Weird.
Discovery seems to be shooting themselves in the foot. "if you won't make more stuff, we're gonna take off your hit show."
They better drink their own urine.
Discovery Channel has terminated its relationship with Grylls, the British television personality and star of the network's "Man vs. Wild." Grylls, who joined the show when it launched launched in 2006, was fired by Discovery after he refused to participate in two unannounced projects he was contracted for, say sources. The sixth season of "Man Vs. Wild" wrapped in August.
This is not the first time Discovery has had a disagreement with its talent. In 2010, the network sued Deadliest Catch captains Jonathan and Andy Hillstrand for allegedly failing to complete work on the spinoff "Hillstranded." The $3 million lawsuit prompted the Hillstrands and captain Sig Hansen to quit, though a month later the dispute was settled, the suit was dropped and all three returned to work on the show.
Grylls, 37, has parlayed his fame as an extreme outdoorsman into an international media career. He's written nearly a dozen books, many of them survival guides. His memoir "Mud, Sweat and Tears" -- due to be published in the U.S. in May -- already is a best-seller in England and Australia. He's landed numerous endorsement deals including with Dockers and Degree deodorant. There's a "Man vs. Wild" video game, he has an iPhone app, and his clothing line is sold at REI and Walmart.
In other words, this guy isn't going to have to dig up live worms for dinner anytime soon.
His exploits on "Man Vs. Wild" (which averaged 1.1 million viewers on Discovery last season) have earned him numerous celebrity admirers. But the show was beset with early controversies when it was revealed that some of Grylls' escapades were enhanced or staged and that Grylls spent nights in local motels while he was purportedly left alone to fend for himself on a deserted island.
In 2007, the show was briefly taken off the air in the U.K. and Discovery began airing it with a disclaimer allowing that Grylls was not in fact left alone to survive in the wild. In subsequent episodes Grylls directly addresses the crew, and in the interest of transparency, each season featured a making-of episode.
Grylls' rugged public persona has also bellied his personal wealth. A former member of the British Army's Special Air Service, Grylls lives with his family on a private island in Wales (where there is no electricity). He also has a home in Malibu and a house barge on the Thames. In a recent New York Times profile, Grylls says he only hired a publicist last year and maintains that he's "still always the scruffiest person at any meeting."
Discovery had multiple additional projects in development with Grylls; though the exact nature of his contract dispute and subsequent firing was not known. Grylls has not commented on the matter.
Discovery seems to be shooting themselves in the foot. "if you won't make more stuff, we're gonna take off your hit show."
They better drink their own urine.