Star of ‘Average Joe’ too busy for TV

The newest “Average Joe” series arrives tonight on NBC, beating some long odds.

Producers needed to find someone who had never heard of the first three versions. They did.

They found Anna Chudoba, 26, a model and entrepreneur who has a business administration degree and a refreshing blank spot.

“I’m that hard-working girl who never had time for television,” she says.

So she hadn’t heard of “Average Joe,” a reality show with a basic format: A bikini beauty goes to an exotic location, expecting to date handsome hunks. Instead, she meets guys who are, alas, average.

Chudoba got on the show after she spotted an ad.

“It was for ‘Dating Show 4,’ ” Chudoba says. “It said, ‘Do you want to be the center of attention?’ “

She did. At the auditions, she said she hadn’t been watching reality shows.

“When you meet someone like that, you want to build a cocoon for her,” producer Stuart Krasnow says.

They told her not to talk about the show, then rushed toward production. Chudoba was startled that this edition (which eventually got to Tahiti) started with waterfront luxury.

“They had a big, super yacht,” she says. “I had my own crew. … I felt very spoiled.”

The guys, however, knew what to expect.

“In the past, we surprised the Average Joes,” Krasnow says. “This time, they knew what the show was.”

They knew that average-looking men – ranging from a pest-control guy to a doctoral student in computer science – were competing for one beauty. Later, some beefy, handsome guys would be added.

They also knew the show’s track record. In the first two, the beauty rejected all the Joes and chose a hunk. In the third, a rejected Joe had his choice. His final two were a flashy partygoer and a wholesome teacher his parents loved. He chose the former, and the relationship fizzled.

By one view, “Average Joe” is like “The Bachelor.” There’s no big prize (love and marriage) at the end.

There’s more to the show than that, insists producer Andrew Glassman.

“It’s not just about, ‘Did he get the girl?’ It’s about people who change. At the end of ‘Casablanca,’ Rick doesn’t get Ilsa, but it’s still a good movie.”

And besides, this time the Joes might have a better chance. Before they even met Chudoba, they get a pep talk from some guys who were on previous editions. And three of the rejects were given makeovers and then plunged back in.

“Some of these guys, if we just clean up things a little, it makes a big difference,” Glassman says.