Nat Geo to 'Run Wild With Bear Grylls'

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

National Geographic has acquired the exclusive cable syndication rights to NBCUniversal’s Running Wild With Bear Grylls. The series will debut on Nat Geo on Oct. 26 and air weekly.

So far, three seasons of the series, which features survivalist Brylls taking celebrities on adventures in the wild, have been produced and aired on NBC. With Grylls as their guide, celebrities travel to six remote locations where they try their hands at such adventures as rappelling in Utah’s canyon lands and skydiving in the Catskills. Nat Geo has the first option to air additional seasons of the show, produced by Bear Grylls Ventures and Electus, should NBC order them.

“Running Wild With Bear Grylls is incredibly complementary to our pursuit of programming and talent that support the very best of what audiences expect from National Geographic,” said Christian Drobnyk, executive vice president, programming strategy and acquisitions for National Geographic Channels, in a statement. “No one makes adventure and survival more surprising, entertaining and informative than Bear Grylls, so it’s the perfect marriage of expert talent with one of the world’s most trusted brands.”

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.