Appealing Look at Finding Boys for the ‘Band’

ABC has a melodic new hour in “Making the Band,” which observes the real-life music biz launch of a few gifted young men with loot and limos in their futures. The premiere is tender and seductive.

Calling it a “reality” series doesn’t quite suit it. Not wishing to stigmatize it as dry and musty, ABC wouldn’t dare brand “Making the Band” a documentary. But it is just that. And a documentary series that’s no more of a voyeuristic snoop than the celebrated Frederick Wiseman is when centering a camera on his subjects and letting his lens do the storytelling.

Evolving on camera here is a tailored-for-TV band titled O-Town, its members five young guys who are shown auditioning with many other hopefuls at talent searches in Los Angeles and seven other cities.

The field is narrowed to 25, then eight as the first episode ends, with the names of the final five not scheduled for release until the ninth week. Meanwhile, there will be lots of living together and competing to witness.

Behind this appealing venture is MTV Productions, whose series “The Real World” has since 1992 aimed an intimate camera at attractive young strangers coexisting tenuously in various environments. Also driving the creation of O-Town is Lou Pearlman, who earlier was point man behind boy-band sensations Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync.

Will O-Band rise that high? No telling. The talent level appears to be there, as does the sex appeal. On the surface, these artists, ranging in age from 18 to 25, are the kind of spit-and-polish young performers that America would love its daughter to marry. And the strong camaraderie they display is bound to evoke sports team metaphors.

How much do the cameras alter reality? Some, inevitably. And at one point later in the series, moreover, the eight finalists are required to pretend which of them will make up the surviving quintet of performers even though that decision has already been made.

Yet the suspense and spontaneity here otherwise appear genuine, as do the tears and other emotions that accompany the whittling down. The process--including voice and dance coaching for the finalists in what’s been called a boy-band boot camp--draws you in, as you find yourself pulling for all of these guys when they are evaluated. And feeling for the losers as the 25 are reduced to eight, who are shipped off to Orlando, Fla., for the final test.

“If it was only singing, I’d be kicking ass,” says one of the leading contenders. “But it’s not. It’s dancing too, and dancing is not something I do.” That will be for Pearlman and his colleagues to decide.

* “Making the Band” can be seen tonight at 9 on ABC.