FOX Goes for New Survival Competition Show

LOS ANGELES: FOX has placed an eight-episode order for the new unscripted series Kicking & Screaming, which teams ten expert survivalists with pampered partners to face the toughest race of their lives.

The show comes from executive producer Matt Kunitz (Wipeout, Fear Factor), in association with Lionsgate Television. Kicking & Screaming will follow as these unlikely duos are dropped in a forbidding wilderness, where they must overcome dangerous animals, raging rivers, hunger and extreme weather. To win the competition, the experts will have to get their partners to the finish line.

“Pairing high-level experts with high-maintenance novices struck us as a perfect way to extract comedy from the survival competition genre,” said David Madden, the president of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Company. “Matt Kunitz has tremendous experience in this field, and together with Lionsgate, we’ve got the perfect partners to lead us on this adventure.”

“We’re delighted to venture into the wilderness with FOX and Matt Kunitz as our partners,” said Lionsgate Television Group’s chairman, Kevin Beggs. “Kicking & Screaming has all the earmarks of an important new brand for Lionsgate Television. Matt is a singular creative voice, FOX is the ideal partner and Kicking & Screaming is the perfect property to continue building our momentum in unscripted television.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by the survival space, so I am excited to infuse a touch of comedy into a traditionally dramatic genre and to get to do it on FOX, the home of competition reality series,” added Kunitz. “I am pleased to be producing this series in association with Lionsgate, a studio known for stand-out, brand-defining shows, which is perfect for the conflict, heart and humor viewers will see in Kicking & Screaming.”