A show that says "Mazel Tov!"

Dave Gordon

You might have seen the shows where people are voting others out of the tribe. But now comes a television show where members of the tribe are encouraged to stick together. There will be no island from which to get banished and no locusts to eat, but they may have to nibble their fair share of matzah.

Daniel Leipnik, president of Vibrance Alive Entertainment Inc., and Johnny Michel, vice-president of programming for Canada's Channel M, have been developing a reality show called The Mazel Tov Chronicles. It's a 13-part television series featuring families as they go through a range of Jewish rites - from weddings and b'nai mitzvah celebrations to holidays such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat. One planned episode will follow a participant for a week of the Birthright Israel program - the free trip to Israel for Jews under 25.

The show will go behind the scenes and watch as families prepare for, organize and then celebrate each of the events.

"We'll actually watch a family carry out the rituals, such as looking for a wedding dress, selecting a rabbi and synagogue for the wedding, and choosing the caterer and reception hall," said Leipnik, a Vancouver native. "Throughout the process, we will see how a family goes about organizing their Jewish wedding, complete with all the customs."

With record numbers of viewers tuning in to an endless array of reality shows, it's an ideal time to give North American audiences a chance to see as-they-happen Jewish events and to educate the public at the same time.

But Michel actually kicked off the project for another reason, as well. Amid the rise in worldwide hate crimes against Jews and the ongoing horrific images of the Middle East conflict, there seemed to be nothing on television that spoke of the rich and festive traditions of the Jewish people, explained Michel. Not that TV hasn't already had its Jewish moments - on Seinfeld and Friends - or even its "reality TV" moments: think Ethan Zohn, winner of Survivor 3: Africa and NBC's Average Joe star Adam Mesh.

"But the religion and culture is somehow left out," said Michel. So he and Leipnik, who met while working on a series about children of Holocaust survivors, decided to fill this underrepresented niche with a series that would celebrate Jewish life and traditions.

"It's a great way to represent the richness and reality of Jewish life for Jews and non-Jews alike," said Rabbi David Mivasair of Congregation Ahavat Olam. "It's non-scripted, and shows real lives as things happen in their homes."

Mivasair and his family will be in an episode about Sukkot.

"With this show, it's that Judaism isn't idealized. People can learn a lot about how Jews relate to religion," he said.

And so, like many other reality TV shows, the true-to-life conflicts are captured on film, as the voyeuristic audience watches real people lock horns about real issues.

"If they happen to be screaming or yelling at each other, even better," Leipnik said. That shouldn't be too hard to find in a Jewish family.

"I mean let's face it, there's nothing funnier than the daily drama that goes on in Jewish households and between Jews, their families and friends," said Liepnik. "This series will be a wonderful expression of what it is to be Jewish."

The Mazel Tov Chronicles is expected to air in Canada on Channel M in the coming months. Producers are also in talks with distributors in the United States.

"It's a show about real people and a rich culture that most people have heard about, but don't really understand," said Liepnik. "We want this to be a celebration of Jewish life."

Dave Gordon is a freelance writer in Toronto.