Reality TV hasn't exactly been kind to Austin this summer. The housemates on MTV's "The Real World" drunkenly cavort on Sixth Street, and ABC pulled its show "Welcome to the Neighborhood," about families competing to win a house, before it even aired.

So it's a relief to see a show like NBC's "Meet Mister Mom." Debuting Tuesday, the series takes two families, sends the moms off for some R&R and follows how the dads fare without them. The family that best handles the situation earns $25,000 for their children's education from State Farm.

The debut episode features two Austin families: Dan and Leslie Smith and their sons Jacob, 12, Spencer, 10, and Mitchell, 4; and Tom and Linda Potter and their daughters Jordan, 14, Madison, 9, and Ashton, 6.

Going into this show, you might expect "Nanny 911"-type family dysfunction, but there's no sniping, sobbing and tantrum-throwing to be seen. Instead, the Smiths and the Potters are two loving families who have to figure out how to cope when someone, say, leaves a llama on the lawn.

We talked to the Potters last week as they were gearing up for the show's debut — and preparing for a visit to NBC's "Today" show in New York to promote it.

The Potters got interested in the show when Linda heard about the casting call through their girls' soccer program.

"I guess I was the one that initiated this adventure," she said.

They knew the show was looking for active families and that they'd have to complete challenges. But they never guessed that Mom would be separated from the rest of the family.

"I think we were all very surprised," Jordan said.

"Madison wanted to know how we could be doing a family show if we weren't a family" for that week, Tom added.

Completing the show's challenges made for a hectic week. So hectic, in fact, that Tom lost about 10 pounds, Ashton said.

Tom and the girls agree that the biggest challenge was simply doing everything without Mom. They didn't even know where Linda was during the shoot.

For Linda, it was hard not to be able to tell her daughters good night — and a bit disorienting to follow other people's plans when she's used to being "the mother who plans everything out."

But the challenges led to a lot of learning, all the Potters agree.

"I think everyone kind of learned more about what everyone else does and how much our mom actually does," Jordan said.

Linda was happy to see that her girls are independent and competent enough to get by without her. She said she learned what it's like for Tom when he has to travel for his sales job and be away from the family.

Madison summed it all up:

"We found a new appreciation for each other."

slindner@statesman.com; 445-3826