After going to court to try unsuccessfully to stop the airing of the new ABC reality show -- which resembles CBS's "Big Brother" -- CBS on Wednesday released a blisteringly sarcastic press release in which it announced plans to rip off ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."
CBS says in the release that its supposed new show, "Dancing on the Stars," is an "exciting and completely original reality program that owes its concept and execution to nothing at all."
The release comes after a judge declined to block "Glass House" from premiering Monday. It is a surprisingly blunt and bitter move, given that which networks often strive to avoid even acknowledging their competitors. But CBS may have felt forced to resort to mockery after its setback in court.
In a statement -- a real one -- a CBS spokesman told TheWrap: "We think the press release speaks originally for itself."
ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"Glass House," like "Big Brother," features several people living together in a closely monitored house, and its production team includes many former "Big Brother" staffers. CBS is accusing ABC of copyright infringement and stealing trade secrets.
CBS's mocking release ends with a prediction that ABC won't complain about its new show -- "Dancing on the Stars" -- since "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
Subtle.
Here's the full release:
CBS ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF “DANCING ON THE STARS,”
AN EXCITING AND COMPLETELY ORIGINAL REALITY PROGRAM THAT OWES ITS CONCEPT AND EXECUTION TO NOBODY AT ALL
Los Angeles, June 21, 2012 – Subsequent to recent developments in the creative and legal community, CBS Television today felt it was appropriate to reveal the upcoming launch of an exciting, ground-breaking and completely original new reality program for the CBS Television Network.
The dazzling new show, DANCING ON THE STARS, will be broadcast live from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and will feature moderately famous and sort of well-known people you almost recognize competing for big prizes by dancing on the graves of some of Hollywood’s most iconic and well-beloved stars of stage and screen.
The cemetery, the first in Hollywood, was founded in 1899 and now houses the remains of Andrew “Fatty” Arbuckle, producer Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paul Muni, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, George Harrison of the Beatles and Dee Dee Ramone of the Ramones, among many other great stars of stage, screen and the music business. The company noted that permission to broadcast from the location is pending, and that if efforts in that regard are unsuccessful, approaches will be made to Westwood Village Memorial Park, where equally scintillating luminaries are interred.
“This very creative enterprise will bring a new sense of energy and fun that’s totally unlike anything anywhere else, honest,” said a CBS spokesperson, who also revealed that the Company has been working with a secret team for several months on the creation of the series, which was completely developed by the people at CBS independent of any other programming on the air.
“Given the current creative and legal environment in the reality programming business, we’re sure nobody will have any problem with this title or our upcoming half-hour comedy for primetime, POSTMODERN FAMILY.”
“After all,” the spokesperson added, “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
