A new reality series filming in and around the Houston area will be premiering Friday, Oct. 7 on CMT at 9 p.m. Trick My What? is hosted by John Schneider (Smallville) and follows him learning the ins and outs of working alongside some of the most hardworking blue-collar heroes of the United States. In exchange, Schneider and his expert crew—the guys of Lone Star Speed Shop in Richmond, Texas, will revamp the star vehicle that helps these heroes put food on the table for their families in order to make their workdays a little easier.

The series puts a well deserved spotlight on the dedicated blue-collar families working jobs that many people rely on every day. In the first episode, we meet logger, Paul Palmer, a hardworking single father to three boys whose tree skidder is so torn up that it won’t work without three people working on it. The bad economy is bringing his logging business down and he can’t afford to fix the skidder. That’s where Schneider and his crew come in—Palmer gives Schneider a lesson on logging and in turn. Schneider and his guys “tricks” out Palmer’s broken tree skidder.

Trick My What? comes from the same producers of another CMT series, Trick My Truck, which focuses on tricking out the 18-wheelers of deserving truck drivers and premiered in 2006. I spoke with VP of Development at CMT, Melanie Moreau about how the idea for Trick My What? came about.

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What was the inspiration behind the creation of this show and why now?

Trick My What? was a huge hit for CMT, and we believe this show takes it to the next level. It allows us to highlight America’s other blue collar heroes. The addition of John Schneider enabled us to not just make over these vehicles, but really take a look at how they keep America going and put food on the table for their families. These people need a helping hand more than ever given the current state of our economy, and we hope these makeovers restore some pride back into what they do every day.

What was it about Texas that drew the show to come here?

Texas had everything we needed to make this show a success. Lone Star Speed Shop is a state-of-the-art fabricator team based in Richmond. We also found so many well-deserving heroes, so shooting there was an easy decision.

Who is the intended audience for the show?

Our intended audience is American families. We expect Trick My What? to appeal to both our core viewers who are already familiar with this format, and hope to bring in some new viewers as well.

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Trick My What? will feature an array of workers from the Houston and Dallas area that include a produce farmer, bricklayer, shrimper, and sanitation serviceman in addition to others. The series has a bit of everything – it features an in depth look at jobs you normally wouldn’t be exposed to à la Deadliest Catch or American Loggers and then mixes it up with the warm fuzzy feelings à la Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

So if you’re a fan of John Schneider, like seeing things being remodeled, or have always wondered what it was like to work in these kinds of fields, check out Trick My What? If anything, it’ll make you appreciate the fact that you don’t have to work these jobs and appreciate those who do even more.