Survivor Cook Islands: A different kind of race

The next edition of Survivor is breaking some new ground in questionable casting.

CBS announced Wednesday that Survivor: Cook Islands (Sept. 14, 8 ET/PT) will start off with a controversial bang: 20 contestants will be divided into teams by race, pitting whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians against each other.

In terms of entertainment, I don't see how this can be a good idea. The worst-case scenario is racial stereotyping and offensive generalizations. The best-case scenario, in which producers and players bend over backwards to be politically correct, may be simply bland.

Ultimately, I suppose the success of the ploy is better measured by the number of people already talking about a show that has seen a drop in popularity over its many seasons. And since they'll likely remix the teams after two or three weeks, it may be much ado about nothing. In the end, at least it'll be less contentious than the original plan of pitting those who install toilet paper to unravel over the top versus those who prefer when it unwinds from the bottom.

Racial teams on 'Survivor' may cross more than the color line [usatoday.com]

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