The entertainment landscape is set to receive another reboot of a memorable television show property. This time, however, fans will be surprised to know that this particular NBC series is actually a controversial one. After a popular run several decades ago, however, it looks like it’s time for another comeback.
As shared in a recent report, a new reboot of the controversial show was discussed by Endemol Shine North America CEO Sharon Levy. The outlet notes that the studio considers their reboots as shows that have received the “ESNA twist,” and that’s intended to be the case with this revival as well.
Levy shared that Fear Factor is getting a revival with Variety – and spoke about other projects as well:
“I’m not a fan of a straight-up reboot without a reason for being,” Levy says. “You need to give them a reason to watch. And it has to feel of the moment. Development is probably always my first true love. It’s how I started and as much as I love making things, I love cracking them ahead of time. I’d much prefer arguing and fighting and testing and prototyping format beats and thinking about things. Looking in the catalog and asking, ‘What are we going to do with “Deal or No Deal”?’ Having this idea to set it on an island and make it a social competition was a crazy idea.”
As mentioned, however, this latest project is based on a controversial show: Fear Factor. The hit series initially ran from 2001 to 2006 with host Joe Rogan, before being revived from 2011 to 2012, and again from 2017 to 2018. It seems as though this new series will be utilizing the “ESNA twist” to really do something different with the material.
Levy explains that it will be “using where we are in society and how crippled people are by fear — and how important it is to overcome that as a backbone,” she says. “We are looking at it completely differently than it has ever been done before. When you have a category like ‘Fear Factor,’ which is a social experiment with real stakes, the potential of that idea excites me.”
Endemol Shine North America also has plans to create a revival of Wipeout. As such, it’s quite interesting to see where this studio is going with these IPs, and how exactly a reboot of the show Fear Factor will work with that new angle in mind. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them.