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Zach Anner wins show on Oprah’s network
Meet Zach Anner, national television star. In a surprise move, Oprah Winfrey awarded both the Austin resident and his co-finalist, Kristina Kuzmic-Crocco, their own shows on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Anner will produce a humorous “travel show for people who never thought they could travel.” Anner knows something about the topic, having spent his life in a wheelchair as a result of cerebral palsy.
As one of ten out of 15,000 applicants chosen to appear on the reality competition “Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star,” Anner excelled week after week, charming the show’s hosts and celebrity mentors, and earning the respect of his competitors as they fell away one by one.
In Friday’s finale, Winfrey expressed concerns about the physical toll his own show could take on Anner but, in the end, he was just too good to pass up. The pair’s prizes also include a new car and $100,000 from sponsor Kohl’s
“On the day of my pilot shoot I had a fever of 100-and-something. So when you saw me coughing (during the finale), it’s because I was dying,” Anner joked to a crowd of friends and fans at a private Alamo Drafthouse watch party. He had high praise for his competitor, asking the crowd to root for Kristina as well. “We were legitimately rooting for each other,” he said.
“I’m a lucky dude, because I really have no talent,” Anner said, adding that he wants to film an episode in Austin. “Without this city, I would never have learned the skills to do so well,” he said.
Anner’s show is expected to premiere sometime this summer.
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