The early 2000s was a breeding ground for bad reality competition series from shows like Kid Nation,

CBS is weird, Lord of the Fly style social experiment that took 40 kids to live by themselves in a ghost town.

God, I remember that.

To the Swan, a horrifying concept

where women spent months undergoing a physical transformation

and then were made to compete in a beauty pageant.

On each episode of Wonder's Podcast, The Big Flop,

comedians join host, Meisha Brown to chronicle

one of the biggest pop culture fails of all time

and try to answer the age-old question, who's not this was a good idea?

Recently the big flop looked at a show that changed the face of reality TV forever.

Based on the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling, the premise of the Swan was a competition between women who were hoping to transform their physical appearance.

The problem, this dream opportunity quickly became a viewing nightmare. The women were just given a new wardrobe and

makeup, they were isolated for weeks, berated, operated on, and then were ranked by

a panel of judges. Unsurprisingly, it all led to trauma for the contestants and terrible reviews.

You're about to hear a preview of The Big Flop. While you're listening, follow the Big Flop

on the Wundry app or wherever you get your podcast. Under the bright lights of a full auditorium, broadcast on national television,

three glamorous pageant contestants, Cindy, Beth, and Rachel. Three glamorous The three contestants have worked really hard to get here.

Except instead of years of training and modeling,

these women have taken a different path.

They've spent the last three months isolated from their loved ones,

received up to 20 cosmetic procedures, and exposed their innermost trauma to millions of TV viewers. This pageant is unlike anything ever tried

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