Former CBS anchor Katie Couric, who said last year that the United States needs “a Muslim version of ‘The Cosby Show,'” can breathe a sigh of relief. TLC announced Thursday that it’s working on a reality television program about American Muslim families.
“All American Muslim,” which will debut this fall, tells the stories of five Muslim families who live in or near Dearborn, Michigan. The show aims to expose “very distinct lives that often times challenge the Muslim stereotype,” said TLC’s general manager Amy Winter in a press release, adding that the series is also about “inviting viewers into a world they might not otherwise experience.”
According to CNN, the show will follow two close sisters, one of whom wears a traditional Islamic headscarf and the other who has tattoos and piercings and has just tied the knot with an Irish Catholic lad who is converting to Islam.
“Through these families and their diverse experiences, we will explore how they blend their values and traditions with everyday life in America,” Winter said in the Thursday release.
Towards the end of 2010, Couric expressed concern about bigotry towards Muslims and said Americans should be able to watch a Muslim version of “The Cosby Show” to combat stereotypes about Islam. (Katie Couric: ‘Maybe we need a Muslim version of “The Cosby Show”)
“The bigotry expressed against Muslims in this country has been one of the most disturbing stories to surface,” Couric said on her CBSNews.com Web show.