Average Joe 2: The Scoop!
Look out, reality TV addicts. NBC's Average Joe 2: Hawaii debuts Jan. 5 at 10 pm/ET. Can producers Stuart Krasnow and Andrew Glassman top our surprise at Melana picking Jason the pretty boy over Adam the underdog? They hope so. Here, we pump 'em for dish on how Joe's second edition will be dramatically different.
Like Melana, Larissa Meek has done the beauty pageant thing — but that's where the bachelorettes' similarities end. "She's not an actress-model wannabe, let's put it that way," Krasnow says with a smirk. "She's an artist. She is intelligent and sophisticated."
Also, expect Larissa to react more strongly (and honestly) at the first sight of her schlocky suitors. "Pure anger is a good description," Krasnow says. Adds Glassman: "You know how people are on Punk'd? That moment right before they find out they were punk'd — that's what we were dealing with."
Unlike those prank shows, Joe doesn't let a lady off the hook after learning she's been scammed. She's really supposed to date these schlubs! And the producers promise we'll see Larissa giving them hell about it. "Obviously, she turns around and has fun with the concept," Krasnow says, "but that first episode is not a night of production Andrew and I would ever like to repeat."
This time, look for eight hotties — not just three — to compete with the 16 Joes. "Viewers know from the first that a torpedo is about to hit," Krasnow says. "They are brought in a lot earlier on." In casting these studly spoilers, he explains, "we wanted [them] very confident, cocky. Big egos were very important to us. It's a jock versus geek atmosphere."
As for the Joes themselves, there'll be some faces only a mother could love in Larissa's Hawaiian paradise. "A lot of people looked at the promo and thought, man, these guys look a lot worse than the first batch," Glassman says. "And maybe a lot of them do. But give these guys a chance, 'cause you are going to be rooting for them, too."
