Kurt Warner is throwing another Hail Mary pass, but this time it’s off the gridiron. The former Super Bowl MVP wants to make us think differently about reality television.
Really.
“When you say reality television, you have that gasp, a sigh … do we really need another reality television show? You wanna change that idea,” Warner tells Big Hollywood. Many viewers turn to reality shows to watch train-wreck personalities and, subsequently, feel better about themselves. Warner prefers audiences take away a more positive, uplifting message away.
It’s why he’s the star of the new USA Network series The Moment, a show letting people get a second chance at achieving their dreams. And who better to serve as our host than Warner, whose leap from stocking supermarket shelves to winning the Super Bowl could motivate the most sedentary couch potato.
“I want people to be inspired,” Warner says of his new broadcast project.Warner says The Moment isn’t an overtly Christian series, but the theme of second chances is certainly a familiar one for faithful viewers.
The show, debuting at 10 p.m. EST April 11, features ordinary people who refuse to give up their extraordinary dreams. One contestant longs to be a pro sports photographer but abandoned that plan after a rough divorce. Another left a career as a race car driver when a sponsor saddled him with expenses which derailed his plans.They’ll be met by topic-specific mentors to help them along their journey as well as the inspirational Warner, whose life story cannot help but motivate.
“A lot of things along the way resonated with my journey,” Warner says.
Warner, who is open about his Christianity, says USA Network showed no trepidation about the show’s faith-based subtext. That was before The History Channel’s miniseries The Bible started smashing viewer records.That didn’t come as a surprise to the former football star.
“There’s a huge yearning in our culture for something more … it’s being more in touch with God … and what we were created to be,” he says. “The farther we go down a negative path, which we see every day, the more we yearn for the positive.”
The unifying element in the potentially positive stories on The Moment is a willingness to blame something or someone else for not reaching a goal.
“If so and so would have given me the right opportunity, or if this person would have encouraged me,” he says. “I could have made a million excuses on why I wasn’t playing in the NFL. “You have no more excuses … what do you do from now until your opportunity presents itself? It’s all up to you. Don’t allow anything else to make this decision for you.”
Even if The Moment becomes the next reality show smash it doesn’t wipe away memories of Honey Boo Boo and The Situation. Warner sounds a more optimistic note on reality fare.
“‘The Biggest Loser,’ ‘The Voice’ and ‘American Idol’ … they’re giving people opportunities to do what they’ve always dreamed of doing … to me, that’s great reality television.”
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