Fear Factor
Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled Now or Neverland.
This article is about the American television show. For the international versions, see Fear Factor (franchise). For other uses, see Fear factor (disambiguation).Fear Factor
Stunt/dare game show
United States
English
Original series: 6
Revived series: 1
MTV series: 2
Total: 9
Original series: 142 (excl. specials with highlights)
Revived series: 9
MTV series: 33
Total: 184 (excl. specials with highlights) (list of episodes)
42 minutes
Pulse Creative
Evolution Media
(2001)
(season 1)
Endemol USA
June 11, 2001 –
September 12, 2006
December 12, 2011 –
July 16, 2012
May 30, 2017 –
August 21, 2018
For the first five seasons, the contestants consisted regularly of three men and three women pitted against each other in a variety of three stunts for a grand prize, usually of $50,000. In the sixth season, the show's format was modified to feature four competing teams of two people who have a pre-existing relationship with one another.
Fear Factor was cancelled by NBC in 2006 after six seasons (142 episodes excluding specials with highlights); NBC would briefly revive the series for a nine-episode run in 2011. In 2017, MTV revived the series with rapper and actor Ludacris assuming the host role; this incarnation ran two seasons (thirty-three episodes) before being cancelled in 2018. The show has since spawned many spin-offs, creating its own media franchise.
History[edit]
Original series (2001–2006)[edit]
As NBC's answer to the CBS television series Survivor, the show was initially a hit for the network in the summer of 2001 and built strong ratings and popularity in the following seasons. Joe Rogan, then known for his role on the sitcom NewsRadio (1995–1999) and as a commentator for Ultimate Fighting Championship, was hired as the host. According to a 2015 interview with Art Bell, Rogan expected Fear Factor to be cancelled after a few episodes due to objections to some of the content and further stated that he took the job mainly to obtain observations and anecdotes for his stand-up comedy career.[1] The series had a runaway success during the first few seasons, but after the series' fourth season (2003–2004), the popularity and ratings began to decline. By the time the series was in its sixth season, the ratings were in steep decline as a result of content concerns and a growing loss of viewer interest, coupled with the series facing tough competition with other TV shows in the same time slot. As a result, the series was only averaging a 2.6 in the ratings.[2][3] Later that year, Fear Factor faced tough competition with the TV ratings champion, Fox's talent series American Idol on Tuesday nights and the ratings declined even further and continued to trend further downward during this period. Despite much publicity concerning an improved format and better stunts for season six, the series' ratings continued to drop and consequently, NBC put the struggling program on hiatus for the remainder of the season to make room for the sitcom Joey, the Friends spin-off that was itself removed from the NBC lineup a few weeks later. After a continuous and steep drop in the series' ratings, it was officially cancelled by NBC in May 2006 after six seasons (Joey was cancelled in April) and the network began airing the remainder of the season on June 13, 2006, with the remaining episodes to be aired throughout the summer, with its last episode airing on September 12, 2006. Over its six seasons, Fear Factor earned NBC a reported $600 million in advertising revenue. Currently only the first season has been released on DVD; in early 2009 a box set release containing the entire series on DVD was planned. The project was put on hold for an unknown reason in March 2010. On June 5, 2010, it was announced that the project was cancelled because of the low sales of the first season DVD.
Syndication[edit]
In 2004, Fear Factor became the first network reality show to be syndicated. In the fall of that year, NBCUniversal Television Distribution put it into barter syndication and it aired on Fox, The WB and UPN affiliates and on the cable channel FX. However, as of fall 2006, Fear Factor had left local syndication due to lack of sales of NBCUniversal and was not renewed for another season next fall since NBC canceled Fear Factor after six seasons due to low ratings. In addition to FX, reruns of Fear Factor have aired in syndication on Chiller, MTV2 and TBD, with TBD airing a Fear Factor marathon the weekend of May 15–16, 2021. The series also has a YouTube channel, where previously unaired footage is shown.
Revived series (2011–2012)[edit]
With Chiller airing reruns of Fear Factor every Sunday night, the ratings led to Comcast informing Entertainment Weekly in a May 31, 2011 report that Fear Factor would be revived for a seventh season. Eight episodes were ordered, including two two-hour episodes and Rogan returning to hosting duties.[4][5] The revival was shot in high-definition and owing to concerns over the then-ongoing NFL Lockout and the loss of NBC Sunday Night Football episodes, TV Guide reported in early July the show could be ready as early as September as lockout replacement programming[6] (NBC eventually lost one episode, the season premiere Hall of Fame Game, because of the lockout that ended in late July). The series revival began airing on December 12, 2011;[7] the two premiere episodes were viewed by 8.7 million and 8.5 million viewers, respectively.[8] This makes the premiere the highest rated non-sports programming to air on NBC at 8:00 p.m. since February 2008. Following Rogan's verbal disclaimer, the narrator gives a statement and this is one most commonly used:
Controversy[edit]
Fear Factor has received criticism from the general public mainly because of the show's second stunt, which intends to disgust its viewers. The American Humane Association expressed concerns for allowing various animals to get injured and even killing insects by eating them alive during the videotaping of the show. The association also revealed that professional animal trainers have refused to work on the show because the producers of Fear Factor have demanded stunts that violate the association's guidelines.[34] In January 2005, an episode featuring a stunt involving blended rats aired in its normal prime time slot. Austin Aitken, a part-time paralegal from Cleveland, sued NBC for US$2.5 million for airing the show, claiming that he felt so disgusted from watching the stunt, his blood pressure rose to the point he felt dizzy and lightheaded and subsequently vomited. His disorientation was so severe that he ran into a doorway and seriously injured himself. Two months later, U.S. District Judge Lesley Wells threw out the lawsuit on the grounds of First Amendment protection.[35] Fear Factor was also criticized by major U.S. electrical utilities for an episode that required contestants to climb through a simulated electrical substation with "electrified wires" complete with simulated sparks and electrical sounds added in post-processing. The Edison Electric Institute issued a warning regarding the episode, fearing that viewers might attempt to climb through a real substation with potentially fatal results.[36] An episode originally scheduled for January 30, 2012, featuring contestants drinking donkey semen and urine was rejected by NBC, which instead aired a rerun.[28] On January 31, 2012, two of the contestants, twin sisters Claire and Brynne Odioso, appeared on The Cowhead Show on Tampa Bay radio station WHPT to talk about their experiences in that episode; however, according to TMZ.com, producers of Fear Factor warned the Odioso sisters not to continue any discussion of the program, as doing so would put them in breach of their confidentiality agreements.[37]
Fear Factor has also resulted in various spin-off products: