It seems like every new show that shows up on the "old-school" networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) has a twin show on FOX. This has been going on for some time, and in general, the FOX version flops. A couple of exceptions to that rule have been Trading Spouses and Nanny 911. And the big news for this story is that both shows will be shown again in reruns on CMT. Trading Spouses will be airing Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at noon and 1 p.m. with repeats at 6 and 7 p.m.; while Nanny 911 will air in the same slots on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
These shows developed quite a following, and both were out so much earlier than the network version that many people got the story wrong and thought the networks were actually copying FOX. I personally liked Trading Spouses better than Wife Swap. There were subtle differences, and maybe I am silly, but I really liked it.
The premise behind Trading Spouses was that two wives were swapped for a week into families that were almost a polar opposite of their real family. Every episode featured big fights, crazy people and the opportunity for the new mommy to help the family that she was visiting by handing out a chunk of cash as she saw fit. The way the money was handed out sometimes caused conflict, and sometimes caused pure joy.
Nanny 911, on the other hand, seemed like a cheap rip-off of Super Nanny, though I liked the name better. The premise was almost identical, but there were two different nannies, and you never knew who was going to be on. The nannies weren’t as polished, though they seemed to know their stuff.
