TruTV ready for Shaq attack

US cablenet TruTV is lining up a pilot fronted by basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and a gameshow from Howie Mandel.

Marc Juris

The young-adult-skewing channel is piloting Upload With Shaquille O’Neal (working title), in which the player presents humourous clips from the online world. It comes courtesy of Fishbowl Worldwide Media, producer of Tosh.0 and America’s Funniest Home Videos.

America’s Got Talent judge Mandel’s Alevy Productions is developing Turbulence (wt), an airbourne gameshow in which contestants must answer questions while on a bumpy flight. The more questions they get wrong, the worse the ride.

Also in development is Jeff & Curtis Lose Weight (wt), from Rive Gauche Television, which features comedians Jeff Sloniker and Curtis Rainsberry as they attempt to shed pounds with the help of extreme diets and oddball exercise classes.

Meanwhile, TruTV has ordered a series of Zodiak USA’s Killer Karaoke, featuring daredevil presenter Steve-O (Jackass). In the show, contestants must sing well-known tunes while undergoing increasingly extreme physical tests.

The Turner Broadcasting System-owned network is also preparing High Noon Entertainment’s Guinness World Records Gone Wild and Container Wars, an auction show from T Group Productions set in a commercial shipping port.

The latter is cast-contingent, as is a second season of Hardcore Pawn: Fort Bragg.

Storage Hunters, Vegas Strip and Lizard Lick Towing are among the shows also returning to the channel’s schedule this summer.

Marc Juris, executive VP and chief operating officer at TruTV, said: “We’re programming with an eye towards creating content that works across multiple screens and establishing ourselves as a truly multi-platform brand.”