March 11, 2004
Reality Doesn’t Bite
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Even though 20 million people saw Adam Mesh take the walk of shame and ride the lonely bus home on the final episode of the first season of "Average Joe, " post reality show breakup, Mesh seems to be picking up the pieces very well.
Now he's turning the tables: The 28-year-old Jewish Joe will star in his very own show, "Average Joe: Adam Returns."
Apparently, the ladies couldn't get enough of Mesh: Women sent thousands of e-mails and letters wondering how they could get in touch with the mensch-turned-celebrity. Well, now some can -- 20 to be exact.
The women, whose identities remain a secret until the show airs, will vie for Mesh's love at a "dream house" in Palm Springs. The producers, Stuart Krasnow and Andrew Glassman, handpicked the ladies, seeking a grand match for the deserving stud.
"We know him really well," Glassman said, "it's almost like fixing up a friend."
Raised Reform, Mesh attends temple for the High Holidays, but says that Judaism is not a necessary ingredient for his leading lady.
"Religion is not a criteria," he told The Journal.
Although TV is not the most traditional forum for matchmaking, his family is very supportive.
"My mom is in all her glory, and she sends mass e-mails to all her friends telling them to watch," he said.
The details of the show will be a surprise to Mesh -- from the selection of women to the twists and turns for which the show is famous. But now that the world knows about his little fortune -- Mesh is a partner in a trading firm in New York City -- he is pretty sure that the producers will find a clever way to weed out which of the women is on the show for the wrong reasons. "I have always been a romantic.... What I am hoping for, and I don't know if it could happen, is that I meet the one person who kind of stops me, and she is the only person I am thinking about," he said.
The program is already in production, ladies, so it's too late to send in your resume. But you never know -- with all the reality show hookups and breakups, he just might be available after the show....
"Average Joe: Adam Returns" premieres Monday, March 15, 10 p.m. on NBC.
