Introduction

American Grit is an American reality television series that premiered on Fox on 14 April 2016.

Four teams of four regular Americans being lead by four military veterans compete in obstacles to see who has what it takes to have American Grit.

The series stars WWE wrestler John Cena. Fox ordered ten episodes for the first season of the competition series. On 29 July 2016, Fox renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on Sunday 11 June 2017.

Outline

Competitors are divided into four teams of four, each led by a military veteran who is designated as the team’s Cadre and compete in a series of Team Challenges. All members of the winning team are safe from elimination and advance to the next round, while a member of each losing team is chosen to participate in an Elimination Challenge. The elimination continues until one contestant quits, fails the challenge, or becomes physically unable to continue, at which point he or she is eliminated from the competition. Eliminated competitors ring a ship’s bell on the site before departing, after the tradition of Navy SEAL trainees “ringing out” if they choose to withdraw from the program. In the finale, the remaining competitors take part in an elimination challenge that concludes with a winner being named and receiving a $250,000 cash prize.

Filmed at the foothills of Mount Rainier in Eatonville, Washington, the first season focuses on “pushing teams to the brink” and features sixteen contestants with a variety of fitness backgrounds. Competitors who lose during Team Challenges, called “Evolutions”, are selected by their own Cadre to participate in the Elimination Challenge. As long as a team has at least two members, a contestant cannot be sent to two consecutive Elimination Challenges. The Elimination Challenge begins with an obstacle course, called “The Circus”, followed by an endurance test. The obstacle course remains constant, but the endurance test differs in each episode. The endurance test begins once all three participants have completed the obstacle course, with the first- and second-place finishers receiving an advantage over the third-place finisher, and concludes with the elimination of one competitor. The season finale features an extended Circus where all remaining contestants must participate. This Circus lasts until all members of three teams have dropped out, at which point the remaining members of the last team win $250,000 each. The season was won by Clare Painter and Mark Bouquin of Team Noah.

Taking place in Hampton Island, Georgia in a location referred to as “Camp Grit”, the second season focuses on “helping competitors find their grit” and features contestants with various issues “who either have lost their grit or never had it”. Seventeen competitors appear at the start of the competition, one of whom is eliminated before the teams are formed. The Cadre of the winning team chooses the members of the losing teams who will be sent to the Elimination Challenge and consecutive appearances are allowed. Only an endurance test is featured in the Elimination Challenge and no advantages are provided to its participants. Depending on the Elimination Challenge, it concludes with one or two contestants being eliminated. The competition eventually becomes contestant-based, with all remaining competitors ultimately competing against each other and only one winner being named. Winning the second season was Gigi Gustin of Team Grady.

Cadre

• Series 01:
  • Rorke Denver, a US Navy SEAL Commander who led assault teams worldwide. He also starred in Act of Valor (a 2012 film).
  • Noah Galloway, a US Army member of the 502nd Infantry and 101st Airborne Division, awarded the Purple Heart when he lost his left arm and left leg in a roadside bomb attack.
  • Tawanda “Tee” Hanible, a US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant.
  • Nicholas “Nick” Irving, a US Army sniper with the 3rd Ranger Battalion with thirty-three confirmed kills, nicknamed “The Reaper”.
• Series 02:
  • John Burk, a US Army Infantry Drill Sergeant who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and also trained younger soldiers for battle, now an entrepreneur.
  • Riki Long, a US Marine who was in charge of the legal administration at the largest Marine Corps personnel centre, now a fitness nutrition specialist and weightlifter.
  • Chloe Mondesir, a US Marine Ammunition Technician, now working with a non-profit organisation to raise money for Veteran Affairs programmes.
  • Grady Powell, a US Army Green Beret with the 10th Special Forces Group with tours in Iraq and Africa, now runs a firearms training facility. He also won NBC’s reality television programme Stars Earn Stripes alongside former WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres.

Contestants

• Series 01:
  • 16 contestants in four teams of four (eight men and eight women).
  • Ages ranged from 22 to 54.
  • Two winners.
• Series 02:
  • 17 contestants in four teams of four, with one eliminated before teams chosen (eight men and nine women).
  • Ages ranged from 20 to 48.
  • One Winner.

American Grit Series

• Series 01 (2016):
  • Episode 01: Ruck Up.
  • Episode 02: Ice Cubed.
  • Episode 03: Moving Camp.
  • Episode 04: Charlie Foxtrot.
  • Episode 05: Double Time.
  • Episode 06: Squat Till You Drop.
  • Episode 07: Dawn Patrol.
  • Episode 08: Barricade the Bunker.
  • Episode 09: Tired Out.
  • Episode 10: Over the Falls.

• Series 02 (2017):
  • Episode 01: Find Your Grit.
  • Episode 02: Cena Does the Dishes.
  • Episode 03: Liar Liar.
  • Episode 04: Secrets Are Revealed.
  • Episode 05: Camp Love.
  • Episode 06: Selfish vs. Selfless.
  • Episode 07: Role Reversal.
  • Episode 08: Shady Grady.
  • Episode 09: Cena Says.
  • Episode 10: Who’s Got Grit?

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • J. Rupert Thompson … (10 episodes, 2016).
  • Tony Croll … (10 episodes, 2017).
• Producer(s):
  • Anthony Carbone … executive producer (20 episodes, 2016-2017).
  • Jimmy Quigley … producer / story producer (20 episodes, 2016-2017).
  • Todd Spradlin … associate producer / field producer (20 episodes, 2016-2017).
  • Andy Thomas … supervising producer (20 episodes, 2016-2017).
  • Simon Thomas … executive producer (20 episodes, 2016-2017).
  • Justin Banta … associate producer: Story / challenge AP (10 episodes, 2016).
  • Jessica Buchanan … story producer (10 episodes, 2016).
  • Andrew Calver … associate producer (10 episodes, 2016).
  • Zig Gauthier … producer (10 episodes, 2016).
  • David George … executive producer (10 episodes, 2016).
  • Christian Heaton … sr. producer (10 episodes, 2016).
  • J. Rupert Thompson … co-executive producer (10 episodes, 2016).
  • Alanna Wagner … story producer (10 episodes, 2016).
  • Andrew Krukowski … challenge producer (10 episodes, 2017).
  • Eric Levy … host producer (10 episodes, 2017).
  • Justine Liese … field producer (10 episodes, 2017).
  • Matt Reccow … supervising producer (10 episodes, 2017).
  • Alycia Rossiter … executive producer (10 episodes, 2017).
  • Danny Schrader … supervising producer (10 episodes, 2017).
  • Christopher DeJoseph … consulting producer (8 episodes, 2017).
  • Joelle Luman … senior story producer (6 episodes, 2017).
  • Cristina Lujan … producer (5 episodes, 2016).
  • Aisha Corpas Wynn … field producer (1 episode, 2016).
  • Sharon Liese … field producer (1 episode, 2016).
  • Erin K. O’Brien … coordinating producer (1 episode, 2016).
  • Jon Kroll … executive producer (unknown episodes).
• Writer(s):
• Music:
  • Justin Crosby … (5 episodes, 2016-2017).
• Cinematography:
  • Tony Croll … (10 episodes, 2017).
• Editor(s):
  • Jason Pedroza … (6 episodes, 2016).
  • Paul Coyne … (2 episodes, 2016).
  • Duane Fogwell … (2 episodes, 2016).
  • Joe Cauley … (1 episode, 2016).
  • Jason Dolder … (1 episode, 2016).
  • Susan K. Hoover … (1 episode, 2016).
  • Brian Philips … (1 episode, 2016).
  • Brian Phillips … (1 episode, 2016).
  • Andrew Forgham … (1 episode, 2017).
  • Phillip Lefesi … (1 episode, 2017).
• Production:
  • Leftfield Pictures.
  • Mixers (post-production services).
• Distributor(s):
  • Fox Broadcasting Company (2016) (USA) (TV).
• Release Date:
  • Series 01: 14 April 2016 to 09 June 2016.
  • Series 02: 11 June 2017 to 06 August 2017.
• Running time: 43 minutes.
• Rating: PG.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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