Following an initial uproar after its announcement, UPN's unscripted project "Amish in the City" faded into the background. Many people assumed, in fact, that the network wasn't saying much because it had dropped the show following protests from Amish leaders and some 50 members of Congress.

That, as it turns out, was far from the case. "Amish in the City," which will chronicle the lives of five young men and women taking part in the Amish rite of rumpsringa, completed its principal filming in the past week, and it's scheduled to premiere Wednesday, July 28.

Much of the initial criticism of the series, set for 10 hour-long episodes, stems from its "reality show" tag and the exploitative connotations the phrase can carry. UPN and the show's producers insist, however, that "Amish in the City" won't take that path.

"I think we always thought of the show as being something that would be really an intriguing journey of discovery for these kids," executive producer Jon Kroll, who's worked on shows like "The Amazing Race" and "Big Brother," says in an interview. "So we were a little surprised at the reaction. But we certainly listened when we saw that some of it was coming from leaders in the Amish community."

Instead, Kroll and fellow exec producer Daniel Laikind -- who was a producer of "Devil's Playground," a well-received 2002 documentary that covered similar territory -- hope to highlight the decisions the Amish youths are facing, rather than just the differences between the Amish way of life and that of most of the rest of the population.

Rumspringa is an Amish rite of passage in which young men and women leave their communities -- which typically don't include motorized transportation, electronic media or fast food -- to spend some time in the outside world. "Amish in the City" puts five Amish youth in a Los Angeles house with six "city kids," including a club promoter, an aspiring musician and a student from the inner city.

Together, the 11 take part in such activities as visiting the beach, working with mentally disabled people and taking a stroll up the red carpet at a movie premiere.

"We wanted to give them a full picture of what city life is like, both positive and negative," Laikind says. "It was important that we find that balance. ... We were surprised and amazed, pleasantly, that the things we take for granted were some of the most exciting and special moments on the show."

Members of the show's crew spent several weeks in Amish communities, with the goal of showing community leaders that the show would not treat rumspringa as a joke.

"For the first number of weeks they were really just on a fact-finding mission," Laikind says, "so they could get information on how each community works and to make sure they were being respectful of how each community lived and how the kids went through rumspringa." The five who ended up taking part in the show had all expressed a desire to live in a large city "so that their decision would be more fully informed." (An overwhelming majority of Amish who go through rumspringa return to their communities.)

UPN Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff says the network is proud of the show and that the participants were treated "with the highest respect."

"We believe we have succeeded in developing a program that is both serious and entertaining, and ultimately very thought-provoking," she says in a statement.

Kroll and Laikind also think viewers will be able to relate to the fact that all 11 kids, not just the Amish, are questioning what they want out of life.

"The experience is one that's universal. ... We all went through a period where we had to make some important decisions," Laikind says. "All 11 of them end up having to make important choices, so I think that the show is something that if you watch, you'll be able to relate to the journey these kids are on."