Ten Contestants Will Vie to Solve a Murder in Small Town X

The new Fox series, Murder in Small Town X, promises to be unlike any other reality show before. The concept for the program to be part whodunnit and part contest is a novel one (though it’s not staying that way -- Mystery Mansion will air on USA next year and looks to be based on a similar idea). The premise is simple: 10 exceptionally photogenic people will come to “Sunrise, USA” to find the person who murdered a local family and left the taunting message: “You must play my game if you want to catch me.” They will be assisted along the way by an actual police investigator, Greg Fredo (photo above).

The series will last for 8 weeks. Each week’s hour-long episode will include the group electing two of its number to go to two different locations. One person will come back with another clue to advance the investigation. The other person won’t return at all, having become the next victim. Nine of the 10 can expect the same fate. The lone survivor will collect a reward of $250,000 and a Jeep Liberty

The official show website is fully interactive and allows the audience to play along. It features a map of the town, a listing of clues and evidence collected each week, a message board, and episode guide. There is also a list of all the possible suspects that includes a checklist to keep track of any evidence which either points a finger at them or away from them and brief bios to keep track of who they are.

The cast is made up of both actors and actual townspeople. There will even be an appearance by the manager of a Taco Bell restaurant who won a contest within the chain for the cameo. Taco Bell is the key sponsor of Small Town X, so expect to see a lot of product placement and scenes shot inside.

My first thoughts on this show are really positive. I think that I’ll enjoy it a lot since I’m a huge fan of mystery novels and movies of that genre. The flavor is already different than any other reality show out there with the careful planning and more immediate goals that the others lack. There is also considerable appeal in the fact that the contestants will be working together to solve the murders, rather than plotting against each other. Although the president of Fox Entertainment told TV Guide, “this was the most contentious group we’ve ever had.” Certainly there will also be some plotting to determine who will have to risk facing the murderer each week.

And if all this wasn’t enough of a reason, there’s always Jeff, a 28 year old international model (photo at right), who I’ll have my eye on.

Sabrina Preville is a stay-at-home military wife and mother to two boys, living in North Carolina and waiting for her chance to be on a reality show.

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