'Life' Lessons

Hilton mom, Carolla groom new reality divas. Kathy Hilton will train would-be socialites on NBC, while the ''Man Show'' alum will host competition of potential Marthas on ABC

By by Gary Susman
04/27/2004

NBC and ABC are looking for a few good reality divas. To find them, NBC is turning to boutique owner Kathy Hilton, better known as Paris and Nicky's mom, while ABC, entering the race to find a new Martha Stewart, turns to the less likely Adam Carolla. (No, that's not a prank from Carolla's ''Crank Yankers.'')

Hilton's show, in an apparent twist on daughter Paris' ''The Simple Life,'' will be called ''The Good Life'' While Paris' Fox show strands the socialite in middle America, mom's ''Good Life'' will take 10 ordinary American women who want to be socialites and bring them to New York, where Hilton will groom them for jobs in glamorous fields like fashion, publishing, or cosmetics. She'll put the contestants up in a little Hilton family residence, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The winner will get a job, a car, and a year-long stay at the Waldorf. According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC has placed an eight-episode order for the series, which would debut in September.

Over at ABC, Carolla will host ''The Great Domestic Showdown,'' a two-night special airing May 25 and 26. ABC's announcement of the show follows similar launches by CBS and NBC of reality competitions to find a new domestic diva to step into the vacuum Stewart is likely to leave after her sentencing in June on her recent felony conviction for lying to the government about her controversial stock sale. In ''Showdown,'' six contestants drawn from a pool of professional event planners (not all of them are women, the network hinted), will compete in ''decorating, cooking, gardening, entertaining, home improvement and the final challenge for a splendid gala event,'' ABC announced in a statement. The winner will earn a book deal with Hyperion Books (owned by ABC parent Disney), an appearance on ABC's ''Good Morning America,'' and a TV pilot deal. As for Carolla's appearance as host, the former ''Man Show'' host explains that he used to be a professional carpenter whose secret hobby is home design. ''I see this as my coming out party,'' he said in a statement. ''Not in a gay way, but I certainly wouldn’t call it straight.''