By: James Hibberd/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

RDF is seeking to launch the first interactive animated series in the US.

The reality production company behind shows like Fox’s “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” and ABC’s “Wife Swap” is teaming with new media company Artificial Life to design a TV series where viewers can participate in the on-screen action.

The proposed series is called “Sleuths,” where viewers customize their own avatar that will appear on screen during the show’s live telecast. Three times per half-hour episode, a quiz question will be asked and viewers will text their answers. Those who answer wrong are eliminated from the screen, those who answer right continue to the next round.
At the end of each episode, the top five avatars will appear on screen one final time standing with the show’s characters.

“It’s both a television show and an interactive experience – it’s revolutionary and we couldn’t be more excited to introduce this to the States,” said Max Benator, senior VP of multi-platform entertainment for RDF USA.

How it works: The technology is dubbed MoPA-TV (for “mobile-participation television”) and has already been used with success in Japan and Europe. Viewers may use online or SMS to register, select their avatars and send their answers. In the TV studio, a studio operator can “generate a camera path” through the 3D landscape of all the participating viewers’ avatars.