Justin Timberlake is on board with MTV to produce a new "reality game show" called The Phone. Based on a Dutch game show, the premise is that two cell phones will be hidden at different ends of a major city. The people who answer these phones are the potential contestants, and will hear their instructions via the phones. They'll have five seconds to decide whether or not to play the game, which will require them to complete a mission together in order to win a cash prize.

The show is being touted as a "real life Bourne Identity." It does sound like a fresh idea that has a lot of potential for good gaming; it's just different enough that it could be quite exciting to watch. The concept of unsuspecting contestants works well for Discovery's Cash Cab after all.

My main concern is that the network might overproduce the show and make it too cheesy, with the usual MTV sound effects and canned laughter. If The Phone takes off, it will be because of the lack of bright neon lights and studio effects - the raw feel of real people on the streets of a major U.S. city participating in a game show with no idea of what to expect is the draw here, and I hope the final package reflects this.

Photo by Bryan Bedder, courtesy Getty Images