CMT announced its winter programming lineup Wednesday, which included the premiere date for the “Wife Swap” revival that the network has dubbed, “the greatest and most successful televised social experiment of our time.”
Per the cable channel, each episode of the CMT revival of the docuseries (which originally ran from 2004-2010 on ABC) will feature two families from different walks of life who switch spouses and slowly learn to embrace their differences to come together and find common ground.
Along with “Wife Swap,” the CMT’s Thursday night winter primetime block will include “Racing Wives,” an hour-long unscripted series that follows the opulent world of the wives of top race car drivers including Kurt and Kyle Busch, which will premiere Thursday, Jan. 3 at 9/8c, and season two of the docuseries “Music City,” from creator of the “The Hills,” which will air at 10/9c.
“Wife Swap” will make its triumphant return to television for a 10-episode season on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 9/8c.
Here’s the revival’s official description: The one-hour, 10-episode series spotlights families from different geographical and social backgrounds that swap spouses; showcasing hot-button issues like politics, classism, gender and race with the end goal of everyone finding common ground. During each switch, the new spouses must at first adhere to exactly the same rules and lifestyle of the spouses being replaced, only to later establish their own rules. At the end, the two couples meet for the first time, where they discuss what they learned from the swap and what changes and new rules will remain once they return home.
“Wife Swap” is produced by Banijay Studios North America with David Goldberg, Caroline Baumgard, Ted Iredell, Perry Dance, and John Platt as executive producers.
“We’ve created a stellar line-up of new and returning originals that are dynamic, sexy and fueled by the perfect mix of drama and comedy,” said Keith Cox, president of development and original programming for Paramount Network, CMT and TV Land. “‘Racing Wives’ offers a first-ever look inside the affluent and exclusive private lives of race car drivers. ‘Music City’ is fiery and boiling over with raw emotion, and Wife Swap is a huge international hit that’s relevant now more than ever.”