Country singers Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Gretchen Wilson, and Trent Willmon and rodeo champion Ty Murray are among those who will be featured in CMT's slate of seven new series and specials, which range from a practical-joke show to a search for the ultimate cowboy to a celebrity bull-riding challenge.
The slate, set to start rolling out in May, includes:
- Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, a six-episode series debuting in August, is hosted by seven-time all-around world champion Murray. It follows eight celebrities, including country music artists--to be announced later--as they try to master the sport. The premiere and finale will be hour-long episodes; the others will be half-hour episodes.
- Prankville, a six-episode, half-hour series debuting in May, puts a country twist on good-natured practical jokes captured by hidden cameras.
- Bandits vs. Smokies, an eight-episode, half-hour series bowing in May, is a caught-on-tape show in which hosts provide comedic commentary on the actions of hopeless criminals trying to outrun the law.
- Born Country is an eight-episode, hour-long series premiering in June. Each episode of the docu-reality series follows the parallel lives of three people who have country roots in common--ranging from karaoke queens to over-the-top country weddings to die-hard Dukes of Hazzard fans.
- CMT Diary, a half-hour series of specials debuting in May, is from the team that created MTV Diary. CMT Diary will take viewers into the lives of popular entertainers, as told in their own words. McBride and Wilson are among the first artists who will be featured.
Meanwhile, Willmon is hosting the 90-minute special America's Top Cowboy, airing in May. The special will center on a search for the "ultimate, great American cowboy," with six contestants competing for the title, as well as a $50,000 cash prize.
Another new special, tentatively titled Opening Act, will feature amateur performers competing for the chance to perform onstage with a country artist in their hometown of Asheville, N.C. The half-hour special, which will feature Evans, is set to debut in the summer.
In addition, CMT said that the current series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team will return for a second season in September, while Trick My Truck and Country Fried Home Videos, which features Bill Engvall, are returning for third seasons in July. Truck is the network's highest-rated original series ever.
Been there, done that.
wow they all sound like good shows