Joy Mangano's 'America's Big Deal' to premiere Oct. 14 on USA Network
Joy Mangano is producing a new USA reality show, "America's Big Deal." Credit: Getty Images for WeWork / Jamie McCarthy
"America's Big Deal," the previously announced reality-show competition from famed Long Island entrepreneur Joy Mangano, is set to premiere Oct. 14 on USA Network.
The basic-cable network additionally announced Monday that Scott Evans ("Access Hollywood") will host the new program, in which entrepreneurs nationwide have the opportunity to sell their products live on air. Four entrepreneurs per week each present a three-minute product pitch. The person with the most live sales throughout the episode wins the opportunity to strike a deal with what the network called "one of the show's retail giants," which USA did not name.
Viewers participate by scanning an on-screen code for the NBCUniversal e-commerce platform ShoppableTV, and, after shopping, completing purchases with NBCUniversal Checkout.
Mangano, 65, who was raised in Huntington and is a longtime resident of St. James, has not commented, either in a statement or on social media. When the series was announced in May, Mangano, whose many signature products include the Miracle Mop and the Memory Cloud Pillow, wrote on Twitter and Facebook, "I am so excited to be working with USA & NBCU, and [producer] Tony DiSanto and crew! This is beyond a project … it's a mission!"
The season 1 application form that had been posted at JoyMangano.com asked for both product specifics and "the story behind your invention … What is your personal story? … How was your business impacted by the pandemic and what would this opportunity mean to you? … Please feel free to include your inspiration for your product [and] the hurdles you faced and overcame…."
Applicants had to have a finished product and were encouraged to provide documentation of sales to indicate customer response. Product categories include food and beverage, toys and games, hardware and tools, technology, apparel, pets and several others. The show did not accept submissions for firearms, fuel additives, gambling- or tobacco-related products, genuine furs or sexual aids.
Mangano, who for more than a quarter-century has been among the nation's most successful inventor-entrepreneurs, was an early star of televised home shopping. She has created and sold more than $3 billion worth of products to American consumers, USA Network said. In 2015, she was the subject of the heavily fictionalized drama "Joy" from director and co-writer David O. Russell, starring Jennifer Lawrence and also featuring Garden City's Susan Lucci.
