Trading Spouses

Trading Spouses
GenreReality television
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes59
Production
Executive producers
  • Jean-Michel Michenaud
  • Chris Cowan
Running time60 minutes
Production companyRocket Science Laboratories
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseJuly 20, 2004 (2004-07-20) –
May 4, 2007 (2007-05-04)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy is an American reality television series broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). The series ran for three seasons from July 20, 2004, to May 5, 2007. Each episode of Trading Spouses followed two families, often of different cultural or social backgrounds, who swapped mothers or fathers for a week. Both families were awarded $50,000, with the stipulation that the guest mother decides how her host family must spend the money.

The show shares a very similar format to Wife Swap (and its American remake). In 2004, ABC showcased their upcoming Wife Swap show including projections of its popularity. Weeks before the show's debut, Fox introduced Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy.[1] The producers of Wife Swap, RDF Media, claimed Fox stole their concept.[2]

The show completed airing its third season on May 3, 2007. On February 27, 2008, Fox announced that it had sold the rights to Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy to CMT, effectively ending the series.[3]

In 2005, Trading Spouses was one of several television programs cited in a class-action lawsuit filed by the Writers Guild of America concerning labor law violations.

  1. ^ "Spouse swap a fit for Fox: Net snipes at Alphabet with Trading Spouses". Variety. Archived from the original on 2011-12-23.
  2. ^ "Wife Swap sues Trading Spouses". post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10.
  3. ^ "Twentieth Television Sells Family Focused Reality Series "Trading Spouses" And "Nanny 911" To CMT". TheFutonCritic.com.