By SUSAN BLOWER
Indiana Correspondent

CHICAGO, Ill. — Midwestern farm families may have the chance in the near future to tell their story with a reality television show all their own. Towers Productions is casting for farm families to feature.
“We are in the development stage. We’re based in Chicago, whereas most (companies) are on the Coast. We want to take advantage of our Midwestern roots,” said Becky Cattie, Towers casting director.

Cattie said several networks are interested in the show idea.
The ideal family will be relatable, but unique, with big personalities, Cattie said. She wants the show to convey the Midwestern lifestyle, as well.

She said many of the current reality TV shows are “fun and entertaining, but we’re interested in real-world families and businesses, (a concept) which has hardly been explored.”
Cattie hopes the new show will break stereotypes while remaining enjoyable and entertaining.

“In this economic climate, people want light-hearted,” she said.
Cattie, originally from Atlanta, spent six years in Los Angeles, Calif., working on reality TV shows, including the original Extreme Make-Over, America’s Got Talent and Farmer Wants a Wife.
She said her experience has “opened my eyes to another world of people. It’s an amazing job.”

Cattie wants potential families to e-mail her with information about themselves and how their story is different. A recent picture is welcome, too.

“You can tell a lot from an e-mail. If we’re interested, we will follow up with a home video,” she said.

“You can read the personality in a letter ... I like it when I’m smiling when I’m reading, and I can feel the energy (from the e-mail).”

Cattie said she is the only big-city person at her company. Towers Productions is made up of people from smaller towns around Chicago. She finds the city a perfect balance of her tastes.
“It’s the big city with a small-town feel. There is a bigger interest (from networks) in the Midwest, right now. We think it’s about time,” Cattie said.

Send an e-mail to Cattie at casting@ towersproductions.com with your name, contact information and your location. Include a brief synopsis of your family and why you’d make a good show. Recent photos are appreciated.

Towers Productions has produced more than 1,000 hours of factual and entertainment programming for national and in Animal Planet, The Biography Channel, CNN, Discovery Channel and more.
Towers was Emmy-nominated for Inside 9/11 on the National Geographic Channel.

Other signature series are American Justice and Biography (A&E), Inside the Iraq War (National Geographic Channel), Storm Stories and When Weather Changed History (The Weather Channel) and Behind Bars and Drug Nation (The Discovery Channel).