Fear factor
| Fear Factor | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Stunt/dare Game show |
| Created by | Endemol USA |
| Presented by | Joe Rogan |
| Theme music composer | Russ Landau |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons |
Original series: 6 Revived series: 1 |
| No. of episodes |
Original series: 144 Revived series: 8 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes (with commercials) |
| Production company(s) |
Pulse Creative Evolution Film & Tape (season 1) Endemol USA NBC Enterprises |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution (syndication only) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format |
480i SDTV (2001–06) 1080i HDTV (2011–12) |
| Original release |
Original series: June 11, 2001 – September 12, 2006 Revived series: December 12, 2011 – July 16, 2012 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare game show that originally aired between 2001 and 2006. It was later revived in 2011, only to be cancelled again on May 13, 2012. After its second cancellation, a two-part special aired in July 2012. The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor. The show pits contestants against each other in a variety of stunts for a grand prize, usually of US $50,000. From Seasons One to Five, the contestants were generally three men and three women, all competing for themselves, but in Season Six, the show moved to a permanent format of four teams of two people, each with a pre-existing relationship with one another. The show was hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan, produced by Matt Kunitz and David A. Hurwitz, and directed by J. Rupert Thompson.
As NBC's answer to the successful series Survivor, the show was initially a hit for the network in the summer of 2001, and built strong ratings and popularity for the next couple of seasons, but as the years passed, the ratings declined. In 2006, Fear Factor faced tough competition with the TV ratings champion, Fox's talent series American Idol on Tuesday nights, and the ratings declined further. The ratings continued trending downward in mid-2006. Despite much publicity concerning an improved format and better stunts for Season Six, NBC put the struggling program on hiatus for the remainder of the season to make room for the sitcom Joey, which was removed from the NBC lineup a few weeks later. The series was officially cancelled by NBC in May 2006 after six seasons, due to poor ratings. The network began airing the remainder of the season on June 13, 2006, with the remaining episodes to be aired throughout the summer. In 2004, Fear Factor became the first network reality show to be syndicated. 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, but in early 2009, plans were made to release a box set containing the entire series on DVD. 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.
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