Michael Vick's Reality Show: Criminally Late?

Yesterday, BET announced an eight-part docu-series starring Michael Vick, the disgraced NFL quarterback who served 18 months in prison on federal dogfighting charges. The press statement was immediately met by outcries of disgust and revulsion that a television network would "reward" Vick with a contract. Still, if we've learned anything from cable's treatment of famous criminals (MTV's Road to Redemption: 45 Days To Go), it's that they will get reality shows. The only thing strange about BET's Untitled Michael Vick Project is its late timing.

The most captivating reality shows tend to capture their subjects at their lowest moments of despair (Biggest Loser, Celebrity Rehab) and nurse them back to health with camera crews, salaried TV therapists and plentiful mics available to record every sob. News outlets feed on the fallen, just as they did when Vick was initially charged and spun hundreds of stories out of the ongoing investigation (Will Vick Return to Football? What Will Happen to Vick's Dogs? Investigative Reports On Dogfighting). And lest we forget, the National Geographic Channel already produced a reality series about the Vick saga entitled Dogtown: Saving the Michael Vick Dogs.

If BET really wanted a juicy series, they would have moved faster on their subject, capturing him just as he was transferred from prison to home confinement in May 2009 after he signed a plea agreement. In those five months that cameras missed, Michael Vick has already made the necessary, if seemingly improbable, strides towards mending his public image. The Humane Society not only forgave him but coaxed Vick into speaking out against dogfighting, and though the Atlanta Falcons did not want to reclaim their convicted quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles signed him and Vick played in his first post-conviction NFL game two weeks ago. Sure, Vick's endorsement deals expired (while others were suspended), he claimed bankruptcy, and he has yet to woo PETA, but if you've been convicted of running an unlawful dog ring that killed underperforming canines while leaving the rest physically and emotionally beaten, those obstacles seem like a cakewalk.

Last week, Vick explained the intent of his reality show: "What I want to do is change the perception of me. I am a human being. I've made some mistakes in the past, and I wish it had never happened. But it's not about how you fall, but about how you pick yourself up." Producers maintain that the show won't just be about him celebrating his newly jail-free life, but explore Vick's childhood, the dogfighting arrest and the "strains on his relationships with his fiancee and his children."

So why did BET pick up the show now? The network's new entertainment chief, Loretha Jones, explained that the Vick docu-series is "part of the network's new branding strategy, which is family values, cultural uplift and community pride [...] It is important for us to capture this important moment to see what someone does when they have the opportunity to rebuild themselves."

If Vick continues rebuilding himself at this rate, he could be guest-judging the Top Chef finale before the series airs.

· Michael Vick to star in docu-series [LA Times]