NBC’s Next Action Star debuts tonight.

NBC’s Next Action Star debuts tonight.
NBC’s Next Action Star debuts tonight with a “preview” episode (featuring auditions) at 10 p.m. ET before officially starting Tuesday in its regular 8 p.m. timeslot. The 10-episode series follows 14 men and women who will “compete against one another to become America’s next high-powered male and female action heroes, winning not only a cash prize, but the chance to star in the NBC movie, ‘Hit Me’ (working title) produced by Silver Pictures.” They’ll train together and perform weekly “screen tests” (think Fear Factor stunts); one man and one woman will be eliminated every week. The first episode is “an engaging, rude and funny debut focused on the audition process,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series is produced by Joel Silver, who told reporters, “Action filmmaking really requires skills that you have to learn. You have to be able to shoot a gun and do wirework and drive a car and to do fights and stunts. We have to train these people to try to do this. Plus you have to be able to act.” Unlike David E. Kelley and other hypocrites, Silver admits his love for reality TV–particularly FOX’s Paradise Hotel. “How can you not love reality television? That show last summer, ‘Paradise Hotel,’ I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was going to read in the paper that somebody got killed down there… It’s just wild to watch this stuff. It’s as exciting to see that as to see ‘Alias’ and ’24.'”