Reality TV's New Odd Couple

Former televangelist wife Tammy Faye Messner and porn legend Ron Jeremy are Hollywood Hills mansion housemates for nearly two weeks in WB's "Surreal Life 2" which began taping on Monday.

The odd couple shares the house and act as house hosts for 11 days. They will have four other roommates: rapper Vanilla Ice, "ChiPs" actor Erik Estrada, former "Baywatch" actress Traci Bingham and "Real World: Las Vegas" cast member Trishelle. They will also have a celebrity guest move in each week.

"We wanted to get worlds colliding, and I think that's what we've achieved," WB alternative chief Keith Cox said, noting that assembling the cast was quite an effort. "It's one of those tricky puzzles."

"You have to start with certain cornerstones, and then build inward. Tammy Faye was actually one of the first people we cast."

Cameras will capture celebrity interaction as well as field trips to show them interacting with everyday folks.

Messner divorced disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker in 1992 while he was serving a fraud sentence involving his Heritage USA theme park in South Carolina. Jeremy has starred in more than 1,600 pornographic movies and directed more than 100 himself.

One of the show's executive producers Cris Abrego said the casting process took a long time, in part because so many personalities were interested in joining the cast.

"Having a revolving, big celebrity guest star every week -- that person becomes our seventh cast member," he said, noting that the guest celebrity will live in the house with the six regulars.

The second "Surreal" installment is in the same house used in the first show, although Abrego said it's been injected with a heavy dose of "bling bling."

"It's very pimp, very Austin Powers love shack," he said.

The new season of "Surreal Life" is expected to be broadcast early next year. The WB has ordered six half-hour episodes.