MTV and Seventeen have announced a 10-episode series tentatively titled, “Project Seventeen,” chronicling the magazine’s search for “America’s Sweetheart.” Well-rounded young women from across the country will compete to prove they are role model material.
The series is set to premiere in the fall.
“Bringing the pages of Seventeen to life with one of today’s most respected and popular television networks for young people is a very exciting project,” Hearst Magazines President Cathleen P. Black said in a statement Monday.
The winner will receive a college scholarship, a paid internship at Seventeen and her picture on the cover of the magazine. Although no dates have been announced, casting calls will take place this spring in cities across the country.
“Our readers have grown up watching reality TV and expect their favorite brands like Seventeen to have a multimedia presence that makes them an even bigger part of their daily lives,” said Editor-in-Chief Atoosa Rubenstein, who will be executive producer and creator on the series for Seventeen.
Pitting young women against each other isn’t new in reality TV. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is searching for female talent on MTV’s “Making the Band 3,” Tyra Banks is looking for the fourth “America’s Next Top Model” on UPN and Faye Dunaway and company seek The WB’s “The Starlet.”