American Candidate

*American Candidate*
American Candidate
Genre	Reality show
Created by	R. J. Cutler
Presented by	Montel Williams
Composer
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producer	Jay Roach
Running time	60 min
Release
Original network	Showtime
Picture format	NTSC
Original release	August 1 –; October 10, 2004

American Candidate is a political reality television show. The program aired for one season on Showtime in 2004, and was hosted by Montel Williams. It was created by documentary filmmaker R. J. Cutler, and produced by film director Jay Roach.

Concept[]

Paralleling the 2004 United States presidential election, the show featured contestants running as "candidates" in a mock campaign. Initially, the public could announce their "candidacy" on the show's website and garner support. Eventually, eleven contestants were chosen to appear on the show itself.

Each week, the contestants would compete in a politically themed challenge, coached by various political experts. The two contestants who fared the poorest each week would debate, and one would be eliminated (voted by the remaining contestants). For the final two episodes, the viewers voted, and eventually chose the final winner.

Challenges[]

Throughout the series, the contestants traveled in a bus all over the United States, participating in various challenges, each modeled on real activities candidates for public office might expect to undergo:

Week 1: Hometown support
Week 2: Deliver a speech on the War on Terror to residents of New Hampshire
Week 3: Press conference on jobs and the economy in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Week 4: Charlottesville, Virginia
Week 5: Focus groups in New York City
Week 6: Political ads in Washington D.C.
Week 7: Philadelphia
Week 8-9: Los Angeles
Week 10: Finale

Contestants[]

In reverse elimination order:

(Conservative Christian, winner)
Lisa Witter
Keith Boykin (gay rights activist)
Bruce Friedrich (animal rights activist)
Joyce Riley (Gulf War veterans spokesperson)
Richard Mack (gun store owner)
James M. Strock (Entrepreneur, Speaker, Former Public Official)
(entrepreneur, venture capitalist)
Chrissy Gephardt (daughter of Dick Gephardt)

External links[]

American Candidate at IMDb
"Showtime Press Release American Candidate". p2004.org.