What happens when you put a guy with a high opinion of himself in a house with seven of his ex-girlfriends?

An NBC dating show, and probably lots of crying. Viewers will find out for themselves when the network debuts "The One That Got Away" on May 31.

NBC claims the two-hour special, greenlit last fall under the title "Little Black Book," will be the first dating show to introduce all its hopefuls and reach a conclusion in the same episode (although the network's own "Meet My Folks" sometimes follows that pattern as well). It also claims to break new ground by reuniting a guy with several exes.

"This show takes all of the ingredients of great reality television -- the romance, the arguments, the tears and the gut-wrenching decisions -- and plays it all out from beginning to end" in one show, executive producer Bob Kusbit (MTV's "TRL") says. "There's no waiting for next week -- or the next six weeks. You get it all in one night."

The guy in question is Skipper Kress (that's his given name), the self-described "most eligible bachelor" in North Carolina. The Charlotte bartender has apparently led a busy dating life in the past, and has an ability to stay friendly with former girlfriends.

"We found the bravest guy in the world who decided to open up his romantic past and take a shot at falling in love all over again," exec producer Joe Livecchi ("She Spies") says. "There's no way to prepare for what this guy had to face."

Should "The One That Got Away" perform well, there's a chance that NBC would order up more episodes.