'Supernanny' for the Unemployed

With the country reeling from record unemployment rates and many families teetering on the precipice of foreclosure, primetime television can often look like a therapy session.

WE TV’s Downsized, CBS’ hit Undercover Boss, NBC’s upcoming School Pride and the current iteration of The Apprentice featuring a kinder, gentler Donald Trump all reflect the current recessionary ethos. Even staples like ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which was originally conceived as a helping-hand for worthy families, has veered further toward extreme hard-luck cases.  

Lifetime is the latest net to get into the Recession Television trend. The Fairy Jobmother, which is set to bow Oct. 28 at 11 p.m. after the season finale of Project Runway, has “international career specialist” Hayley Taylor helping out-of-work families get back into the job market. The show, which will air Thursdays at 9 p.m., is a U.S. version of Taylor’s hit British show of the same name. Lifetime has ordered eight one-hour episodes of The Fairy Jobmother.  

Taylor is a major celebrity in her native Britain. A hairdresser and stay-at-home-mom, Taylor discovered her calling when she went to work at a job training center mentoring the out-of-work. Buxom and not one to mince words, Taylor rose to fame when she was featured in a Channel 4 documentary. Her own show quickly followed. She’s like Jo Frost of Supernanny fame, or a slightly nicer version of Trump - with much better hair.