Latest news with #RobWorsoff
First Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
The American Dream: Trump's DHS Mulls Citizenship Competition Show Firstpost America
The American Dream: Trump's DHS Mulls Citizenship Competition Show | Firstpost America | N18G The American Dream: Trump's DHS Mulls Citizenship Competition Show | Firstpost America | N18G In a striking blend of politics and entertainment, the Trump administration is considering a reality TV show where immigrants compete in American-themed challenges for a chance at US citizenship. Pitched by Canadian-American producer Rob Worsoff, the show would feature contestants tackling tasks like building rockets at NASA, mining gold in San Francisco, and assembling cars in Detroit. Inspired by Worsoff's naturalisation journey, the series aims to celebrate American values and revive civic pride. DHS confirmed it's reviewing the proposal but denied Secretary Kristi Noem's involvement. While no one would face deportation, critics have dubbed it a "Hunger Games for immigrants." The concept remains under review, but the controversy is just beginning. See More
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Reality show for US citizenship? What we know so far—and what DHS is saying
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reviewing a contentious plan for a reality television program called The American, in which immigrants would compete for US citizenship. The idea, put out by producer Rob Worsoff, who was born in Canada and is well-known for his work on Duck Dynasty, has sparked a nationwide discussion about the morality of making the naturalisation process into a form of entertainment. The show's concept In Worsoff's ideal competition, twelve immigrant competitors would journey throughout the United States aboard a train called "The American." Participants would take part in activities intended to assess their understanding of American history, culture, and values at each location. Some who oppose the practice argue that gamifying the immigration process trivialises the challenges faced by newcomers and transforms a serious legal process into a joke. The show has drawn analogies to dystopian novels like The Hunger Games, raising concerns that it may exploit contestants and their experiences to boost viewership. The series would conclude with the winner being granted U.S. citizenship in a ceremony at the Capitol. Read more: Kaziranga National Park: 70 rare orchid species documented, study finds; more reasons to visit DHS response and clarification DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed that the department receives numerous television show pitches annually and that The American is currently in the early stages of the vetting process. She emphasized that no final decision has been made regarding the show's approval. Contrary to some reports, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has not endorsed the project and was reportedly unaware of the proposal until media coverage surfaced . Public and political reactions The public, political analysts, and immigrant support organisations have all strongly criticised the initiative. According to critics, gamifying the immigration process trivialises the challenges faced by newcomers and transforms a serious legal process into a kind of entertainment. Concerns have been raised that the program might exploit competitors and their stories to boost viewership, evoking analogies to dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games. Backlash on social media networks has increased, with many users expressing displeasure at the idea. Worsoff defends the show as a celebration of American values and an opportunity to highlight the diverse journeys of immigrants. He asserts that the program aims to inspire patriotism and civic engagement among viewers. However, he also acknowledged that similar pitches were previously rejected by the Obama and Biden administrations, suggesting that the current political climate under the Trump administration might be more receptive. Ethical considerations Significant ethical concerns are brought up by the notion of granting citizenship through a competitive reality show. The fairness and integrity of such a process have been questioned by ethicists and legal professionals. There are concerns that the initiative might reduce the seriousness of immigration regulations, and provide a precedent for the selling of citizenship. Since they may be the subject of public scrutiny and judgement based more on entertainment value than quality, participants' dignity and wellbeing might also be in jeopardy. Read more: India's 5 most scenic coastal routes for road trips The controversy highlights the subtleties of the naturalisation process and the complexity of immigration reform as DHS continues to review the plan for The American. The controversy the show has generated underscores the need for careful consideration of the best ways to integrate and honour people aspiring to US citizenship, even though the show's future is still uncertain. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Toronto Star
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
‘A political football': Canadian says his citizenship TV pitch was misrepresented
WASHINGTON - When Rob Worsoff recently dusted off an old idea he had for a reality television show about people on the path to United States citizenship, he had no idea of what he was letting himself in for. The Canadian-born freelance television producer said he brought his pitch to build a show around aspiring immigrants learning about the culture of their new country to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under both the Obama and Biden administrations. He even brought a version of it to the CBC.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Canadian says his TV pitch portrayed as Hunger Games for U.S. migrants was misrepresented
Social Sharing When Rob Worsoff recently dusted off an old idea he had for a reality television show about people on the path to United States citizenship, he had no idea of what he was letting himself in for. The Canadian-born freelance television producer said he brought his pitch to build a show around aspiring immigrants learning about the culture of their new country to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under both the Obama and Biden administrations. He even brought a version of it to the CBC. Worsoff then put his idea forward to the new Trump administration — but this time the 49-year-old got caught up in a global media and political backlash. "The spirit of my pitch was completely misrepresented and it's been used as a political football," the Los Angeles-based producer said. Worsoff said his proposal for a show to be called The American was leaked to the Daily Mail. The British tabloid reported last week that U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was considering approving the project — and described the proposed program as pitting immigrants against each other. Other U.S. news organizations started reporting on it too, calling it the Hunger Games for migrants. Noem told a Senate hearing this week that "there are no plans whatsoever to do a reality show." Immigration has long been political in the United States but it became a flashpoint issue for voters ahead of the election last year. U.S. President Donald Trump promised to bring in sweeping reforms, shut down borders and launch mass deportations. His administration has taken some highly controversial steps to fulfil those election promises. There have been deportations to foreign prisons, including in El Salvador. The administration has cancelled student visas and sent foreign-born students to immigration detention centres after accusing them, without presenting evidence, of supporting Hamas and spreading antisemitism. The Supreme Court heard a case on birthright citizenship after Trump signed an executive order attempting to abolish it in some cases. Worsoff said he never saw his pitch as political, as either "blue or red." It developed from his own experience as a Canadian going through the U.S. immigration system, he said. Worsoff grew up in Montreal a massive fan of TV, movies and comic books. He said he'd hoped to become a sports broadcaster and went to school in Syracuse, N.Y., to follow that dream. On his way to his first official job as a weekend sports anchor for a local news station in Northern California, he hit a fateful fork in the road. He got a call from people who worked on the Howard Stern Show offering him a job as a production assistant in Los Angeles. "I was literally in Utah," Worsoff said. "I was like going, 'Well, if I go right, I'm going to the redwoods and if I stay straight, I'm going to LA." Worsoff kept driving straight. It was the start of the reality television boom and Worsoff worked on some of the most popular shows, pitching others along the way. Breaking Bonaduce led to The Biggest Loser, which led to Millionaire Matchmaker. Eventually, he helped to develop the megahit Duck Dynasty. "Thirty-five of the shows I've done you've never heard of. I worked on so many pilots," he said. Worsoff said that sometime around 2005, when he was on his own journey toward United States citizenship, he began tinkering with the idea of a show that would educate people about the process while showcasing what America has to offer. Essentially, his pitch was to send highly vetted people already on the path to citizenship to travel the country and experience its heritage and culture. There'd be things like a pizza challenge in New York, a pony express challenge in Oregon, a potato challenge in Idaho. At the time, Worsoff was working with Canadian actor Jonathan Torrens on a short-lived reality show called Popularity Contest based in Texas. Torrens is well-known in Canada for co-hosting Street Cents and for his appearances on Degrassi: The Next Generation and as J-Roc on Trailer Park Boys. Torrens said he quickly bonded with Worsoff and they became friends. Not long after, Worsoff shared his idea of a reality show about citizenship and Torrens suggested they consider a Canadian version to bring to the CBC. "The idea was not dissimilar to the one he is trotting out now," Torrens said. "It was seeing the country we sometimes take for granted through the lens of people who would love to have what we sometimes take for granted — which is Canadian citizenship." They talked a lot about the prize, Torrens said. A fast-track to citizenship would fit with the show's goal of celebrating the country without having anyone actually lose anything, Worsoff said — nobody would be deported or lose their place in line for immigration. Torrens and Worsoff had a meeting with CBC in 2006 but ultimately the show wasn't picked up. Has 'the most good-intentioned, heartfelt motivations' Torrens said he hadn't thought much about the pitch until it erupted in the U.S. news media last week. Torrens said Worsoff always had "his heart in the right place." Since the pitch was leaked, Worsoff has faced a tsunami of backlash and hate-filled messages online. He said he has "the most good-intentioned, heartfelt motivations." Worsoff still stands behind the idea and said he is "twice as hell-bent" on getting the show made. He said his idea was always to make the kind of television he likes to watch — shows with good characters and stories filled with "the hopes and dreams, the laughter and the tears and the heart."
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Win a game show, become a US citizen? We've entered the realm of the truly depraved
I guess Republicans really love game shows. Just a few days after Fox aired its 'isn't Trump wild' guessing game, What Did I Miss, it was revealed that the TV producer Rob Worsoff has pitched the United States Department of Homeland Security on a series premise he calls The American, which would give immigrants a chance to compete in a series of challenges for the prize of US citizenship. The actual process of winning citizenship is obviously too boring to film. Filling out an N-400 form? Snore. A written exam? I'd rather watch a dog eat grass. Skip all that and give us an obstacle course instead. People have stupid ideas all the time. My child thought it would be fun to squeeze lemon juice in his hot chocolate. He took one sip, almost barfed on the table, then begged me to order him another, lemon-less beverage. Stupid ideas are great, because most of them are harmless. 'Oh, I ate a large bug off the ground. Whoops.' The only stupid ideas that are a problem are the ones where the actual government considers cosigning them. The DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin was asked by Time magazine what the status of Worsoff's pitch was and responded via email that it 'has not received approval or rejection by staff'. Gotta really think this one through, I guess. Something like this must be thoroughly vetted by serious people. How cruel is this one, exactly? How desirable is the bloodthirsty demo for advertisers these days? Can we sell a presenting sponsorship? And is this for streaming or broadcast? Can we get Chris Hardwick to host? These are all vital questions to consider before making a decision in show business. Such an idea would be eye-rollingly low-class in normal times, but as the Trump administration attempts to ramp up deportations and to do away with the constitutional right of citizenship by birth (and federal courts bravely fight back), this dumb concept travels at warp speed to the dimension of the truly depraved. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services website takes great pains to describe the process of becoming an American as solemn and full of responsibility. Step 10 of the site's '10 Steps to Naturalization' is 'Understanding U.S. Citizenship'. It states: 'Citizenship is the common thread that connects all Americans. Check out this list of some of the most important rights and responsibilities that all citizens – both Americans by birth and by choice – should exercise, honor, and respect.' Yes, but what if you had to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar first? To make his pitch even more appealing to the bigwigs in Washington, Worsoff suggested a few choice ideas for challenges that correspond to the most stereotypical aspects of life in America's 50 states. A pizza-making contest for New York, a rocket-launching challenge for Florida, and a 'gold rush challenge' for California. Nothing says 'vital skills for living in 2025' like panning for gold in a pair of tattered Levi's 501s. Perhaps Levi's will sponsor the segment. Gosh, this thing pays for itself. But why stop there? Maybe a Breaking Bad-themed meth-making challenge for New Mexico. Polygamy challenge for Utah? How efficiently can you operate a turn-of-the-20th-century steel mill in Pennsylvania? Can you safely land a plane at Newark airport? For Washington state, you just have to answer trivia questions about Seattle inaccuracies in the sitcom Frasier. The possibilities for inanity are significant. In order to advance to the next round of this bottomless pit of human misery, contestants would be subjected to a vote, which Worsoff described as 'like a presidential election'. Oh, how fun. Can you contest the results of that vote, too? Worsoff said in an CNN interview that his idea is 'not like the Hunger Games'. Mostly because the costume budget isn't as high. The Democratic opposition in Congress has, naturally, lined up to publicly condemn such a grotesque notion. The New York congressman Jerry Nadler said on X (formerly known as a useful platform for conversation) that 'human lives are not game show props.' A nice sentiment, but I must be the bearer of bad news. Human lives have been game show props since the invention of the form. In 2005, Fox (why is it always Fox?) aired a reality show called Who's Your Daddy, where a woman had to guess which of eight men was her real father. If she guessed correctly, she'd win both an awkward conversation and $100,000. Presumably the cash prize would go directly to her therapy bills. Bravo's Real Housewives franchise, while not a game show (the real winners are the viewers, I suppose) is a reality universe where women frequently abuse alcohol to the detriment of their own lives and the lives of others around them. If human lives are not props in these shows, are they even entertaining to the masses? An idea like The American, then, is the natural extension of the genre, taking someone's desperation, fear, and overwhelming desire and squeezing all the drama possible out of it. Worsoff told CNN that he had pitched this idea to previous Democratic administrations, but weirdly, we never heard about it back then. It's only now that such a concept feels enough in line with the zeitgeist of immigration paranoia that Worsoff felt emboldened to speak freely about it. He said: 'I'm putting a face to immigration. This is a great celebration of America.' Yes, it is a celebration of America. Specifically our worst impulses: the desire to make everything a game and revel in the bread-and-circuses spectacle of life and death, but to cloak it in nobility and charity. Worsoff continued: 'I'm very fortunate and lucky and honored to be an American. And I want everybody to understand the process.' At no point did I think that a pizza-making contest was part of the process. Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist
