Among the more cringe-worthy reality shows in the last decade was Fox's The Swan, which transformed "ugly" ducklings into swans using personal trainers, plastic surgery and veneer teeth, among other measures taken. After which, they faced off against another swannabe in the hopes of advancing further in the competition. Not only was this 2-season series hard to watch at times, but it probably ranks highly among the worst unscripted television to grace network TV, at least, for those of us who can't find much entertainment in seeing people take drastic measures to change their appearance and then competing against one another in a pretty contest. No judgment to people who want to get plastic surgery to improve their looks, but as a reality show "beauty pageant" competition, I couldn't get into it. So I can't bring myself to feign much enthusiasm or optimism about the concept's revival for a celebrity edition.
EW posted the news that Fox was bringing back The Swan as a celebrity special, using the extreme-makeover concept and applying it to celebrities for a two-hour special.
Here’s the official logline for the two-hour special: “Celebrity Swan will feature female celebrities and will offer these popular women the incredible opportunity to undergo physical, psychological and career changes as cameras follow them through the transformative process. This opportunity will allow these women to come back better than ever, have a second chance at personal and career redemption and re-introduce themselves to their supportive fans in a whole new way.”
No specifics are mentioned on what kind of methods will be taken to transform these celebrities physically, psychologically and professionally. Maybe it's just a matter of helping them drop a few pounds and create a new look with a bit of grooming and a make-over. But mention of The Swan conjures more drastic means of transformation, which makes me wonder what kind of cast we'll be seeing for this special. Will it be older celebrities looking to shave a few years off their faces? Or younger ones hoping to make themselves (even) prettier? EW says production is beginning casting soon so we may know the answer to those questions soon enough.
