Sarah Palin: A reality TV goldmine (TLC/Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images)Politics doesn't always make for gripping TV (we're looking at you, C-SPAN). But that hasn't stopped reality shows from trying -- sort of. Here, a roundup of shows inspired by politics that seem to be anything but political.
Let's start with Sarah Palin: The Tea Party darling's trademark tresses now have their own show. Really. The beauty salon that gave Palin her pouf will be in the spotlight in "Big Hair Alaska," a two-part series from TLC that airs in September featuring the Beehive Salon, Palin's beauty parlor.
According to the network's press release, all it could say about the show is that it "goes inside a busy hair salon in Wasilla, Alaska, where the personalities of the owner and her staff are as big as the hairstyles they create." Really, if that's the best they can do, we're guessing "Big Hair" will be a big bore.
Think of it as a spinoff to that other show about the former governor, "Sarah Palin's Alaska." The one-time Republican vice-presidential nominee put on her game face to hunt, fish, and even take Kate Gosselin and her kids camping. Maybe not so surprisingly, that show bombed in the ratings after the first episode.
Then there's art imitating life: Rob Lowe, who famously played Sam Seaborn on the hit show "The West Wing," is taking on his own real-life political project. He's making a reality show tentatively called "Potomac Fever" that expects to follow young movers and shakers in the nation's capital. One small problem: Go-getters who actually want power want nothing to do with reality TV.
The show, which E! picked up, is still in the casting stage. A source involved in the project told the New York Times, "We're dealing with people who are connected to politics." Well, not all that connected. Candidates for casting include a DJ, a local traffic and entertainment news anchor, and a congressional staffer who is also a Washington Wizards dancer.
An earlier DC-based show from Bravo, "The Real Housewives of DC", was canceled after it couldn't improve lackluster ratings.
Some speculate that access was a major issue. As one DC insider approached for the show put it to a Washington blogger, "My husband has worked way too hard on his career to have a camera come in here."
Maybe C-SPAN doesn't look so bad after all.
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