Beauty and the Geek: CW Reality Show Likely Ending but May Return

After a severe drop in ratings, it looks like the Ashton Kutcher-produced reality series, Beauty and the Geek, has come to the end of the road — at least for now.

Beauty and the Geek debuted on June 1, 2005 on the WB network. The reality show typically teams intelligent but socially-awkward guys with attractive yet dimwitted girls. The pairs compete in a variety of challenges and one team is eliminated each week. The seasons end with the winning pair receiving $250,000. The series began on the old WB network and then made the move to the CW when WB folded.

The first three seasons of Beauty and the Geek averaged over four million viewers, running either during the summer or as a midseason replacement on the WB. The fourth season, the only one to debut in the highly-competitive fall season, dropped to 3.3 million. The show’s fifth round debuted on March 11th and, like most everything on the CW this season, took a hit in the ratings. It’s been averaging only 1.8 million viewers.

While there’s been no official word from the CW, sources have told Variety that Beauty and the Geek won’t be returning next season. Executive producer J.D. Roth said, “You can never be sad about a run like this.” The series may be revived at some point in the future — ideally when enough time has passed for the concept to feel fresh.

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If producers can come up with a way to rejuvenate the series in some way, the reality show could be back sooner than later. One possibility that’s been considered is to change the show’s concept to focus on age differences rather than beauty and “geekiness.”

For now, it looks like the series’ final episode will air on May 13, 2008. Stay tuned!