‘White Rabbit Project’ Starring Grant Imahara, Tory Belleci, And Kari Byron: Is This The Return Of ‘Mythbusters’ In Everything But Name?
Is the new White Rabbit Project premiering on Netflix in a few days the return of the beloved MythBusters, or is it something else? As reported by Entertainment Weekly, with the same company producing the show and return of three of the previous series stars, there’s reason to be hopeful.
The gang is back together again. WHITE RABBIT PROJECT on Netflix worldwide Dec 9. @KariByron @grantimahara https://t.co/AvSj7U2P6W
— Tory Belleci (@ToryBelleci) November 28, 2016
The Original MythBusters
The original MythBusters – which was the seed for the current White Rabbit Project– was an interesting mix of urban legends, movie myths, scientific methodology, construction, and humor. Although insidiously educational, the show was successful enough to run from 2003 to March 2016.
Spectacular stunts, sometimes nauseating experiments and massive explosions became the hallmarks of MythBusters. Even President Obama got in on the act, guest starring in a special episode about ancient Greek weaponry setting ships on fire.
When the decision was made a couple of seasons ago to dump the build team – comprised of Grant Imahara, Tory Belleci, and Kari Byron – from MythBusters, there was an outcry from fans around the world. And although MythBusters continued on without them for a couple of seasons, most viewers thought it wasn’t quite the same.
But with MythBusters now canceled and Adam Savage and Jamie Heinemann off doing other things, it left the producers of the original show – Beyond Productions– free to reintroduce and reinvented with the still popular build team. While not precisely the same as MythBusters, the truth is it’s not that far removed from the original show either.
MythBusters Redux?
In the White Rabbit Project, Byron, Belleci, and Imahara will tackle a range of topics more or less in the MythBusters style although perhaps with slightly less focus on science per se and a little more focus on fun. Supposedly, the show will also be unscripted, which is a major departure from the original MythBusters series. According to the official synopsis for the White Rabbit Project:
Under their microscope are topics as diverse as jailbreaks, superpower technology, heists, and crazy World War II weapons… In each episode the hosts immerse themselves in experiments, builds and tests as they sleuth the truth behind these and other well googled themes.
So it sounds like if you enjoyed MythBusters, you’ll probably like the White Rabbit Project as well. And for fans specifically of the build team, this is a golden opportunity to see them throughout the entire episode, instead of just in snippets here and there. And almost inevitably – as happened on MythBusters on numerous occasions – Tory Belleci will find a way to injure himself unnecessarily.
And it also seems clear that one of the best aspects of MythBusters – the re-creation of crazy or unusual scenarios – is going to be a part of this new show as well. The unscripted interaction between the cohosts during these experiments and investigations probably won’t seem too far removed from the scenes they had together on MythBusters.
#MythBusters' build team is back w/ @Netflix's #WhiteRabbitProject—watch the trailer: https://t.co/5fyru5P5aS pic.twitter.com/VeOk2vInCZ
— Nerdist (@nerdist) November 28, 2016
Although the original MythBusters traveled a bit, occasionally going as far as Florida or even South Africa, for the most part it stayed grounded in California. But if this White Rabbit Project Netflix series is going to be all that it claims in the synopsis, it may be that the intrepid trio are going to do much more traveling than they did previously. After all, mysteries and surprises aren’t just confined to the continental United States.
It’s always comforting to see familiar faces, and that’s one of the things the White Rabbit Project will provide. With Byron, Belleci, and Imahara back in the saddle, fans of MythBusters won’t have to continue pining for the show they devotedly watched for more than a decade. The band’s getting back together.
[Featured Image by Beyond Productions]