Nick at Nite has announced that actress and comedian Roseanne Barr will host the cable network's third season on Funniest Mom in America, a Last Comic Standing-like reality competition series that follows the journey of mothers from across the country as they battle for the title that bears the show's name.
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Executive produced by Big Brother producer Allison Grodner, the six-part series is scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, April 3 at 9:30PM ET/PT. In addition to the competition's title, Funniest Mom in America's winner will receive $50,000 plus the chance to host a special night of programming on Nick at Nite.
Barr is best known for her starring role on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, which aired original episodes from 1988 to 1997 and won her an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1993. In 2004, she co-starred in the Disney film Home on the Range with Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly. Barr also completed twelve children's songs, produced the accompanying videos and released her first DVD for children, Rockin' with Roseanne: Calling All Kids!, which hit stores in February 2006.
"As America's original funniest mom, Roseanne Barr is our ideal host," said Tom Ascheim, executive vice president and general manager for Nickelodeon Television. "Her comedy and expertise on child-rearing is sure to resonate with these moms as well as our viewers."
Hosting Funniest Mom in America isn't Barr's first reality-series gig. The comedian also starred in 2003's The Real Roseanne Show on ABC, which followed Barr from start to finish as she created the concept for a cooking/lifestyle show -- titled Domestic Goddess -- and then embarked upon the treacherous journey of bringing the show to life, from pitching to television networks, doing publicity, hiring, firing and more.
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Unfortunately for her, the two-week run of The Real Roseanne Show is one of the shortest ever for a reality series. ABC canceled the poorly rated reality show in August 2003, two days after the ABC Family Channel -- the network that was supposed to subsequently air Domestic Goddess -- decided to axe the cooking show before it ever even debuted.
Funniest Mom in America will begin with thirteen moms twelve moms chosen from throughout the nation -- twelve moms chosen by the show's producers and a thirteenth mom who will be selected by visitors to the network's nickatnite.com website.
All thirteen of the moms will then compete in a semi-final showcase, in which six moms will be chosen to move on to the next round of the competition. From there, the six remaining finalists will compete in a series of side-splitting challenges and performances that will result in one mom being eliminated each week. The three remaining contestants will then compete in the show's finale, performing their stand-up before an audience and a panel of celebrity judges who will be announced shortly.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio