Haute 100 lister Mark Burnett and Steve Harvey are collaborating together on a business reality series slated to debut later this year on ABC.
The show, which will feature Harvey doing what he does best, hosting, will follow sets of entrepreneurs competing to pitch their ideas in front of a live studio audience, the network announced. Following the pitches, the studio audience will vote for the best entrepreneurs to receive funding for their idea. Harvey will be referred to as the “funder of dreams.”
ABC has already ordered 13 episodes of the untitled new series. MGM Television is set to produce as well as distribute the series, which Burnett will serve as an executive producer.
In a statement, Burnett said, “My dream has been to work with Steve, and this is the perfect project for us to do together. He is an amazing talent and has an enormous heart for entrepreneurs, some of whom will get their business jump-started because of him.”
Harvey added, “I’m thrilled to have another passion project on the ABC schedule. This is just the type of show that gives folks a vehicle to breathe life into their dreams.”
Burnett has had success with 11 programs on several networks including Survivor and the People’s Choice Awards (CBS); The Voice, Celebrity Apprentice, The Sing-Off, A.D. The Bible Continues—the follow-up to The Bible, and Angels Unveiled (NBC); Shark Tank, spinoff Beyond the Tank, 500 Questions (ABC) and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox).
In an interview with Ad Week last year, Burnett was asked what is the reason for his success over the last two decades? He responded, “First, you have to come up with a good idea and get someone to pay for it. The second thing is to execute it to the level or above what they’re expecting. Then there’s a third level that a lot of people forget: You have to market it and micromanage the press and the marketing campaigns. You’ve got to remember all three of those things.”
As for the untitled series featuring Harvey, there is no specific premiere date as of yet.
