FOX has announced that its new The Swan series, which had been previously announced as premiering on Monday, March 29, will now instead premiere on Wednesday, April 7 at 9PM ET/PT. Beginning Monday, April 12, The Swan will air in its regular time period (Mondays, 9PM ET/PT), while the network's struggling Forever Eden series will get exiled to Thursdays beginning Thursday, March 25 at 9PM ET/PT.
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Although The Swan will no doubt benefit from having an American Idol results show as its lead-in, considering April 7 at 9PM is also the annouced premiere time for ABC's next edition of The Bachelor starring NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer, at first glance the move would appear to be the latest in a series of recent head-scratching scheduling decisions by the network.
Combining the physical makeover aspect of ABC's Extreme Makeover, the lifestyle makeover concept of Bunim-Murray's syndicated Starting Over, and (dare we say it) the "beauty pageant" aspect of ABC's embarrassing Are You Hot?, The Swan takes women who are stuck in a rut and revitalizes them by restoring their beauty and confidence via incredible physical, mental and emotional transformations. Then, the series culminates in a pageant in which one woman will be crowned "the Ultimate Swan."
During the program, each of its eighteen contestants will be assigned a team of specialists -- a coach, therapist, trainer, cosmetic surgeon, dentist and stylist -- who will work together to design the perfect individually-tailored program.
Similar to Extreme Makeover, each of the first nine episodes of the ten episode series will follow two of the contestants as they undergo cosmetic surgery and work through a three-month intensive "boot camp" of exercise, diet, therapy and inspiration to achieve their goal.
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At the conclusion of each episode, the contestants will participant in a "final reveal" in which, for the first time since entering the program, they will be permitted to see themselves in a mirror.
Then, after the reveal, one contestant will be selected to advance to the grand finale's two-hour "1st Annual Swan Pageant."