The Hollywood Reporter reports that ABC has greenlighted production of six episodes of the British show Wife Swap, to be aired during summer 2004. However, perhaps in response to our prior comments about the name, the show will be renamed Trading Moms for U.S. broadcast.
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The new name is more in keeping with the description of the show, which features two wives and mothers trading places for 10 days. During the first five days, the swapped wives must live by the rules of the family that they've joined; halfway through, they are allowed to set new rules for the family. The focus of the show is how both families react during and after the experience.
As we noted before, one of the episodes apparently swaps an American mom for a British mom. We find ourselves fascinated by the possible differences in family customs. However, we'll miss the ability to make cheap jokes and snarky headlines that was inherent in the name Wife Swap but is missing from the name Trading Moms.