Think “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” as a TV series.
TLC will air “Mall Cops: Mall Of America,” a new show based on a special that aired last month and pulled in 1.2 million viewers.
Like the special, the half-hour show, premiering early next year, will revolve around the security guards patrolling The Mall of America, the biggest mall in the US located in Bloomington, Minn.
The 500-store mall includes a seven-acre theme park, a ginormous aquarium and a wedding chapel (among other amenities).
“Everybody can relate to a shopping mall, and The Mall of America is its own little city,” says Nancy Daniels, TLC’s senior VP production and development.
“Policing the mall gives you interesting insights into people.”
The concept is reminiscent of this year’s hit movie, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” a comedy starring Kevin James (right) as a pudgy, Segway-riding mall security guard who singlehandedly knocks off a gang of crooks and wins the girl of his dreams.
(And, yes, The Mall of America cops ride Segways.)
Daniels says the show, comprised of 12 episodes, is already in production to take advantage of the holiday shopping season — and will include episodes built around a Mall of America visit by the stars of “Twilight” and an upcoming Sarah Palin book signing.
“We have a handful of mall cops we’ll follow, and you won’t always see the same ones in every episode,” she says.
“We follow them in their shifts — the calls they go on range from small petty items all the way up to life-and-death [situations].”