We aren't Beverly Hills, but Richmond has enough drama and pretty faces to have its own reality television show, or maybe a few.
All the necessary ingredients are here: residential buildings filled with various attractive people who regularly clash; geography suitable for Survivor -style athletic contests; and good restaurants, you know, for scenes when housewives and attractive people talk about stuff in restaurants. Here are some pitches:
French Prison
Follows convicted real estate-tax schemer Justin French as he serves his 16-year prison sentence, in which he shows off his art collection (some etchings in the cement walls), his expansive wardrobe (lots of orange) and the parties (there are no parties, except in his mind).
Fixing Up Old Homes in Richmond and Maybe Putting a Porch on the Front If It Doesn't Already Have One
We follow popular local house flippers who transform old homes in Richmond, all the while mulling over adding a porch.
Shaka Smart's Are You Smarter Than Shaka Smart?
Hosted by VCU basketball head coach Shaka Smart, the game show pits Richmonders against Smart in a variety of challenges that showcase just how smart Shaka is. After each episode, viewers come to realize, yet again, that he's pretty darn smart.
Study Hall
This highbrow series follows dark-suited, white-haired government guys as they work on economic-development studies. Airs on PBS.
Don't Stop for Donuts!
A crew outside Krispy Kreme offers drivers $500,000 if they have the willpower to pass the store when the "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign is lit. Winners are rare.
Yakkin' RVA
A fast-paced, sporty series that follows local kayakers down the James. Sometimes they do super-cool flips in the water, and when they do, we get to see the flip at least six times, including in slow motion.
Robinson Street Blues
Each half-hour episode examines six friends who stand on a Robinson Street corner discussing at length which bar to go to.
Dry Cleaner Wars
Shedding light on the brutally competitive world of professional dry cleaning, this series focuses on the cutthroat Cary Street rivalry between Bill's Cleaners, Carytown Cleaners and West End Cleaners.
Richmond's Next Top Monument
Two-dozen bronze statues, each hoping to make it big someday, compete to become the next one on the Avenue.
