Logo

Quick: What TV Show Had Contestants Eating The Grossest Bugs? That’s Right, ‘Fear Factor.’ NBC is Reviving This Once Reviled and Popular Show

Jun 2, 2011  •  Post A Comment

NBC has ordered 10 new episodes of "Fear Factor," which was originally on the network from 2001 to 2006, according to a number of media reports.

The story was first reported on Thursday, June 2, 2011 when a casting notice for the show was found by the website RealityBlurred.com.

In one of its two stories on the subject, EW.com confirmed that 10 episodes have been ordered. and that former host Joe Rogan is being considered to host the "Fear Factor" reboot as well.

Our friend James Hibberd at EM wrote, "NBC’s head of alternative programming Paul Telegdy says the notion first came to the network’s attention when sister cable channel Chiller saw high ratings for near decade-old ‘Fear Factor’ repeats. Telegdy watched some of the encores himself and was impressed how well the action held up. ‘No one has come close to doing what they’ve done on that show,’ Telegdy exclusively tells EW. ‘You go back and they’ve stood the test of time. It always had this incredible spectacle to it.’

Hibberd adds, " ‘Fear Factor’ ran for five years on the network starting in 2001. When it launched, the series was a rallying point for NBC’s critics. At the time, the network was best known for prestige shows like ‘The West Wing’ and ‘Friends,’ while reality TV was considered a tawdry genre stealing attention from scripted shows, with ‘Fear Factor’ pushing the gross-out envelope beyond what had ever been seen on TV. Telegdy says that although the new show will go even bigger, ‘we don’t necessarily need to do the stuff with maximum shock value. In the brave new world of reality TV it was deemed symptomatic of a problem–"we want our ‘West Wing,’ why are you doing this?" ‘ Telegdy said. ‘Now the ecology has changed, the top shows are reality TV. For consumers, it will be a fond reunion.’ "

For our money here at TVWeek, of all the insects contestants were asked to eat on "Fear Factor," this may have been the grossest–the Camel Spider:

camel spider 2.jpgcamel spider 1.jpg

2 Comments

  1. Again, I really hope they use Rogan as the host. He just added something MORE to the show.

  2. I just knew that such a franchise could never die (I did lose my Fear Factor hat when I returned from Israel however). It’s great to see it still popular in reruns (they have been airing on TVTropolis over the last few months too). Let’s change it back to individuals, instead of the necessary use of pairs as the series ended.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)