Six new series about “rockers, rappers, boy banders and fallen music execs” have been ordered up for a new music-programming block on VH1 in the first quarter of 2007, the MTV Networks channel said.
The new music series green-lit are: Irv Gotti Project, Man Band, ego trip's White Rapper Show, Whitestarr Project, Rags to Riches and Bridging the Gap. VH1 compared the planned block to its current “Celebreality” franchise, only about music and storytelling instead of celebrities and their surreal lives.
Irv Gotti Project is about the charged and acquitted producer and his comeback attempt with his label, The Inc.
Man Band brings members of various teen-age heartthrob groups together in a reality series, living together under one roof. They include Abrams (Color Me Badd), Rich Cronin (LFO), Chris Kirkpatrick ('N Sync) and Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees), who will work on new music and a stage show, then perform as a new pop group.
ego trip's White Rapper Show, hosted by white rapper Michael "MC Serch" Berrin (of the group 3rd Bass) and producer Prince Paul, is set in the birthplace of hip-hop -- the South Bronx -- and it features 10 contestants representing from all over America who must battle their way through challenges designed to test their musical cred, knowledge of hip-hop culture and ideas about race.
Untitled Whitestarr Project follows privileged Malibu rocker and Mischa Barton's boyfriend, Cisco Adler, and his band, Whitestarr.
Bridging the Gap is a limited series documenting two established artists who come together for the first time to explore their shared musical passions. In each episode, these artists will, in the span of one day, discuss their lives and music while creating a new track produced by a hot producer. Eve and Queen Latifah are featured in the first episode of this half-hour music series.
Rags to Riches is a half-hour verité series. In each episode, a musician or actor will take viewers on a journey to their humble beginnings and walk them through their childhood, the challenges of growing up and how they have given back to their community and the people who helped them. The pilot episode, which previously aired on the channel, featured Snoop Dogg.
