Beauty and the Geek is an American reality competition television series produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora in which a group of "Beauties" (young women who are intellectually inept) and a group of "Geeks" (young men who are socially inept) are paired up to compete as couples for a shared $250,000 and other prizes.
The series originally aired in the USA on The CW (formerly The WB) from 1 June, 2005 to 13 May, 2008. There are 48 episodes in five seasons. The 5th season was the last.
The first season was hosted by Brian McFayden. He was replaced for Season 2 by Mike Richards, who went on to host all the remaining seasons.
Beauty and the Geek premiered in South Africa on DStv's M-Net Series channel on Friday 24 March 2006, at 21h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 4 premiered on M-Net Series on Friday 22 August 2008, at 20h00. There are 13 episodes (including a Recap episode) in the fourth season.
Season 4 Repeats
Saturdays: 02h00, 08h00, 14h00
Season 1 Synopsis
Billed as "reality television's latest social experiment," Beauty And The Geek features seven "academically impaired" attractive women and seven "brilliant but socially challenged" men.
Paired together in male/female teams of two, the couples compete in a series of activities designed to test their intellects, fashion savvy, etc., with the winning couple winning a $250,000 grand prize.
Along the way, each group is tested on their weaknesses, with the men competing in a massage event and the women competing in tasks including a spelling bee and a rocket launching challenge.
Season 2 Synopsis
From the producing team of Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg (Punk’d), Beauty And The Geek's second season features 16 new contestants.
The second installment pairs eight beautiful, sexy and socially savvy women with eight intellectually endowed, but socially stunted men for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize.
Each pair competes in various activities designed to test their intellect, pop knowledge and social skills. Challenges include political debates for the girls, a speed dating night for the guys, plus a road trip to Las Vegas where a game of strip poker finds the beauties playing the hand and the geeks shedding their clothing.
During the competitions the geeks try to turn the beauties into brains and the beauties try to turn the geeks into hotties.
At the end of each episode, two couples face the elimination room, where they're quizzed on the knowledge or lack thereof that they've obtained from their partner.
Living at opposite ends of the social spectrum, the geeks try to pass their brains on to the beauties, while the beauties provide social skills to the geeks.
One couple will make it to the end and walk away with the bucks.
Season 3 Synopsis
Beauty and the Geek 3 pairs eight gorgeous but academically impaired women with eight brilliant but socially challenged men to test intellect and social skills - for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize.
Among the challenges, the guys will be required to deliver a stand-up routine in a comedy club and test their artistic abilities when they sketch a drawing of a nude model.
The women will brush up on current events for a television newscast and research history books when they act as museum tour guides. The past two seasons saw an unlikely connection between a beauty and a geek and the third time could be the charm for another lucky couple.
During each competition, the geek tries to pass brains on to the beauty, while the beauty helps the geek overcome social awkwardness.
At the end of the eight-week series, each contestant comes out a changed person, and one couple will walk away with a quarter of a million dollars.
Season 4 Synopsis
Beauty and the Geek returns with a fourth season where the new contestants are thrown a curveball right from the outset.
The contestants expected business as usual - gorgeous but academically impaired women pairing with brilliant but socially challenged men to test intellect and social skills for a chance to win the $250,000 grand prize.
But in their first days, they learn that they'll have to compete against one pair that's the opposite - a hot guy and a geeky girl - which immediately throws the rest of the house into turmoil.
How will the geeks take to a jock in their midst? Will the beauties try to give a makeover to the geeky girl?
Among the new challenges, the geeks will perform an autobiographical rap in a nightclub and participate in the ultimate social test: the competition for Prom King.
The beauties will delve into today's hot topics for the first-ever American Beauty Debate and go back to basics when they find themselves serving as a substitute teacher for a third-grade class.
Each of the previous seasons resulted in an unlikely romantic connection between a beauty and a geek. But what happens when one hot guy and one geeky girl get in on the action?
During each competition, the geek tries to pass brains on to the beauty, while the beauty helps the geek overcome social awkwardness.
At the end of the 13-week season, each contestant comes out a changed person, and one couple will walk away with a quarter of a million dollars.
Seasons
Season 1
Premiere: 24 March 2006 | Finale: 5 May 2006 | Episodes: 7 | Fridays, 21h00
Season 2
Premiere: 7 July 2006 | Finale: 1 September 2006 | Episodes: 9 | Fridays, 21h00
Season 3
Premiere: 6 July 2007 | Finale: 31 August 2007 | Episodes: 9 | Fridays, 20h00
Season 4
Premiere: 22 August 2008 | Finale: 14 November 2008 | Episodes: 13 | Fridays, 20h00