Earlier this week, CMT (Country Music Television) announced that they have signed a development deal with Stone Cold Steve Austin with his first project being to host a new reality TV show called Redneck Island that is currently being produced and will start airing in June. The idea seems to be a working class version of Survivor, a series that is still going strong after 24 seasons, where Austin will set the competing teams "a number of hilarious mental and physical challenges" on a tropical paradise and each week the losing team will send somebody packing. The last person left standing will win the nice sum of $100,000.

This role should fit Austin like a glove, as his toughest SOB gimmick is perfect for it and he already has experience hosting such a show from his stint on the revival season of WWE Tough Enough in the spring of 2011, where he cut some of the best promos in the business on the trainees who performed worst each week. Austin obviously agrees, as he was quoted as saying in the press release:

I am thrilled to join the CMT family and for the opportunity to work with them on future projects. I'm also excited to work with the great folks at 51 Minds Entertainment on Redneck Island. If there's one thing I know, it's how to keep a bunch of rednecks in line. And that's the bottom line!

Congrats to Steve Austin @steveaustinBSR on his new deal with CMT to star in the new reality show Redneck Island. The new reality show is to begin airing in June and Steve is taping it now somewhere in Mexico, I think. CMT seems to be a nice fit for Steve on cable. For those asking, I do not know how those outside the USA access Country Music Television now known as CMT.

If the show is a success, then Austin will likely produce other programs for CMT via his production company, Broken Skull Ranch Productions.

Success however is not guaranteed, even on the low rated CMT network and for a star of Austin's magnitude, as this is not the first time the station has used a wrestling star as a vehicle for new reality TV programming. In 2008, they aired Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling, but cancelled it after the first season due to poor ratings by the end of the run, as the concept didn't maintain its initial high audience. However, Austin should fare well as his new reality show is a much better fit for CMT's target demographics.