Los Angeles – A production-related injury shut down a Survivor-type extreme challenge TV show this week when a female contestant was reported to have fallen during a dangerous elimination competition.
The contestant, whose name has not been released pending notification of her family, was one of eight chosen in nationwide auditions for the reality contest series The Ultimate, Ultimate Challenge. The show was being shot on an island in the Caribbean. According to sources familiar with the production, the woman’s injuries were severe enough that she had to be airlifted to a hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Production of the show was suspended indefinitely. No U.S. channels had been set to broadcast The Ultimate Ultimate Challenge, which was being produced as a pilot for network approval.
The Ultimate Ultimate Challenge is touted as a combination of Survivor, Fear Factor and Eco-Challenge and is hosted by George Gray of ESPN’s I’d Do Anything. While the show’s production company Ultimate Challenge Productions could not be reached for comment, Executive Producer Kevin Blatt has described the extreme series as a “brutal competition” having “no limits.”
Injuries on reality shows are not uncommon, though productions seldom shut down as a result. Recently, the VH1 show Breaking Bonaduce nearly cancelled production after the show’s subject, former Partridge Family star, Danny Bonaduce, attempted suicide during the filming of the show
