Execs plan to make the reboot 'bigger' than the original version with Rogan 'very high on the list' of potential host.
- Jun 3, 2011
AceShowbiz - Almost five years after canceling "Fear Factor", NBC is reviving the action classic show and has ordered 10 episodes. The idea pops up after the show's repeats draw high ratings on sister cable channel Chiller.
"No one has come close to doing what they've done on that show," NBC's head of alternative programming Paul Telegdy says. "You go back and they've stood the test of time. It always had this incredible spectacle to it."
With stunt and camera technologies which have evolved since the first time the show was made, the reboot is aimed to be bigger and feature scarier stunts. However, Telegdy notes that "we don't necessarily need to do the stuff with maximum shock value."
Original executive producers David Hurwitz and Matt Kunitz are reuniting for the new "Fear Factor". Kunitz gushes in, "We're going to be able to take it to a new level." He further reveals that the gross-out bug-n-food challenge will remain part of the show, but "it won't be so much about eating animal genitalia."
Hurwitz and Kunitz are not the only members of the original team returning to the show since host Joe Rogan is said to be highly likely to return to his post. "Joe was a great host. I think his brand and his personality is associated with this show," says David Goldberg, chairman of Endemol North America which produced the reality show.
"We'll sit down with Joe and see if something he even wants to do. He'll certainly be very high on the list," he further tells Entertainment Weekly about the possibility of Rogan returning as the host, although producers are yet to focus on who will host the show.
