OLN Fires Up the Grill

With grillers in the groove, Outdoor Life Network wants to give viewers a taste of the nation’s best barbecue masters.

The Comcast Corp.-owned network is teaming up with pit master Chris Lilly on original series All-Star BBQ Showdown, which will crown the ultimate BBQ champion through a series of cook-offs.

Fronted by Lilly and E! Entertainment Television E! News reporter and TLC Date Patrol host Peggy Bunker, the series premieres July 24 with back-to-back half-hour installments at 11:30 a.m. (EST), with encores at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. The series will then settle into its regular time slot Saturdays at 10 p.m. July 31, culminating in a one-hour finale Sept. 11.

The combatants were pre-selected from among award-winning BBQ chefs across the country, with the field narrowed to eight, according to network officials.