The Osbournes Make a Comeback with TV Variety Show

By Pamela Mortimer

Anyone who doesn’t know Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne (and the kids) must live under a rock. The famous couple, a rock god and sassy manager and TV personality, is headed back to TV land with a new series. The series will be a weekly variety show, backed by American Idol producer FremantleMedia North America. The new vehicle for the Osbourne clan has been in the works for some time but FME has made a new announcement expressing great interest from all four major networks. With many reality TV industry experts predicting a resurgence of variety shows, it is probable that a deal will be struck in the near future. You can be sure, however, that the right deal will have to be presented in order for it to go through. After all, it’s highly unlikely that Sharon, legendary for her savvy marketing and managerial skills, would do the show unless it was in the best interest of the family and their careers.

The rights to do the show were granted to FME due to its ongoing relationship with Sharon Osbourne who appears as a judge on FME’s "America's Got Talent." The Osbournes have also followed in FME’s footsteps by signing with the legendary William Morris Agency last month.

Details of the project will continue to be hush-hush until the show is sold but critics doubt the Osbournes would attempt to revive bad sketch comedies of the 1960s and ‘70s like Sonny and Cher or Laugh-In. Rumors abound that the series will focus on more successful international variety formats such as the German game show "Wanna Bet?" and "Sabado Gigante", the longest running Spanish-language variety television show. Reports state that people may expect to see "elements of comedy, musical performance and competition-style games."

Jack and Kelly Osbourne are expected to join their parents on the show, although no one knows how often or in what capacity.

Kelly Osbourne tried to tap into the show’s success by producing a pop music CD which featured the "moderately successful" cover of Madonna’s "Papa Don’t Preach." Kelly is also an actress who appears on the ABC teen drama "Life as We Know It."

Jack Osbourne, who has spent a great deal of time battling drug addiction, appeared in various U.S. and U.K. reality shows.

TV analysts are counting on the continued fame of the Osbournes as a boost toward the show’s ratings. The family became an international phenomenon with its show The Osbournes, which went off the air in 2002 after a 3 year run. Since then, Sharon has spent the most time in the public eye, hosting a short-lived syndicated talk show as well as spending four years working with Simon Cowell on "The X Factor," a U.K. version of "American Idol."

Earlier this month, Sharon announced that she was leaving "The X Factor" after four years in order to concentrate on other projects, including some in the U.S. Although she announced Currently, Sharon is a judge on "America’s Got Talent" along with David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan, and host Jerry Springer.