Continuing its deep dive into our shared cultural obsession with the wealthy one percent who we both loathe and desperately wish to be, CNBC has announced several new pilots about people trying to get rich quick, get rich again, or leverage their fame so that people at least treat them like they’re rich.
First up: The Fame Economy (working title), in which Simpsons star Hank Azaria investigates whether fame is “the most precious commodity.” Azaria’s show hopes to answer questions like, “Can a Youtube star out-earn an A-list actor?”, “ How does a tweet generate six figures?”, and “Where do Mystery Men and 28 years on the world’s most successful cartoon put someone on the Hollywood pecking order?” (To be fair, we made that last one up.)
Meanwhile, Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan is tackling the world of financially washed-up former athletes. The retired NFL star’s new pilot Back In The Game (working title) will see Strahan visit his less financially successful brethren, pairing them up with money advisers and career mentors in an attempt to defy the old “penniless former athlete” stereotype.
The network also announced pilots for I Got A Guy (working title), about a group of would-be entrepreneurs trying to make it big, and Ms. Fortune (working title), about a struggling family that invites a real-life financial adviser into their lives. Meanwhile, CNBC has announced that it’s renewing The Filthy Rich Guide and Jay Leno’s Garage (actual titles, somehow) for second seasons of wealth tourism and bile-inducing envy.