If AMC's Showville showed up in your town, looking to put on a local talent show, what would your talent be? The new series does cause me to ponder that, though I don't expect I'd have the guts to try out. Stage fright. A condition the man in the above clip clearly doesn't have, unless you count the hood as some kind of coping mechanism. Or it really is an attempt at Bunraku puppetry, as the man explains before ducking behind his hood and belting out a rendition of Cyndi Lauper's "Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun" with his wooly little hand-sidekick, a lamb puppet. He's not too ba'aad. (Apologies. Puns are my talent).
The exclusive clip above demonstrates a bit of what Showville has to offer. See, unlike other talent competition series, which scout for the best talent in various cities and then put them all together to compete against one another, Showville's keeping it local each week. The series has Alec Mapa (Ugly Betty) and Lisette Bustamante visiting a different small town in each episode, and hosting an open audition, wherein they invite the locals to show off their talents. At the end of the day, they narrow it down to the four acts they want to see take the main stage, and - after spending the next 48 hours coaching the contestants - they put on a big show for the neighborhood, at whatever well-known venue exists in that town. The audience decides which of their talented neighbors they want to win the $10,000 prize.
AMC tends to do things a bit differently than other networks, and that seems to be the case here, with its emphasis on local talent and local judging. Filming it gives us a look inside the competition, but really, it's all about one small town featured in each episode. Tonight's ep is set in Kingston, Rhode Island.
Watch the series premiere of Showville on AMCTV.com. Episode 2 airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET on AMC.
Produced by Storyvision Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Television; Executive Producer: Laurie Girion (“Cheerleader Nation,” “Welcome to Sweetie Pies”)Fame meets Main on AMC's new unscripted competition series, “Showville.” The series centers around a small town talent show featuring local acts, who get the chance of a lifetime to be in the spotlight. “Showville” is a celebration of performing, and a fond, funny look at the lives, workplaces and families of these acts and what happens to them when Hollywood comes to town. Each week, a one-hour episode of “Showville” touches down in a quintessentially American small town and puts together a talent show in a mere four days.
