Bear Grylls has built his TV career on being able to survive in the wild against seemingly impossible odds.
Now, NBC has decided to launch a six-episode celebrity-survival series “Running Wild with Bear Grylls.” The gimmick is that Grylls will not be alone; in each episode he will be accompanied by a different well-known celebrity.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the famous personalities who will be seen with him include actors Channing Tatum , Zac Efron, Ben Stiller, and Tom Arnold, football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and “Today” anchor Tamron Hall. The idea is that viewers will be able to see Bear’s guests as they are in real life, stripped of the trappings of celebrity.
Of course, the ” real life” is not as difficult as it appears on the screen since in all of his seemingly death defying adventures, Bear Grylls is nor exactly alone. Although the impression given to the audience is very dramatic, it must not be forgotten that he is always accompanied by a sizable film crew, and there have been allegations that a number of the events and scenes have been staged for dramatic effect.
Having said that, it is true that Grylls will be taking his celebrity guests to some of the wildest remote locations in the world, from the Catskill Mountains to Scotland.
Grylls issued a statement about the show:
“‘Running Wild’ allows viewers to see inside the hearts and minds of these guests in a very open, honest and vulnerable way, pushing them out of their comfort zones and seeing what they are like in real life when stripped of all the benefits of celebrity. Ultimately, this show is about taking these stars on the adventure of a lifetime and being alongside them when they discover something new and empowering about themselves and their world. For me, that is always a privilege.”
The inspiration for the concept of making the show as a series came from Grylls, but it is not the first time he has partnered with celebrities. He once traveled through Iceland with actor Jake Gyllenhaal on “Man vs. Wild ” and Will Ferrell appeared on his Discovery show.
Ben Silverman, an executive producer whose company, Electus, produces the show, said that the stars don’t appear for free, but don’t get paid “as much as you think.”
The Bear Grylls reality series is set to premiere Monday, July 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
