''Joe Millionaire'' is one of 2003's wildest new reality shows

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PREMIERE 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6

WHAT IT IS Twenty-five women gather in a romantic castle in France to claw and catfight their way into the heart of one Evan Marriott, 28, a handsome bachelor who’s supposedly inheriting $50 million. Before ABC can cry copyright infringement, however, Fox has given ”The Bachelor” formula a sick twist: Marriott’s millions are Fox’s fiction. As a construction worker, he makes a paltry $19,000 a year and has no millions in his future. Expect viewers to watch breathlessly when one lucky finalist rides the roller coaster of heartbreak. (”I won! Wait, you work as a WHAT?”)

WHY WE CARE Think of this as ”The Bachelor” for bitter, hard-hearted cynics. ”We’re making fun not only of ourselves, but of the whole crazy concept of finding true love on TV,” says a Fox spokesperson, adding that viewers will go behind the scenes to watch Evan learn how to impersonate a smug rich guy, giving fans the full effect of his devilish deceit. ”There are so many more layers than ‘Who is he going to marry?”’ And let’s face it: We’ll enjoy peeling back every one of them.

THE VERDICT The perfect threesome: sex, lies, and videotape.