "
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