Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2012
TruTV is placing a
strong emphasis on comedic reality programming designed to appeal
to its younger-skewing male audience, the network announced with its upcoming
programming slate on Monday.
The network
announced four upcoming series that will debut later this year, including the Hardcore
Pawn spinoff, FortBragg.
The three other
new series are Killer Karaoke, Guinness World Records Gone Wild
and Container Wars. Killer Karaoke, hosted by Jackass star
Steve-O, sees contestants perform their favorite songs in the midst of extreme
physical challenges. Guinness World Records will see people trying to
set "extreme" world records. Container Wars will see contestants compete
against each other to buy the contents of huge shipping containers that have
come from all around the world.
TruTV is
developing shows with former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and Howie Mandel, as
well as a weight-loss series featuring comedians Jeff Sloniker and Curtis
Rainsberry.
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Shaquille O'Neal (working title) is a Tosh.0 style series where O'Neal and his friends
round up with week's top online video clips. Turbulence (wt), from
Mandel, will have contestants answer trivia questions in an airplane with each
wrong answer making the ride bumpier. Jeff & Curtis Lose Weight (wt)
will have the comedic duo attempt to shed extra pounds the hilarious and often
embarrassing ways.
In lieu of a
traditional upfront, truTV instead traveled around the country and met with
smaller groups of key clients. "Given the rapidly changing media environment,
we decided the big budget upfront presentation does not provide the opportunity
to sit down and develop unique solutions for our clients," said Marc
Juris, executive VP & COO of truTV. "This
year we don't want to pitch. We want to partner."
