Over the years, FOX has really pushed the limits on what can be considered acceptable television viewing – especially when it comes to the network’s reality lineup. Shows like Temptation Island became titillating, guilty pleasures, while the Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire extravaganza inspired plenty of attention-grabbing headlines. FOX became famous for reality with American Idol, and has tried re-creating that success with several similar carnations of the hit series. But now, the network is doing something a little different with The Moment of Truth. Unlike the hit Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, this is not the sort of game show you’re going to want to watch with your kids.

You’ve probably seen the trailers. A single contestant sits in a chair in the middle of a huge audience. The stage is in the round, so the pressure comes from all angles. The contestants are asked questions of a highly personal nature – do you really care about starving children in Africa, are you repulsed by obese people, have you ever cheated on your wife? Here’s the twist – the contestants are hooked up to a polygraph machine, also known as a lie detector test. One contestant will even have to face his own father, a man who was not a part of his life. It’s a little sadistic, highly compelling, and just the formula FOX needs to continue the network reputation as being cutting edge.

Each contestant will have to answer 21 questions (truthfully) to win the grand prize of $500,000; each inquiry will get progressively more personal as the studio audience and friends and family watch. Mark L. Walberg, the former host of Antiques Roadshow (not the actor with the similar name), will head this show.

The Moment of Truth premieres Wednesday, January 23 at 9 PM, a time slot that’s sure to ensure the success of the series.  The program was actually ordered in August and kept off the schedule, but has now found a spot thanks to the writer’s strike.

Truth is actually derived from a similar game show which originally aired in Columbia. That show had to be canceled when one contestant admitted to hiring a hit man to kill her husband. Now, that’s what I call sensational TV.