Mark Burnett's Producers Are No Geniuses

Producers on Mark Burnett's new show Our Little Genius may not be smarter than 5th graders.

The reality legend behind shows like Survivor and The Apprentice announced he is temporarily pulling the plug on the contest show just days before it was supposed to debut on Fox because of “an issue with how some of the information was relayed to contestants during the preproduction,” he said in a statement.

Slated for a huge lead-in by the network's gem American Idol, Genius is a trivia show in which children answer questions for a chance to win money for their families, who must decide at which point to walk away or risk losing the bank.

Following Burnett's request to can the episodes in favor of re-shoots, Fox broadcasting issued it's own statement, praising his “due diligence” and saying that even though they were “incredibly pleased with the quality of Our Little Genius, we respect…his decision to pull these episodes.”

Reality-show critics often scoff at the genre, saying that excessive editing and production-staff interference don't accurately portray real life, and it seems that this time producers went too far, telling the kids which topics they would be quizzed on and, in some cases, even telling them the questions,” TV Squad's Danny Gallagher reports.

Burnett is no stranger to controversy. Richard Hatch, winner of the first season of Survivor, served time in prison for tax evasion and had heated words for the man who signed his $1 million check at the time, claiming that he should have been more supportive while the case was going on.

And allegations of contestant tampering have long plagued nearly every unscripted drama that hits the airwaves. Speaking to Portfolio.com in August, ahead of the premiere of ABC's Shark Tank, he acknowledged that while producers' jobs are to find and develop interesting episodes that viewers will enjoy, “the drama is real. The circumstances are harsh, stressful, and by no means ordinary, but the human drama that those unnatural situations create is real.”

Viewers who are still craving a dose of Burnett's potent mix of hope, dreams, and cold, hard cash can wade into the tank tonight for a new swim with the sharks who promise to heat things up when a husband-and-wife team can't clarify the actual value of their childcare business.

While the show hasn't exactly been a ratings blockbuster—viewers averaged just under 5 million, with the last episode aired drawing in 5.92 million viewers and tied for the highest ratings it's seen, 1.8, or a 5 share, according to Nielsen ratings—a core group of die-hards keep tuning in to watch entrepreneurs pitch five industry experts in the hopes of getting much-needed cash infusions. As of the end of October, when the last new episode aired, the sharks had invested $3.9 million in a variety of ventures from Pork Barrel BBQ Sauce, to the URO club, a “wee-wee reservoir when playing putt-putt.”

Will America take the bait a second time around? Just don't ask a little genius—or a producer.