http://www.cnn.com/2002/S...index.html

Who is 'Joe Millionaire,' really?

HOLLYWOOD, California (Reuters) -- After months of top-secret shooting, Fox next month will take the wraps off of a reality series that poses a simple question: Who wants to marry a multimillionaire -- who's actually not even a millionaire? The network has quietly finished production on "Joe Millionaire," a seven-episode series that combines elements of Fox's controversial 2000 special "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" with ABC's red-hot relationship franchise "The Bachelor," Variety reports. The series will bow January 6 at 9 p.m., filling the time slot vacated by "Girls Club." Alex McLeod ("Trading Spaces") will host.
"In a way, we're ripping the mask off the people (who sign up for shows like 'The Bachelor')," Fox reality programming chief Mike Darnell told Daily Variety. "We find out whether they're really doing this for love."

"Joe" features 20 single women who fly to France in order to win the affection of a hand-some American they believe to be worth $50 million. The twist: The as-yet unidentified man is actually a construction worker with an annual income of $19,000.

"It's the gold diggers and the ditch digger," one Fox insider said.

Viewers will know from the start that the faux Joe is actually a blue-collar guy with no coin to his name. They'll also watch as he undergoes a Pygmalion-like transformation from humble construction worker into someone who might pass for a multimillionaire.

The 20 women who participated in the show, however, are told Joe recently inherited $50 million and is looking for someone with whom he can share his wealth. Joe will maintain this ruse, though he'll be honest with the women about every other aspect of his life, from education to past romances.

"All of his backstory is true, except for the money part," Darnell said.

As in "Bachelor," Joe will narrow down his potential mates each week, taking them on horseback rides through the French countryside near what the women believe is his chateau, or wining and dining them at the Eiffel Tower.
Rather than hand his rejects roses, Joe will give losing women jewelry of escalating value. The payoff comes in the finale episode, when the faux millionaire chooses the one woman with whom he wants to have a relationship. If the woman agrees to continue the relationship -- Fox isn't saying if a marriage proposal is involved -- Joe is forced to come clean.

"In the end, he must reveal to her that he's basically broke," Darnell said. "We get to see if she still wants to be with him. It's a spectacular show with a spectacular ending."
Fox Entertainment president Gail Berman knows "Joe Millionaire" will have its critics, just as "Bachelor" has its detractors.

"It'll cause some controversy and hopefully grab some viewers," she said. "We just think it's a great spin on these kinds of shows and reality TV in general."

What "Joe Millionaire" won't be is a regular part of Fox's schedule. "We cannot duplicate this show. It's a one-time-only thing," Berman said.

Indeed, in order to ensure none of the women discovered Joe's secret prematurely, Fox and series producer Rocket Science Prods. ("Temptation Island") produced the series under a cloak of secrecy heavy even by the already paranoid standards of the reality TV world.
Less than a half-dozen Fox execs knew of the project's existence. The show was shot in France under the code name "The Big Choice" to further throw off competitors. Most of the production crew in France had no idea what they were really shooting, nor did a butler hired to serve as Joe's assistant.

"We had to keep it unbelievably secret," Darnell said. "If the participants knew (the twist), then you're screwed. And if our competitors found out, the women in the show would have found out."

While word did leak out about "Big Choice," competitors were never certain about the details of the show, other than that it was relationship-oriented. News that Fox is developing an arranged-marriage series also may have thrown some off the scent.

for real? yuk. retitle it 'liar and the losers'

This is going to be a great show!

The idea of the show is that the TV viewing audience at home gets to laugh at the women as they come off as greedy gold diggers trying to impress a fake millionaire.

It's going to be funny to see how desparately each woman tries to impress the "millionaire" so that he will choose her. The joke's on the woman who will be chosen because she finds out on camera that the guy isn't really a millionaire.

I've read posts in other forums where people say it's unfair to set these women up to look like foolish gold diggers. The argument is that a group of men placed in the same situation except with a female "millionaire" would do the same thing that these women will do -- which is try desperately to be chosen.