BRIEFS

BY MAVIS SCANLON

It's pilot season, and if the current crop of shows in the pipeline is any indication, the reality craze will continue across cable next year. Spike TV is trolling for ?total guy's guys? under 30 who are ?fun, outgoing, articulate and willing to talk about their love lives? for a new show called This Is Your Sex Life. Candidates must be straight, favor hanging out with their buddies and prefer cheap beer (so Bravo's Fab Five need not apply). Billed as a modern-day version of the game-show classic This Is Your Life, the series aims to surprise one lucky gent a week with ?the surprise of his life? when he's lured into a New York TV studio under false pretenses and presented with his sexual conquests past and present.

Speaking of the Fab Five, Bravo is now casting for a new lineup of five dashingly talented gay gods to star in a Queer Eye for the Straight Guy spin-off series that promises a novel twist (could Queer Eye for the Straight Gal be far off?). The network is still seeking fun, zany (and heterosexual) couples for its pilot, I Love You But?, taping this month in New York. The show, already a hit in the U.K., is set to run Tuesday nights next year after Queer Eye. Each pair of partners must agree to live with a camera crew for two weeks and compete against each other to expose those annoying-but-lovable traits. A three-person jury (an advocate each for him and her, plus a relationship expert as mediator) will declare the winner.

A new TLC reality show in the Faking It vein promises to train wannabes in specialized skills. Someone whose fridge is stuffed with takeout/delivery leftovers could train in the traditional Japanese art of hibachi cooking, a klutz could learn to become a stunt person; other professions on the roster include sumo wrestler and private investigator. TLC is also developing a daytime reality show that aims to reunite singles 20 to 45 with a past love or crush, and is looking for novice clothing designers to showcase their wares at a December taping for a documentary on the fashion industry.

Love La Bamba? AMC's new reality series, Into Character, is searching for an inexperienced Ritchie Valens wannabe to put on a heartbreaking performance and wow his loved ones, just like in the movie. The network will transform the amateur (knowing a few chords is expected) in just one week with the help of a professional guitar teacher, a classically trained singing and voice coach with experience in teaching Latin American music and a real mariachi band and '50s-style rock band for backup.