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CBS Introduces ‘Lord-of-the-Flies’-Type Reality Show

Jericho, which seemed so promising at the beginning of the season, has been canned, CBS confirmed yesterday (Wednesday), when the network formally announced its new fall schedule.

In Jericho’s place will come a reality show called Kid Nation, in which 40 children between the ages of 8 and 15 will live together without parental supervision, forming their own society in a town set aside for them, writes The New York Times.

Nobody in the show - what Variety calls a new take on Lord of the Flies - will be eliminated; nonetheless, the network promises “lots of emotion.”

The children, living in an abandoned ghost town, have to pass laws, choose leaders and build an economy. They are offered choices between the things they need (food and supplies) and things they want. Kids can go home when they want, and each segment will end with a “feel-good” moment in which one kid is selected by his peers to earn a reward.

Other shows include Moonlight, about vampire detectives, and Cane, described as a Cuban-American version of The Godfather or The Sopranos starring Jimmy Smits.

The Big Bang Theory is about two brainy friends who have difficulty dealing with the real world, while Viva Laughlin is a mystery drama series about a businessman whose goal is to run a casino in Laughlin, Nevada, MediaPost writes.
Swingtown, slotted as a mid-season replacement, is a drama about couples in the seventies in a Chicago suburb who experiment with such alternative lifestyle choices as swinging.

Game show The Power of 10 comes from comedian and producer Drew Carey.

In addition to Jericho, Class and Closer to Home have been cancelled. The New Adventures of Old Christine is being bumped from Monday’s lineup but will return mid-season.

The entire lineup of shows for CBS’s fall season can be seen here.