A&E Orders 'Undercover Boss' Spinoff 'Be the Boss'

A&E is taking CBS' Undercover Boss a step further.

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The cable network has ordered seven hourlong episodes of Be the Boss, which will feature contestants competing to run their own franchise, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

From Undercover Boss executive producers Stephen Lambert and Eli Holzman at Studio Lambert, the series was inspired by a 2010 episode that featured 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePino giving a Texas driver control over his own storefront.

The series, which the producers initially shopped at CBS, will feature different CEOs every week identifying a pair of worthy employees facing off over a promotion to management as they are charged with opening a new franchise.

What the candidates don't know -- but the audience does -- is that the CEO is looking for the best person who can run the franchise as the winner will the franchise he/she sets up.

A premiere date has yet to be determined.

Be the Boss joins an A&E lineup that includes unscripted fare such as Dog the Bounty Hunter, Intervention, Shipping Wars and Hoarders. The news comes as CBS has given series orders to dating reality show 3 for the summer.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit