Producer Mark Burnett is best known for two rather cutthroat shows: CBS’s “Survivor” and NBC’s “Apprentice.”

So what the heck is he doing helming a treacly project called “Wedding Day” on Atlanta-based TNT, which debuts tonight at 8?

“I was immediately captivated,” he said. “The cynical thing is no good deed goes unpunished. This is the complete opposite. Good deeds do get rewarded! These are truly deserving couples.”

These are couples who have had problems putting together their weddings, not because they are avoiding it but because they don’t have the funds or the time. So the show funds the “dream” wedding with labor help from friends and family. See for yourself in this trailer:

When I noted that “Survivor” seems far more cynical than “Wedding Day,” he protested. ” ‘Survivor’ is not cynical,” he said. “In the end, you can’t win unless you treat people right and they give you the money.” [Many times, people have won simply because they played the game well, not that they treated people right.]

“I want to do uplifting things,” Burnett said. “I’ve always thought that way. Certain shows you’d never see me do. I’m trying to raise people up, not break them down.”

This show, he said, even made him tear up a few times. The producer who oversees “Wedding Day,” he noted, came from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” ” ‘Wedding Day’ has a similar feeling” as that show, he said.

He then enthused, “I love that family members actually roll up their sleeves and build the wedding environment. The bride dictates what she’d like. We try to do even better.”

This is TNT’s first reality show ever and will lead in the new “Hawthorne” nursing drama and Holly Hunter’s much edgier “Saving Grace.” Burnett feels all three shows will attract women.

He admits that this show won’t be a big draw for guys but he hopes families might catch watch it together. “Maybe the wife has the remote control,” he said. Anyway, he said, “I feel like it’s very easy to watch. And I think that guys can really identify with how the men get sucked along. Women are really in charge of weddings.”

TNT has committed to 10 episodes for a show that seems much more compatible on WE or Oxygen.

Burnett was definitely focused on “Wedding Day” promotion. Any questions about “Survivor” and “The Apprentice” got tied back to the new show. For instance, when I asked if Coach from the latest season of “Survivor” deserved to get his own show, Burnett said:

I don’t see why not. He’s one of the most fascinating, interesting people I have ever seen on television. Honestly, he’s so out there. But that’s who he is. What you see is real emotions. Yet that part is like ‘Wedding Day.’ You see raw true emotions. There’s nothing staged here. It’s completely real.