Bar Rescue
Bar Rescue is an American reality television series that airs on Paramount Network (formerly Spike during the first five seasons). It stars Jon Taffer, a long-time food and beverage industry consultant specializing in nightclubs, bars and pubs. Taffer offers his professional expertise, renovations and equipment to desperately failing bars in an effort to save them from closing.
Bar Rescue
Darrin Reed
Neal Gallagher
P.J. King
United States
English
9
258 (list of episodes)
- Todd Nelson
- Dj Nurre
- Tim Warren
- Katy Dierks
- James Agiesta
- Jason Garnett
41–42 minutes
- Eyeworks (2011–14)
- 3 Ball Entertainment (2015–present)
- MTV Entertainment Studios (2021–present)
- Paramount Network Broadcasting
- Spike (seasons 1–5)
- Paramount Network (seasons 6–present)
July 17, 2011 –
present
The show premiered on what was then known as Spike in the United States on July 17, 2011. In the UK, the show originally aired on 5Star, later moving to Spike (UK), which is now 5Spike/5Action.
A spin-off series titled Marriage Rescue premiered on June 2, 2019.[1]
On September 22, 2020, it was announced that the series would move to another ViacomCBS (Now Paramount) network, as part of a since-rescinded plan to shift the Paramount Network to television films and miniseries.[2] Bar Rescue's move also never took place, as its eighth season premiered on Paramount Network on May 2, 2021.[3] The eighth season focused on Taffer's residence of Las Vegas, a city whose hospitality industry was devastated during the COVID-19 pandemic, then returned with episodes of bars throughout the United States in its traditional format on March 20, 2022.
Production[edit]
The series is from The Biggest Loser producers J.D. Roth and Todd A. Nelson for 3 Ball Productions/Eyeworks US. Spike announced picking up 10 episodes of Bar Rescue in January 2011. The show began shooting in April 2011.[7] It was renewed on September 14, 2011 for a second season in the summer of 2012,[8] from which the first episode of that season aired on July 29. Season 3 of the show premiered on February 10, 2013. On May 9, 2013, Spike TV renewed Bar Rescue for a fourth season of 20 more episodes.[9]
On March 21, 2014, Spike TV ordered 20 more episodes of Bar Rescue. On June 27, Taffer announced on Facebook that he would begin shooting 30 episodes for season 4 after a week-long trip to Paris.[10] The first half premiered on October 5, 2014 while the second half premiered on February 8, 2015. On May 30, 2015, Taffer announced on Facebook that he finished shooting season 4. It was announced that the remaining episodes for season 4 would air beginning Sunday, June 21, 2015.[11]
In May 2015, Taffer announced season 5, with at least 20 episodes, on his Facebook page,[12] with an update from Spike, issued in July 2016, that they had increased the fifth season to a total of 30 episodes.[13] A sixth season was announced with a March 11, 2018 start date.[14]
On May 2, 2019, the series was renewed for a seventh season with 12 episodes.[15] The seventh season's roll-out from March 2020 until June 2020 was a victim of unfortunate timing, starting at the first height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Due to stay-at-home orders throughout the country and takeout food-only non-alcohol restrictions placed on the industry, the majority of the bars featured in the season were unable to take advantage of the post-episode publicity boost usually afforded the featured bars. It also effectively froze the show indefinitely from any future filming or planning for a presumptive eighth season, and the last half of the seventh season was fulfilled with a series of clip shows categorizing certain rescues into themes.
Eventually, the series went back into production for its eighth season with an all-Las Vegas season, due to the impact of the pandemic in Nevada on the region's hospitality industry.[3] On February 9, 2022, Paramount Network announced that the second part of the eighth season would premiere on March 20.[16] On July 10, 2022, Taffer confirmed on Twitter that the ninth season was in production.[17] The ninth season premiered on February 25, 2024.
Legal issues[edit]
Lawsuit[edit]
Jon and Nicole Taffer, along with the show's production company Bongo LLC, have been sued by Dr. Paul T. Wilkes from Bar 702 (formerly Sand Dollar). In the episode "Don't Mess with Taffer's Wife", Wilkes is shown to hit on Nicole, and Jon yells at him in retaliation. However, Wilkes stated that the producers ordered him to be sleazy and make offensive comments on women, and texted him to "Hit on Mrs. Taffer hardcore!!" After Wilkes did so, Wilkes states that Taffer called the control room to tell them to have a drink near the spot where he intended to confront Wilkes, so he could throw it in his face, and said to a colleague, "Now I'm going to show you why my show is Number One." According to Wilkes, Taffer came in to confront him and showed him footage of his audition tapes, in which he insulted the way Taffer dressed. Taffer then physically assaulted Wilkes, leading to a scuffle, resulting in a hyperventilating Taffer collapsing onto the floor. Wilkes stated that he suffered from emotional distress and symptoms such as migraines, nausea, vomiting, night terrors, crying spells, severe depression and anxiety attacks as a result of the confrontation.[30][31] As of August 11, 2017, the case was dismissed with prejudice at the request of Dr. Wilkes after it settled in arbitration for a confidential amount. As a result, the "Don't Mess with Taffer's Wife" episode no longer airs in reruns on Paramount Network or appears on the network's website and apps and also does not appear on Paramount Global's subscription video streaming service Paramount+.
Nashville rescue and Wayne Mills murder[edit]
During the taping for season 3, Taffer visited BoondoxXx BBQ & Juke Joint in Nashville, Tennessee and worked with owner Chris Ferrell, who was noted for having a hot temper. The rescued bar was renamed Pit & Barrel and the episode featuring the bar was to air on November 24, 2013, but on the night before the episode was supposed to air, Ferrell was arrested by Nashville police for shooting and killing country singer Wayne Mills during an argument inside the remodeled Pit & Barrel. Spike immediately pulled the episode from its originally scheduled premiere slot in primetime. However, it failed to remove the episode replay carried three hours later at 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT from its broadcast automation system, thus it still aired. The network drew criticism for the error, in light of the circumstances. Since the accidental airing, the episode has never re-aired, though it has been distributed on file-sharing websites.
Ferrell stood trial for the murder of Mills and asserted he acted in self-defense, claiming that Mills had violated the bar's nonsmoking rule and had threatened to kill him with a broken beer bottle. The jury convicted Ferrell of second-degree murder in March 2015 after a long-delayed trial,[32] and he was given a 20-year sentence without the possibility of parole. The verdict and sentence were appealed,[33] but were upheld by the appeals court in 2019.[34]
After Ferrell's arrest, Pit & Barrel was closed by authorities. The city attempted to sell the bar, but nobody wanted to buy it due to its reputation, and the land in the booming area was more valuable than the business itself. In July 2016, the former bar was demolished and turned into a parking lot for nearby businesses.[35]
International broadcast[edit]
In the UK, the show airs on 5*, starting from January 8, 2014. It has since moved to the British Spike Channel since Viacom acquired Channel 5 UK. It's also aired in The Netherlands on Spike.
In Sweden, Bar Rescue is shown daily on TV12 and TV4 Fakta XL.
In Italy, the show is called Bar da incubo (Nightmare Bar). It is shown daily on Cielo TV and Italy Spike Channel.