Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge debuted on NBC May 30. The show sees Hot Wheels superfans turn a toy car from their past into the life-sized car of their dreams. The winner will see their creation become an official Hot Wheels die-cast car.
The show “builds on the success of Lego Masters,” said executive producer D.J. Nurre, who also exec produces the Lego show, both on behalf of Endemol Shine North America. Hot Wheels parent Mattel was keen to do an unscripted show and Ultimate Challenge was born.
The show isn’t just for gearheads, Nurre said, but for “the kid in all of us” who can imagine what their boring, everyday ride might look like with, say, flames painted on the sides or a skull on the hood.
Some contestants are gearheads, he added, but most are not. “They don’t have to have spent their entire life tinkering in the garage to participate in the show or enjoy the show,” Nurre said.
The contestants are hardly all male. “It’s really exciting to bring the female superfans on and allow them to bring the feminine point of view,” Nurre said. That’s not about flowers and butterflies, he added: “Some made their cars way more aggressive, more bad-ass, than the boys did.”
Rutledge Wood, whose resume includes covering NASCAR, hosts Hot Wheels. Nurre said Wood is well suited for the role. “He was the biggest kid on the set,” Nurre said. “He did not lose his enthusiasm even for one second.”
‘Lazarus’ Reborn on TNT
TNT will premiere thriller drama The Lazarus Project on June 4. The show, about a secret organization that has harnessed the ability to turn back time whenever the world faces the threat of extinction, aired in the U.K. late last year. There are eight episodes.
The series follows George, the latest recruit to the secret project. When a freak accident harms someone close to George, Lazarus won’t let him turn back time to undo it unless there is the threat of global extinction.
“At the end of the day, it’s a crazy love story,” Johnny Capps, executive producer, said. “It’s a very original premise, to see a love story done in this way.”
Paapa Essiedu, Anjli Mohindra, Tom Burke and Caroline Quentin are in the cast. The idea came from exec producer Joe Barton. Capps promised a “thriller jigsaw puzzle in every episode.”
“It’s very topical, it’s very funny and it’s got fantastic characters,” he added.
Asked about influences, Capps mentioned Groundhog Day.
Scripted dramas on TNT are uncommon, but Capps believes the partnership looks strong. He said, “We’re thrilled to work with American partners who are very like-minded.”
