Updated on Sunday, July 11, 2010, 00:00 IST
Indian-American woman to audition for Winfrey's reality series
Boston: An Indian-American woman has been selected as one of the finalists to audition for Oprah
Winfrey's new reality series, the winner of which will get a chance to host his or her own talk show on
the TV queen's network 'OWN' which will debut in January 2011.
Jasbina Ahluwalia of Oakbrook, Illinois garnered 2.7 million votes and is one of the eight finalists
selected online. These eight would join another 35 hopefuls, selectedthrough personal interviews, for
final audition of the reality series 'Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star'.
Ahluwalia, 39 is a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur and a radio show host. She wants her show to empower
people to be the "best version of their authentic selves" by focusing onrelationships and health and
wellness.
Through her show, Ahluwalia wants to help people seek a balance between fulfilling "their
responsibilities as caretakers and leading healthy lives".
"The vision of my show is authenticity. As a second generation Indian-American, I want to draw on
thoughts and concepts of other cultures and bring a multi-culturalperspective to our show," she said in
her 2-minute online video.
Out of the 43 finalists, who will audition in Los Angeles, 10 will be selected to participate in the reality
series 'Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star'.
Premiering on OWN in January 2011, the reality series will see contestants competing in a "host boot
camp" Challenges will range from booking interviews and researchingstory ideas, to successfully
completing an actual screen test.
The winner will receive a 6-episode commitment for his or her own show, which will be aired on OWN
later next year.
Casting directors interviewed over 6,100 contestants last month in New Jersey, Texas, California and
Georgia. Of these 6100, 35 finalists were selected. Over 9,500 videos weresubmitted for the online
auditions that garnered a total of 143 million votes.
"The response was amazing with over 15,000 people having auditioned. Oprah Winfrey is such an
inspiration and motivates people to seek their dreams. This response shows the enormity of those who
wish to communicate their ideas on television," the show's Executive Producer Mark Burnett said.
Winfrey had announced last year that her 25-year old daytime talk show 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' will
conclude in September 2011. Her new channel 'OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network' will debut in
January 2011.
The channel will air a slew of new programmes, including a global series that will take her to India and
China. A total of 15 new series have been announced for OWN.
OWN is a joint venture between Winfrey's production company Harpo Inc and Discovery
Communications. It will debut in approximately 80 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery
Health Channel.
PTI
