After previously announcing that it would debut on May 16, Fox has now announced that On the Lot, Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg's new American Idol-like movie-making reality competition series, will now premiere with two one-hour audition episodes on Tuesday, May 22 at 9PM ET/PT and Thursday, May 24 at 9PM ET/PT.
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On the Lot's May 22 premiere will follow Fox's broadcast of American Idol's final sixth season live performance episode, while On the Lot's May 24 broadcast will air following the third season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance.
"We are very excited that our partners at Fox have scheduled the launch of this series with the powerhouse American Idol finale and the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance," said Burnett. "Coming off of the success of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, launching out of American Idol is a terrific move."
The following week, On the Lot will air a special two-hour "film premiere" broadcast (the show's version of Idol's weekly performance shows) that will let home viewers see the first films produced by the series 16 finalists on Monday, May 28 at 8PM ET/PT. The next night, an initial group of four finalists will be eliminated during a broadcast of the show's first "box office" results show on Tuesday, May 29 at 8PM ET/PT.
After that, On The Lot will settle into a regular weekly schedule that will see it air one-hour "film premiere" episodes on Mondays at 9PM ET/PT and half-hour "box office" results shows on Tuesdays at 8PM ET/PT beginning June 4 and 5. According to Fox, the network received 12,000 video submissions from aspiring filmmakers wanting to compete in On the Lot, and highlights of those submissions will be broadcast during the two audition episodes on May 22 and 24.
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"Steven and I are enormously thrilled with the response we've had to the call for film submissions via our website," said Burnett. "This confirms our notion that there is an incredible amount of talented filmmakers in the world looking for their big breaks."
Each week, the hopeful filmmakers will produce short films from a chosen genre, with access to professional writers, actors and crew to help create their films. Their films will debut and be critiqued in-front of a live audience during the "film premiere" episodes, while the "box office" results episodes will reveal which film received the fewest viewer votes, after which the director of the least popular film will be eliminated. In the end, On the Lot will award "the opportunity of a lifetime" -- a $1,000,000 DreamWorks development deal -- to whichever aspiring filmmaker wins the competition.
On the Lot is produced by Mark Burnett Productions, DreamWorks Television and Amblin Television. Burnett and Spielberg are creators and executive producers. David Goffin also serves as executive producer with Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and Conrad Riggs co-executive producing.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio