GRANT

THREE WISHES Photograph by Justin Stephens

Three Wishes

CONCEPT Singer Amy Grant and crew road-trip to small towns all over the country, fulfilling the wishes of three lucky locals.

THE SCOOP This feel-really-really-good series follows in the philanthropic footsteps of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, but with a focus on middle America. ''Survivor has the jungle. The Apprentice captures Manhattan, but no one has come here,'' says exec producer Andrew Glassman (Average Joe). ''No one has owned this. And no one has really captured it yet.'' The producers comb through e-mails and letters to select heartfelt stories, like a little girl who needs cranial surgery. Some shows will feature performances by Grant, who's thrilled by her good Wishes. ''Reality TV, a lot of times you feel like you have to apologize because it's disrespectful. I've had so many [crew members] say, 'It's just so nice to have a job where it's guilt-free.'''

BOTTOM LINE Wishes is shameless about tugging at those heartstrings. But how can anyone snipe about a series based entirely around helping people?