Unlike other reality shows including "Survivor" and "Real World," which claim (at least presently) to be unscripted drama, "Murder" admits upfront that part of the show is scripted. Unlike its brethren, "Murder" is a reality hybrid, mixing a scripted back story with real-life contestants left to sort out the truth from the fiction.

The series, which takes place over the course of eight episodes, takes 10 people and drops them off in a small isolated town, populated by real townspeople and actors, where a murder has taken place. In order to win the game the contestants must figure out which of the town's denizens is the murderer. One twist in the game is that as the players get closer to discovering the identity of the killer, the killer starts targeting them. Each week, one contestant will get "killed," thereby taking him/her off the show.

"We designed pretty carefully an intricate mystery and this very detailed world populated by actors and this detailed back story... we knew where the basic story tracks had to go but once the real people enter the mix, you're at their mercy," executive producer Gordon Cassidy tells Zap2it.com.

However, in order to make the show compelling, audiences still had to feel as if the show holds an element of reality. In this case, real people investigating the crime and real reactions.

"If the show is going to work, you can't step in and make [the contestants] feel like they have to choose the right track. Really you have to let them come in and bounce off the circumstances as they will and work with that because that's the only way you're going to get interesting behavior from the people," Cassidy explains.

"What we really wanted to do is create an environment where the overall effect is like taking real people and dropping them inside a show like 'Twin Peaks' or any other thriller."

The comparison to "Twin Peaks" may be especially fitting given the role the townspeople play in the mystery.

"Part of solving the mystery is understanding the world you've entered. It's like all of these mystery stories when it's set in a small town; every rock you turn over reveals something. By the end of it, you've uncovered quite a lot and you've uncovered quite a different picture of this bucolic all-American wonderful town you've come into," Cassidy says.

"By the time the investigation's over, you've gone into a lot of dark places and you've discovered a lot and some of it has led you to the murderer and some of it has led you to this world."

The idea for the series, which was conceived by executive producers George Verschoor, Robert Fisher, Jr. and Cassidy, came to the trio after working together on "The Real World."

"We had this terrific experience with reality television and we all felt that we were interested in taking another step, another evolutionary step in the form... taking real people and put them in charged circumstances," Cassidy says. "Even 'Real World' worked that way -- real people in heightened circumstances and then you step back and try not to meddle too much and the real people will give you interesting story."

Although the concept at first seemed risky, the producers knew that it would work the day the contestants arrived on set. Before their arrival, the actors had spent two weeks learning about their characters, creating a community that would meld seamlessly with the original town.

"We knew it was going to work even on day one because [the contestants] came in and they started talking about the people they had encountered," he says. "It wasn't that thing of, are they talking about character or are they talking about the actor -- they were talking about, 'I hate the way the Mayor talks to his wife,' or 'I can't stand so and so.'"

"As an actor, being prepared with the entire story became a problem for me because I would get questions that I would know the answer to, but it would be hard to know when to provide that to them -- this episode or four episodes from now?" he says.

"I was aware of the script and knew what the story was about and knew how it was going to end, but the specifics of it I wouldn't be made aware of until just as it was occurring."

This became increasingly tricky as the contestants' sleuthing skills were sharpened.

"After we start down and sat with them a few days, actually teaching them some techniques on interviewing and stuff, they became extremely good," Fredo says. "There were certain points during the show that we were worried they would jump way ahead. I would have to reel them in sometimes and say, 'We don't want to go there yet because we still have other issues we want to address.' There was never a time they were not sharp enough."

However, this wasn't a problem for Cassidy, but rather an asset.

"The real people have to be involved, they have to be engaged and challenged the whole time," he says. "We had to keep them engaged and keep them immersed in this world we were creating 24/7. That leaves you with a lot of footage and a lot of story to construct, but I think it also gets you a much more interesting show -- a more challenging show to construct -- but I think in the long run you get a better show."

"Murder in Small Town X" debuts Tuesday, July 24 at 9 p.m.