'Three Wishes' Star Amy Grant Has a Wish of Her Own
by Jenni Parker
September 16, 2005
(AgapePress) - It's no fairy tale -- a new reality-TV show premiering next Friday (September 23) will be granting real wishes for ordinary people across America. In each one-hour episode, NBC's "Three Wishes" will follow host Amy Grant and her team of experts to a different town where they will spend one week turning the hopes and dreams of deserving locals into reality. Each one-hour episode of the weekly show depicts individuals, families, and entire towns that are affected as the Three Wishes team moves from town to town, where they inquire about people's wishes and select three to grant. Then, the wish-granting experts go to work, and soon they are witnessing firsthand the extraordinary consequences of their involvement and the powerful spirit of community that often helps fuel their missions to make dreams of all sizes come true -- from the simple and light-hearted to the more dramatic and serious.
The host of "Three Wishes," five-time Grammy and multiple Dove Award winner Amy Grant, says she was "extremely moved" when she heard about the premise of the show, and "the production company's concept to provide incredibly positive changes in the lives of different people." Grant says seeing the prep work that went into the pilot episode gave her a reason to look at her own life and to remind herself, once again "to never underestimate the impact one life can have on another."
The wishes addressed in the pilot episode are dramatic and real: while Grant goes to work helping a family cope with a child's life-threatening medical crisis, one team member takes on the wish of an entire school community, and another wish-granter helps a boy pay tribute to a man who has made a tremendous difference in his life.
Skillfully presented, the stories unfold with all their inherent suspense and surprises, for maximum emotional impact. It is a show that dares viewers to get all the way to the end with dry eyes. But Grant emphasizes the fact that the show is real, unscripted and unembellished, and perhaps every bit as meaningful for watchers as for wishers.
Grant's Wish
"It's a teaching tool," Grant says. "Yes, it's a television show, and we are using network dollars, sponsorship dollars, to do a good thing for people. But we live in an age where people are not connecting the way they used to, not meeting each others' needs on a basic level. My hope, when I first went to NBC -- I just said I hope that people see this show and feel inspired to reinvest. That's my hope, that people are re-energized."
After shooting several episodes, the recording artist and TV host says she has already seen that hope realized, to some extent, just among the people she and her team have met in the towns the show has visited. While only three wishes are chosen for each town out of however many hundreds or thousands are presented, Grant says many times other wishes get granted off camera and behind the scenes, as a result of people coming together to share their needs.
"You cannot believe the ripple effect," Grant says. "For every person whose wish is chosen, they're meeting a need. And when needs are met, the walls come down between people. When needs are met, people allow themselves to be vulnerable, because things are happening that are important and necessary."
Grant says she knew whoever ended up hosting Three Wishes "was going to have a front-row seat to some pretty amazing interaction with some very deserving people. I'm so glad my name was thrown into the pot, and I look forward to working with NBC ... and executive producer Andrew Glassman -- and I hope that together we are able to make a lot of dreams come true."
The Perfect Host
Of course, Glassman (NBC's "Average Joe" seasons 1-4) points out that there was no pot of names -- Amy Grant was his exclusive personal pick to host the series. "Absolutely no other names were considered for the show," he says. "Amy was our first choice on our first day. I just thought, whose public persona fits the values and the character of the show that we're trying to create, and I literally thought of Amy's name first."
The TV producer says he was lucky enough to meet Grant shortly after that, and meeting her in person only solidified his belief that she was the ideal choice. "The warmth and compassion she has for other people is so genuine and so real that it strikes you in the room on a personal level and it carries right through the screen," he says.
Grant feels very positive about the fit as well, in part, she says, because people -- even strangers at times -- have been sharing their intimate stories and personal struggles with her all her life. Hence, doing the show came naturally -- it was mostly a matter of listening to people and caring as they shared their hearts. "I do think maybe in some very natural way, and maybe some very spiritual way, this thing was orchestrated just the way it was supposed to happen," she says.
"I've never walked into a recording studio and felt like I was completely adequate for the job," the singer explains. "Every night I pray the prayer, 'God, give me every note I need to sing tonight. I'm just going to trust that every note I need, you're going to give me.' Usually, I always feel I'm sort of out there on thin ice, most of my life. But with this [TV show] I just felt very equipped, and it was great."
The show's dynamic is great -- at least for all who love heartwarming stories, who don't mind getting choked up or teary-eyed between commercials, and who love genuine moments between real people, a warm host, and a caring, creatively compassionate crew determined to turn dreams into reality -- not just reality TV.
"Three Wishes" premieres on Friday, September 23, at 9:00 p.m ET (8:00 p.m. CST). The series is slated to air on Fridays from 9 to 10 Eastern (8 to 9 Central) on NBC.
