Anthony Anderson, Taye Diggs, James Van Der Beek Among Stars to Strip Tease for a Good Cause on Fox’s ‘The Real Full Monty’
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”) has signed on to executive produce and lead a team of male celebrities as they prepare a strip tease act for the upcoming Fox special “The Real Full Monty.” At the heart of the two-hour special is a message of awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing and research.
Inspired by the 1997 film “The Full Monty,” and based on “The Real Full Monty” unscripted format first broadcast on the U.K.’s ITV in 2017, the new special will feature celebs including Anderson, Taye Diggs (“All American”), NFL player Chris Jones, Tyler Posey (“Teen Wolf”), Bruno Tonioli (“Dancing with the Stars”) and James Van Der Beek (“Dawson’s Creek”).
More from Variety
In the special, is set to debut this fall on Fox, Anderson will lead Diggs, Jones, Posey, Tonioli and Van Der Beek as they train and rehearse for the performance, leading to a big strip-tease dance, choreographed by Mandy Moore (“So You Think You Can Dance”) in front of a live audience. Per the description, Leading up to the final disrobing, “the men will push their limits of comfortability, modesty and brotherhood with a series of rehearsals and experiences, both private and public, designed to build confidence and remove them far from their comfort zone and strengthen their bond as a group. Along the way, each of the celebrities will share their personal stories of how cancer has impacted their lives.”
“Don’t die of embarrassment. Get checked! That’s the message behind ‘The Real Full Monty’ special,” said Anderson in a statement. “I am honored to lead the charge of rallying these fearless men to bare it all, in order to provoke, inspire and in this case, beg you to get screened for cancer.”
Besides the UK, versions of “The Real Full Monty” have since been staged in Australia, France and the Netherlands.
Spun Gold TV (a 53 Degrees Global company) and Fox Alternative Entertainment are behind “The Real Full Monty,” which is executive produced by Anderson, Dan Norris and Ashley Edens, who is showrunner. Spun Gold EPs include Nick Bullen and Daniela Neumann.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.