oh fox

Variety is reporting a new reality series from Fox called Someone's Gotta Go. You guessed it - a reality show about getting laid off. Uplifting, no?

The show - already in production by Endemol USA and scheduled to air by late summer/early fall - will feature real struggling businesses across the country. The catch? Employees will decide which one of them has to go.

Fox reality chief Mike Darnell called it "Survivor meets The Office". Oh please. I worry it will be somewhere between The Apprentice (shameless pitting people against each other) and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (an attempt at meaning and substance tied with the financial crisis) with a little Wife Swap thrown in (everyone learns they are better off in the end - wahh wahh).

We know a few details about how the show will play out: A different small business, facing staff reductions, will be featured every week. Employees will have access to human resources files on all staff - salaries, complaints, etc. Discussions, confrontations, alliances will ensure until they all vote someone off. The host will be a professional "business coach". Can a small business really survive something like this?

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you of all the well-written, creative, scripted television series that were cancelled this season.

[Soapbox dismount]

Anyone else depressed?