The Runner , ABC's latest entry in the reality-show sweepstakes, is stalled at the starting blocks. Now there's real concern about the network being able to pull the thing off altogether. The series, created by actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck 's television production company, LivePlanet, uses hidden cameras to trail a contestant's travels across America.
Viewers try to catch the so-called runner from clues provided in each episode.
If the contestant finishes the cross-country jaunt undetected, the prize money is his or hers. The stakes are high for The Runner and ABC has touted the show vigorously. He also says the recent settlement that averted a writer's strike made it less urgent to get a nonfiction show such as The Runner on the fall schedule. Meanwhile, the network's sales department has been pitching the show hard to Madison Avenue. In April, more than 120 advertising executives were treated to a splashy presentation by ABC's sales department on the Good Morning America set to entice them to not only pay millions to buy commercials during The Runner but to have their products used within the show as elements integral to the plot.