DALLAS — The State Fair of Texas traditionally takes place over 24 fall days in Fair Park. But a new reality series hopes to break it out of that box, putting the annual Fair Park-hosted affair on a national stage over the course of multiple weeks, starting this spring.
A just-announced reality show called Deep Fried Dynasty will make its debut on the cable network A&E in March, and it promises to focus on (according to its own words) the "grease-soaked geniuses" and "big personalities behind the mouth-watering food at the State Fair of Texas."
Per the extended show description on the A&E website, Deep Fried Dynasty will further provide "an inside look at how these imaginative foods come to life and the millions of dollars on the line for these family-run small business... It’s the American Dream, deep-fried, chocolate covered, and wrapped in bacon."
But will the show's drama ultimately be delicious enough to draw in cable reality show viewers? A bombastic, superlative-filled first-look trailer for the show certainly does its best to portray the series as a spectacle:
Although the cast for Deep Fried Dynasty has not yet been publicly announced, WFAA can confirm at least a handful of its players: Abel Gonzales Jr. -- a man once deemed by Texas Monthly as "the undisputed king of the Fair Park fryers" -- is prominently portrayed in the show's initial trailer, as are fried collard greens queen Cassy Jones and Stiffler's Mom's Cookie Factory purveyor Tammy Stiffler.
WFAA can additionally confirm that members of the teams behind Smokey John's Bar-B-Que and Nevins Concessions are also participating in the series.
Just don't expect to see any behind-the-scenes action from the Fletcher's Corny Dogs operation as part of the show; representatives with that outfit tell us they turned down the producers' invitation to join the fray.
Deep Fried Dynasty will premiere at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, on A&E.