LOS ANGELES — Ron Jeremy, the legendary star of some 1,700 hard-core porn films over the last two decades, steeps in the hot tub of a sweeping hilltop Los Angeles mansion, glass of merlot in hand, flanked
by a dozen gorgeous babes in tiny bikinis. It’s a full-on party atmosphere where giggles fill the air and eyes constantly roam. It’s ripe with possibility.

It might sound like the setup for Mr. Jeremy’s latest adult entertainment vehicle, available on pay-per-view or a video store near you, but it isn’t. It’s The Surreal Life, an unscripted show airing on The WB, one of the first network broadcasters to hire a porn star as a major player in a prime-time show.

Also starring in the series, a fly-on-the-wall look at six has-been celebs and pop cult figures bunking in a house together, are televangelist Tammy Faye Messner, former Baywatch babe Traci Bingham, Latin hunk Erik Estrada, Rob Van Winkle (a k a Vanilla Ice, the former white rapper), and Real World alum Trishelle Canatella.

For Jeremy, his inclusion in the series is a stroke of casting brilliance and a chance for him to be seen by the broadest possible audience outside his adult entertainment roots and beyond the relative success he’s had in mainstream movies and music videos. “No doubt there’s a shock value to it,” he said. “What’s the biggest contrast you can get to a Bible-carrying evangelist? A porn star.”

The Jan. 11 premier featuring Jeremy drew 5.3 million viewers, making it the highest-rated show ever in that time period in The WB’s 10-year history.