Simon Cowell moves to dating game from 'American Idol'

NEW YORK -- With his new dating game, "Cupid," Simon Cowell may have everything going for him but timing.

The "American Idol" villain premieres "Cupid" on CBS this Wednesday in the midst of a desultory summer of reality programming. There's a glut of series, none particularly good and none breakout hits.

The danger for Cowell is getting lost in the quicksand -- that viewers numbed by "For Love or Money" or "Paradise Hotel" won't give his program a chance.

After having seen several American networks initially pass on "American Idol" before it became a hit, Cowell is confident of this one.

"Regardless of the competition or the timing, if something is fundamentally good, it will work," he said. "If something is fundamentally bad, it won't. I don't think you could ever invent the perfect time slot for any show."

Cowell conceived the show and is its executive producer. He wasn't going to appear on the air, but recently decided to serve as a narrator for the first two episodes.

In its advertising, CBS has happily played up the participation of one of reality TV's most recognizable performers.

Curiosity value

That alone may earn "Cupid" a significant number of viewers tuning in out of curiosity, an advantage few of its rivals can count on, said Marc Berman, a television analyst for Media Week Online.

But it may not be enough.

"I do not think it's going to be a hit show," Berman said. "There's just too many shows like this. There's nothing different about this show, there's no novelty to it."

On the surface, "Cupid" seems an appealing blend of "American Idol" and "The Bachelor." The lead character is Linda Shannon, 25, an advertising copywriter who winds up with a potential mate voted upon by the viewing public.

Shannon is given a $1 million dowry, which she can keep if she marries the winning guy and stays married for a year.

This summer is shaping up as a low-water mark for reality, both creatively and commercially. It's a train wreck that could have been anticipated, with so many shows were rushed into production after the success of "Joe Millionaire" and "The Bachelor" last winter. Networks figure viewers are more open to creating a new sensation in the summer.

Yet when ABC debuted "The Dating Experiment" on June 25, it barely drew 4.8 million viewers. Fox's "Anything But Love" premiere was seen by a paltry 5.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Advantage of CBS

So far, this summer's prime-time television has been dominated by Jerry Bruckheimer and Dick Wolf. The shows they produce -- Wolf's "Law & Order" and its two spinoffs, Bruckheimer's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" franchise and "Without a Trace" -- have been more popular in reruns than anything new.

One advantage for "Cupid" is that it's on CBS. The "Survivor" network is less susceptible than its rivals to flooding the airwaves. It picks projects with care and promotes them relentlessly.

"CBS knows how to do reality," Berman said. "They do it very wisely."

Cowell shouldn't be frightened by all the competition, said veteran producer Michael Davies, who made "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." A good idea produced well always stands a chance, he said.

"I think Simon Cowell is an extremely talented person with a great feel for pop and pop culture," Davies said. "He's one of those guys you would do very badly to bet against."

Cowell brings one of the most compulsively watchable aspects of "American Idol" to "Cupid." Just like the Fox show gives you a chance to cringe at, or mock, embarrassingly bad singers, "Cupid" will let you see all the losers that try to date Ms. Right.

"I find it ridiculous on these shows that you have 20 guys selected by producers and you say to the girl, 'You will fall in love with one of these guys,"' Cowell said. "I find that slightly absurd."

Shannon, raised in the Detroit suburbs, watched "auditions" of potential mates in Chicago, New York, Miami and Los Angeles. She brought two of her friends along to dish on the guys.

That's more like real life, too, Cowell said.

"If you see a pretty girl in a bar, she's never going to be on her own if she's looking for a guy," he said.

Don't expect wine and roses, romantic nights shown with a soft-focus camera lens.

"I know what the dating scene is like in real life," Cowell said. "Unfortunately, it's not medieval castles and red rose ceremonies. I wish! It's not. It's about humiliation and ego and jealousy -- all those things I think we understand."

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On the Net:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/cupid/

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EDITOR'S NOTE -- David Bauder can be reached at dbauder"at"ap.org