Simon Cowell's Big "Idea"
When he's not busy shattering the dreams of aspiring singers on American Idol, Simon Cowell has been hard at work on his next big idea.
The acid-tongued judge has teamed with Idol producer FremantleMedia to mastermind a new reality series for ABC titled The Million Dollar Idea, which is designed to discover a budding entrepreneur with a fabulous new business proposal or project.
The network began production on the series months ago, but kept it quiet for fear of having the idea ripped off by a competitor. The series could hit the air as soon as late fall.
ABC has ordered nine episodes of the show, which will feature a nationwide search to find the best and brightest business types who have been overlooked up until now.
Nine finalists will receive $50,000 in seed money and will be sent home to face the challenge of how best to invest the money in order to win a place in the finale.
All along, the competing entrepreneurs will be judged by "The Millionaires"--a panel of three business leaders who achieved success based on their own original concepts.
The judges will designate three candidates to compete head to head in the live finale, where America will vote to choose the winner.
The winning candidate will receive $1 million in business support, including cash, counseling and physical resources.
Cowell conceived of the idea for the show with Peter Jones, a young British entrepreneur who made a name by acting as a panelist on a business reality show in the U.K.
"This is an exciting show," Cowell said in a statement. "Right now, someone in America may be sitting on the best new idea in the world. This show gives everyone the chance to fulfill that dream. I have no idea who or what is going to turn up and that is the fun of this new series."
Because of his Idol contract with Fox, Cowell won't appear on-air in Idea.
According to the less-than-modest Cowell, ABC Alternative Programming boss Andrea Wong snapped up the idea immediately after he pitched it.
"It was probably the easiest sell I've ever done," Cowell told Daily Variety. "I did it on my mobile, and after two minutes of telling her about the show, she said she'd buy the idea."
The network had reportedly been toying with the idea of an invention-based series for some time.
"We had looked at a number of formats and hadn't found the right one," Wong told Variety. "It's an arena we've been looking at for a while."
All involved parties profess high expectations for the series' end result.
"Somebody out there has thought of the next Post-it Note or Starbucks, but they don't have the means to actually make it happen," Wong said. "It's going to be thrilling to find that person and make his or her dream a reality."
The show marks the second reality series Cowell has produced stateside. CBS aired his dating-themed series Cupid in summer 2003 to tepid ratings.
Cowell also created the runaway U.K. hit The X Factor and was subsequently sued by Idol creator Simon Fuller for allegedly ripping off the talent search theme.
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