In recent memory, it started with shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Then it got caught up in the Oprah machine with Oprah’s Big Give. (Why don’t we forget about NBC’s Three Wishes and ABC’s The Benefactor?)

And now reality television as a charitable cause is going one step further, with Secret Millionaire, the new Fox series where cameras follow a wealthy benefactor who spends 10 days visiting an impoverished town in stealth mode and living as crappily as the locals. [THR] At the show’s end, the rich guy reveals himself and donates at least $100,000 of his own money (expect at least $1m for the finale) to one or more lucky individuals.

Viewers will also be treated to the rags-to-riches side of the story, with cameras following the lucky recipient as he blows his wad on foreign cars and blow.