Spike TV Renews ‘DEA,’ Greenlights New Series
'Surviving Disaster,' 'Deadliest Warrior' Will Debut in 2009
By Larry Barrett -- Multichannel News, 10/16/2008 10:12:00 AM EDT
Spike TV Thursday announced it has renewed its original series DEA and will begin production on a pair of new series later this fall.
Surviving Disaster and Deadliest Warrior will premiere in 2009, according to Sharon Levy, senior vice president of original series.
“Spike TV is taking action-packed programming to an entirely new level,” she said in a statement. "We're thrilled to be in business with some of the most talented and successful producers in the industry and bring this programming to viewers."
Surviving Disaster, scheduled for 10, one-hour episodes, will give viewers advice on the best way to survive dicey situations such as an earthquake, a shark attack or deadly tsunami. Former Navy SEAL Cade Courtly (Combat Missions) will lead viewers though a series of elaborate simulations to learn the best way to cheat death. The series is produced by Wall to Wall Media with Alex Graham and Jonathan Hewes serving as executive producers.
Deadliest Warrior is billed as the show that “will settle once and for all the age-old bar bet of who is history's ultimate fighting machine,” network officials said. It’s scheduled for nine, one-hour episodes and is produced by Morningstar Entertainment with Gary Tarpanian and Paninee Theeranuntawat as executive producers.
Each week, the narrative series will pit two of the most feared warriors civilization has ever known against one another. Who would come out the victor in a battle of Genghis Kahn's Mongol Barbarians versus Viking warriors or Roman gladiators against Japanese samurai? Utilizing the latest in CGI technology, Spike TV will enlist experts on these warriors to provide insight into what made these feared combatants tick and analyze everything from their weaponry to their unique skills of destruction.
Each episode will culminate when the two legends of the battlefield go head-to-head in a final fight that will produce the deadliest warrior.
DEA returns for a second season as viewers will once again follow a group of Special Agents and Task Force Officers in the DEA as they put their lives on the line in a daily battle against the ruthless illegal drug industry with individuals ranging from street level dealers all the way up to international traffickers. Production begins this fall for season two in a city to be announced at a later date.
The series averaged 1.2 million viewers per episode in its first season and ranked fourth in timeslot among men 18-34 and 18-49.
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