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CBS Develops a Reality Show for Celebrity Namesakes

Do you share a name with this woman?

If you share a name with someone famous — like, say, 35-year-old pinball geek Justin Bieber of Jacksonville, Fla., or one of the five Betty Whites in Boston, MA — you might soon be getting a call from somebody at CBS. The network has teamed with 51 Minds (the company behind such critically beloved VH1 fare as I Love New York and Rock of Love) for a new reality project dubbed The Same Name. The basic premise of the show revolves around finding regular folks whose names happen to be the same as celebs, and then having the two temporarily trade lives. The new show, which has been given a pilot order by CBS, contains elements of reality concepts which have already worked on the network: The theme of confusing celeb identity is key to the Eye’s I Get That a Lot specials, while having stars survive in the real world contains echoes of Undercover Boss. If CBS decides to make The Same Name a series, look for it either this summer or next season.

CBS Develops a Reality Show for Celebrity Namesakes