Backstreet Boys may have even more competition. ABC is in the midst of a boy-band search for the next teen pop sensations
Fancy yourself the sixth member of the Backstreet Boys? You may be in luck. ABC is currently holding a nationwide casting call for a new reality-based boy-band show. The network has partnered with MTV Productions and Trans Continental Records -- the Orlando, Fla.-based cheese-pop assembly line responsible for BSB and 'N Sync -- to bring an as-yet-untitled ''Real World'' meets ''The Monkees'' hybrid to the boob tube.
Mike Greco, head of broadcast research for New York ad agency BBD&O, thinks the idea's as ripe as a 14-year-old's hormones. ''It's not just another 'Cops.' This hasn't really been done before on network television,'' he says of the still-unscheduled program. The five winners will be shipped off to Trans Con's headquarters, where their every dance move and ego clash will be caught on camera as they prepare for their first gig. ''I'm sure the producers would like to have a Puck,'' says a Trans Con spokesperson. ''But eventually everybody's a Puck if you leave the cameras on long enough.''
