News

'Bust' a new move: Savage, Hyneman pass the torch in 'Reaction'

« Back to News

 
Author: 
Sheila Busteed / TV Media

'BUST' A NEW MOVE: As two of Discovery's most popular personalities, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have found tremendous success with "MythBusters." Now, the two hosts' ingenuity is going to come in handy as they launch a new series for the network.

Savage and Hyneman will serve as judges and executive producers of "Unchained Reaction," a new reality competition series that will premiere next month. The six-part series will reveal who among a group of artists, engineers, scientists and others have the ability to impress the judges with their creativity and originality as they build a series of contraptions to achieve a shared goal.

Each team will be given five days with the same set of tools and materials and must transform them into something completely different. The competitors are encouraged to engage in large-scale builds, use robotics, tear things apart, blow things up, and think outside the box -- basically, the type of behavior that Savage and Hyneman are known for in "MythBusters" -- to win the contest.

"The spirit of 'Unchained Reaction' is at the intersection of art and engineering," said Discovery's Eileen O'Neill.

In a way, this new series presents "MythBusters" fans with the opportunity to interact with the hosts on a whole new level. No longer confined to suggesting myths for investigation, now a select few people will get the chance to step into the hosts' shoes per se by taking part in this competition.

"We wanted to craft a show that puts the process of problem solving and ingenuity front and Centre, and we've done exactly that with 'Unchained Reaction,'" said Savage.

Each of the six episodes will welcome a different guest judge to join Savage and Hyneman as they decide who wins each level of the competition. However, the names of the guest judges have not yet been released.

 

ONE LAST SHOT: Many people can relate to this situation: when reality sets in or life gets in the way, it forces one's path to deviate from a big career goal. Yet few individuals ever get the chance to go back to try again for that big break. Now, USA is breaking into the reality programming market by giving a select few that second chance.

This fall, USA will premiere its first original reality show, tentatively called "The Moment," and has hired a host who sets a perfect example for the show. It took former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner multiple times to have a professional football career, and he was working at a grocery store when his big break finally happened. Within 18 months of that, he was named Super Bowl MVP in 1999.

USA's initial pickup is for nine episodes, which will be executive produced by Charlie Ebersol and Justin Hochberg.

"Everyone has a 'what-if' moment in their life -- a decision or path they could have taken -- but rarely do they get a second chance to explore what could have been," said Ebersol and Hochberg in a joint statement. "We created a format that taps into this emotion and proved so powerful that it attracted Kurt Warner -- the guy who got his own second chance -- to his first reality hosting gig."

After being nominated by a family member or friend, contestants are surprised by the crew and taken for intense training to prepare for an audition that could change their lives. The participants must then decide to follow the new path or stick to the old one.

Since retiring from the NFL in 2010, Warner has done commentary work for the NFL Network and competed on the fifth season of "Dancing With the Stars."

 

HEART AND HOME: Bravo loves the Big Apple, and it's ready to prove it with two new series.

First, Manhattan matchmaker Lori Zaslow will test her skills as she helps New Yorkers find the right partner in "Love Broker," debuting on Monday, March 5. Then, on Wednesday, March 7, the cabler will premiere a new version of its established realty show with "Million Dollar Listing New York."

"Love Broker" reveals the inner workings of Zaslow's Project Soulmate, a matchmaking service aimed at educated, upscale people who want to take a proactive approach to finding a mate instead of waiting around, hoping that love will just come to them. Zaslow certainly lives by example; she has been married to her perfect match, Bryan, for 12 years and they have two children.

Before launching Project Soulmate, Zaslow worked for more than a decade as an executive recruiting specialist within the fashion industry. Needless to say, she has a knack for finding the right person for the job. However, finding the right person to complement another in the romantic sense can be more tricky, but her record has proven that she knows the key to finding and keeping love in one's life.

Bravo's other new property, "Million Dollar Listing New York," features three of the city's top realtors as they take a bite out of the local market while dealing with very picky and demanding clients. Michael Lorber, Ryan Serhant and Fredrik Eklund compete for bragging rights and big commissions as they work to sell some of Manhattan's richest properties.

The show's predecessor, "Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles," has enjoyed four successful seasons on the air, but the New York real estate market is a different beast altogether, as the show's realtors will prove.

Both series will air hour-long episodes.