Ozzy and family get sketchy

In the early '70s, no one would have predicted that bat-biting Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne would be in line to host a family-friendly variety show on television. But then again, no one pegged him for a reality television star, either.

Osbourne, whose career and popularity was revitalized and introduced to a whole new audience with MTV's The Osbournes, is heading back to television, and this time we may see the former heavy metal man do some singing and dancing.

Fox outbid other networks for The Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous (working title), a throwback to the old variety shows of yesteryear, reports TVWeek. The project will see Ozzy joined by the rest of his Osbournes costars, including wife Sharon (currently a judge on America's Got Talent) and kids Kelly (how'd that recording career go?) and Jack.

Like variety shows from the golden era of television, Loud and Dangerous will combine sketches, competitions, and, God willing, song and dance numbers. One source has compared it to the hugely popular Spanish-language variety show Sabado Gigante, except replace "Ay Caramba!" with incoherent nonsense.

Fox Alternative Entertainment president Mike Darnell has been looking to dabble in the variety genre for some time now, but has been waiting for the right hosts to really give it some punch.

"You could see them doing musical performances," Darnell said of the Osbourne family. "You could see them doing sketches and being very funny, maybe laughing their way through them. Even when they do things that seem nostalgic, it will come off as modern and edgy."

Fox has made a six-episode commitment to the show, and will likely launch it in the winter, with a possibility of partnering it with American Idol. Idol's FremantleMedia North America will produce.