NEW YORK – This time “you’re fired” is more than a Donald Trump catchphrase. Fox is turning the firing of real people from real jobs into prime-time entertainment this week.

The network on Thursday will begin airing “Does Someone Have to Go?” The series takes its cameras into small businesses as employees are compelled to rat out underperforming colleagues. At the end, they choose one co-worker to recommend for firing.

Fox and Mike Darnell, executive in charge of alternative programming for Fox, have pushed the boundaries of reality TV since it was first recognized as a genre, from the highs of “American Idol” to the lows of “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” He said he sees “Does Someone Have to Go?” as a new direction for a programming form dominated by singing and dancing competitions.

It’s a revamped version of a show, then called “Someone’s Gotta Go,” that Fox had been working on with the Endemol production company four years ago. In its initial incarnation, employees were given the power to determine who should be laid off within companies that needed to shrink for economic reasons. The show drew awful advance publicity — one magazine called it a step toward public executions — and never aired.

“The network decided the heat was too intense given the economic climate,” Darnell said.

Fast tracks for ‘Idol’ winner

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NEW YORK – Candice Glover spent more time on season 12 of “American Idol” than she will on creating her debut album.

The 23-year-old, who won the Fox singing series last week after competing for four months, is set to release “Music Speaks” on July 16. It was available on pre-order the day after she won.

Past “Idol” champs released their debut albums in the fall after winning the contest in the spring, but Glover said she’s ready to capitalize on the insta-fame “Idol” has given her.

“I’ve built a fan base being on this show, and my fan base is interested in me now,” she said.


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