Critics of Mike Fleiss' new reality series "Superstar USA" probably shouldn't expect an apology any time soon. The unscripted veteran who gave ABC the "Bachelor" franchise and subjected the American people to the mental image of Lorenzo Lamas with a burrito in his pants on "Are You Hot?" is very proud of his upcoming WB venture.

"If you don't dig this, I don't know what you can possibly dig in terms of TV," Fleiss says with nary a hint of hyperbole. "This is the best I've ever seen."

Already, though, Fleiss is facing charges of cruelty for "Superstar USA," which premieres on Monday, May 17 as The WB's great May sweeps hope. Like FOX's "American Idol" in a blender, Fleiss' new offering is a singing competition in which the least talented performers are goaded into thinking they have skills and the genuinely gifted are sent home crying, perplexed and empty-handed.

"I did a show last year called 'Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People' and that show had the same sort of impetus," Fleiss says with a unique mixture of pride and shame. "I wanted to make a show based on the concept 'Do you think you're good looking?' not 'Are you good looking?' That's what this is about, 'Do you think you're talented?' not 'Are you talented?' I don't care if you're talented. I just want to know if you think you're talented."

The horrible singers come out of an elaborate audition process that makes up the first couple of episodes. In true "American Idol" style, subsequent episodes follow the Finalists to Hollywood as they're given celebrity makeovers. They perform in front of encouraging studio audiences who continue to perpetrate the hoax that these chumps are really champs.

Fleiss is already in hot water over media reports that at one taping, the audience was told the singers came from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The foundation, which helps terminally ill patients achieve their dreams, has already expressed disappointment over the lie. The show's creator, though, wants to set the record straight, emphasizing that the audience was instructed the performers came from the fictitious One Wish Foundation.

"We said that these people had been through more than just a normal talent show to be here, so we need you to be supportive," he says of the distinction without a difference.

"Superstar USA" draws its potential from a long-standing American obsession with watching entertainers who combine pride and ineptitude. Even before William Hung parlayed his liability on "Idol" into an inexplicably long shelf life, the nation has had a tradition of embracing mediocrity.

"There's a history of this in our culture," Fleiss notes. "You think about the William Shatner albums and the Terry Bradshaw albums. Those guys are horrible singers, but people still like to listen to that 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' s***."

Although the format for "Superstar USA" has been lifted wholesale from "American Idol," complete with a panel of three judges including Vitamin C, Tone Loc and producer (and longtime Fleiss collaborator) Chris Briggs, the creator doesn't expect any uproar over intellectual property.

"I created a show called 'The Bachelor' which has been ripped off by every network, virtually every night of the week," he observes. "I don't think there's any concern about that. This show's a goof. It's straight-up comedy. I get upset when my romantic-dramatic show is ripped off by a romantic-dramatic show."

Taping on the show completed back in the middle of April and Fleiss promises a "wildly shocking" reveal when the winner (who receives a talent and recording deal worth $100,000) discovers the show's secret. But, once and for all, is "Superstar USA" cruel?

"I don't care," Fleiss laughs. "When you watch the show, it's fun and it's crazy. It seems a little bit wrong, but at the end of the day it just makes you laugh."

"Superstar USA" premieres on Monday, May 17 at 9 p.m. ET on The WB.