By Stephanie Earp
Pete Doherty and other UK users approached for reality series that will show their detox to the world
Doherty onstage with his band Babyshambles, CP |
Endemol is at it again, courting controversy with a new reality show. The producers behind Big Brother and Deal or No Deal are planning a reality series that will put famous drug addicts into a Big Brother-style house and let the cameras roll.
Endemol are touting the show as a serious social experiment, trying to claim some of the credibilty a show like Intervention has managed to build up, but an anonymous insider said "Endemol are using drug problems as entertainment and treating addiction like a joke."
It seems unlikely the show would make it across the pond, although not for the reasons you'd hope. Pete Doherty, Donny Tourette and other (mostly music) stars who've been approached for the series aren't well-known here. Doherty is the most familiar to American audiences, for his relationship with Kate Moss and his drug problems. But in the UK, the award-winning poet and songwriter is - or was - considered a national treasure, and was famous for his work, not his heroin habit. Until recently, anyway.
Endemol may be way off-base thinking anyone wants to watch the DTs - even famous DTs. If we did, Courtney Love would still have a career.
- Published Wednesday, January 31, 2007