And this is Billy's cousin.

That would be me.

Never married, no kids and I wear bespoke suits.

Billy is my cousin. Jimmy is my mother's youngest brother and is my uncle.

At the last family reunion, after I flew into Billings Montana and spent the weekend in Worland, Wyoming, they thought I was the weird one.

No one could understand why I enjoyed New York ("Have you ever eaten a bagel?"), they thought I dressed funny and my haircut was weird (in hindsight, I'm sure it was a euphemism for "gay!!")

The differences between us seem more obvious than the common ground.


But what we have in common is an appreciation of Johnny Cash, barbeque and dogs.
I think Billy's fearless and Billy thinks I'm funny and smart.

Oh and we both think our other cousins are crazy.


Its easy to focus on what makes us different.

But America shouldn't be about differences--its about what we have in common and coming together.

This is a feel good show on what America is all about--the family.

And by the way: I'm using myself as an example, not an audition.

VARIATIONS:

Depending on the channel the show could be all one demographic: all teen cousins for MTV (private school vs home school), LIFETIME would suggest career vs family or city vs country.( NY Fashion Editor "She thinks I live this amazing social life in NYC, glamorous job. She thinks she's the Country Bumpkin: I think she has the better life- she lives on a 100 acres and raises horses")

The show could also be one interconnected series--A CRAZY QUILT OF COUSINS connecting every state. (Cousin A and B in episode 1, then introduce a cousin on their other side of the family in the next episode and the chain continues).

You could cross the country in 10 episodes.

Their oldest son Jim was recent discharged from the army for medical reasons.

This is their son Billy, who is stationed in Iraq for the 3rd time. His wife and 2 kids live on an Army Post in Georgia.

BACKGROUND

This is Randi and Jimmy. They met while they were in the army and got married while they were both stationed at Ft. Bliss, TX .
This was the third marriage for Jimmy before he turned 30.
They currently live in Worland, Wyoming where Randi was a prison guard but currently works for the post office.
Jimmy is on disability due to injuries during his service

Jimmy has a daughter from his first marriage and two sons with Randy.

UNITED STATES OF FAMILY: portraits of cousins across America showcasing various political, social and cultural ideologies.


Red state/blue state, atheist/spiritual, fashionable/practical, private school/home schooling, single,/children, p.c./mac. --this is America, and it's all in the family.

Unlike a show like 'Wife Swap' where producers juxtaposed polar opposites to create drama for an hour, these are people we live with all of our lives and we have to find common ground.




Each episode will start off with the two subjects introducing themselves and talking about their respective cousin.

("Billy was fun when he was a kid, but then he had trouble in school and joined the army as soon as he turned 18. I haven't seen him for 20 years--he's been killing people in the Iraq I guess")

After profiling their life/friends/immediate family, each personality will spend a week with their cousin in their respective surroundings.

The contrast will provide the drama, the commonality will provide the resolution.

The show will end with a mini-family reunion.