A reality TV show featuring immigrants competing for citizenship is under consideration by the Department of Homeland Security.
But producers claim it won’t be a zero-sum game show where the losers wind up in a Salvadoran prison.
Rob Worsoff, whose production credits include “Dating Naked,” “Duck Dynasty” and “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” told the Wall Street Journal that the show he recently pitched to DHS, called “The American,” is less dire than early reports might indicate.
“This isn’t ‘The Hunger Games’ for immigrants,” he said. “This is not, ‘Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country.'”
The DHS told the New York Times it was weighing a pitch that officials described as “a celebration of being an American and what a privilege it is to be able to be a citizen of the United States of America.”
Contestants would reportedly travel to different states competing in themed contests inspired by each area’s history and culture. The British Daily Mail tabloid, which first reported on the “insane reality TV show,” said consolation prizes for contestants who don’t win citizenship may include airline points, gasoline or Starbucks gift cards.
The DHS said the aspirational show idea is one of many its received and has so far gotten neither a red nor green light. It’s not clear if Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would have any involvement with the program if it gets made.
Numerous members of the Trump administration — including the president himself — come from a sensationalist TV background.
Trump hosted NBC’s “The Apprentice” for 14 years before entering politics, while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared on MTV’s “The Real World.” Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, became a star on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” before getting his own Emmy Award-winning program.
Nearly two-dozen Fox News personalities, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have been hired by Trump to either serve in his administration or in roles adjacent to the presidency.
