We've never seen this before: contestants in designer gear but on a beach; getting eliminated one by one after glam-yet-stressful challenges. Its mesmerizing, can't-look-away, television: the Top Billing Presenter Search inside the weekly Top Billing episode that's making for simply arresting, and incredibly entertaining viewing.
The Top Billing Presenter Search could be - and in hindsight should have been - its own stand-alone, spin-off prime time reality show on SABC3. The concept is innovative, dramatically perfectly structured, narratively utterly fascinating and comes with built-in high production values thanks to the piggy-backing on the well-oiled Tswelopele Productions production machine.
The weekly insert trying to find a new presenter for the weekly, long-running magazine show is a superbly well-executed fusion between normal people who desperate want something more than just money (to be on television - talk about the ultimate personal motivator) and who are willing to do almost anything to attain their goal. From bungee jumping off of the Soweto cooling towers to deep-sea diving, to tackling cooking segments (all in glam clothes) they do whatever the challenges are and in the process deliver the drama of oh-so-awesome reality television. Tears by the way are included in every episode, courtesy of the high stakes and popping personalities for whom a camera lense is like oxygen - unless you dare to bore in which case the judges send you packing.
Now cue a Mauritius beach with a setting sun, contestants in formal fashions and beautiful glamorous outfits, getting scathing critiques and being cut one by one in dramatic fashion in every week's Top Billing Presenter insert. In what other reality show you've seen before have contestants been tasked with such a wide (and perfectly apt) gamut of challenges, in beautiful and changing locales, while they're getting real advice, get time to learn and incorporate it over time, and really get pushed to the brink?
SABC3 and Top Billing should really consider - when the weekly magazine show needs another presenter - to revisit this format but spin it off as its own prime time reality show. Or just go for it and find another new presenter anyway, and make a separate reality show. The Top Billing Presenter Search - that can be done by Tswelopele Productions doing the main show anyway - would serve as the perfect companion piece to the main show.
The style, content, execution, vision and pacing of the current Top Billing Presenter Search is already pitch perfect. A separate future show can be expanded to a half hour show or even an hour anchoring a Friday night - or can even follow after a Thursday's hour episode. The voted out contestant can appear the next morning live on Expresso - similar to the way axed Survivor contestants in America go onto The Early Show.
The Top Billing Presenter Search is Survivor (flames on the beach) meets America's Next Top Model (beautiful clothes; beautiful people), meets Idols (actual talent required; harsh feedback), meets The Amazing Race (real physical challenges; harnesses; a sense of adrenalin and danger). Viewers have never seen anything done quite like this before. Too sad then that next Thursday, 9 December the winner is annouced in the final insert in Top Billing at 19:30 on SABC3. As its own even more fully developed and separate show The Top Billing Presenter Search could and can be so much more.
