Reality TV was at the forefront of television viewership across the world in the early 2000s, particularly in the US with shows such as
Big Brother and
Survivor. In 2001 Survivor was ranked 6th on the primetime television series of the 2001–02 season, one place above
Monday Night Football. Celebrity lives, dating shows and extreme sports documentary's present non-actors in legitimately natural settings and situations working without a script. Reality TV stakes its claim with viewers to regard its depictions as unadorned and spontaneous truthful documentation of natural reality and it was this changing television culture that gave rise to its popularity. Coinciding with the rise of reality TV was launch of Fuel TV in the early 2000s who ultimately released many original series documenting the lives of extreme sports stars. These shows, which were in most cases the first of their kind, ran for many seasons and became the core programming structure of Fuel TV.
Firsthand Firsthand is a Fuel TV original series with its premiere season airing in 2003 on the Fuel TV cable network on the Fox Network. Running its 13th season this year, Firsthand brings viewers up close and personal with the daily lives of today's top action sports athletes. Documenting athletes competition preparation and performance as well as laid back free-sessions and daily life away from sport, Firsthand offers exclusive footage of world-class pros pushing the limits of their riding. With between 16 – 18 episodes per season going for an average of around 22 minutes, Firsthand has boasted a number of all-time legends in their respective sports. Some notable guests include Owen Wright, Australian pro surfer and as of 2021, Olympic Gold Medallist.
Travis Pastrana, a 4-time Rally America Supercross Champion and multiple X Games Gold Medallist.
Ryan Sheckler, an American professional skateboarder who was ranked 5th in Fox Weekly's "15 Most influential Skateboarders of All Time".
Camp Woodward Camp Woodward is a world-class skateboarding and BMX facility located in
Pennsylvania, US where many professional athletes go to train and compete against the best in the world. In 2007, Fuel TV followed a group of young skateboarders and BMX riders into their 3-month training camp at Camp Woodward. Director Dave Paine documents the extreme highs and lows of the young athletes pushing their limits in an attempt to impress their well rebound coaches which include the likes of Cody Davis, Hunter Bagent and Lary Schmidt. In 2022 Camp Woodward will be going into its 9th season, after being put on hold due to the
COVID-19 global pandemic, with athletes coming from across the world including places like
Argentina and
Australia with ages ranging from just 10 years old all the way to 16 years old.
Drive Thru Australia Premiering on March 7, 2009, on Fox Networks Fuel TV, a small crew of photographers follow pro surfers
Donavon Frankenreiter, Benji Weatherley and
Pat O'Connell around Australia on their journey to find secluded beaches and untouched waves. Stopping at numerous campsites in their Britz
RV, the trio travel from
New South Wales all the way to
Western Australia, meeting many interesting people and visiting many extraordinary places. After being received well by the Australian public, the Drive Thru crew came back for a second season in 2010 this time will infamous pro surfers
Andy Irons,
Shane Dorian and
Mark Ochilupo. Cruising up the
East Coast of Australia the 13 episodes document the struggles of
four wheel driving in
Queensland to the exhilaration of finding perfect barrels on the South Coast of New South Wales. The Drive Thru franchise has since expanded with seasons 3 – 6 located in
South America,
Europe and
New Zealand respectively.
The Adventures of Danny and "The Dingo" Initially airing on the Fuel TV cable television channel on the Fox network in early 2008, the Fuel TV original reality television series documents two-time Olympic silver medallist
Danny Kass and snowboarder personality Luke "The Dingo" Trembath on a cross country trip across the U.S. in search of the next Grenade team member. The Fuel TV crew follows these two personalities as they participate in extreme sports such as
skydiving, snowboarding and
bungee jumping, documenting the laughs, screams and pain of two goofy athletes. With its final season airing in 2012, the documentary series shifted to a global scale with their 5th season being filmed throughout Europe.
PULL In 2004 Alliance, an American wakeboarding and
water skiing magazine, launched Fuel TV's premier reality television series PULL. It was originally a magazine style television show that introduced the sport, lifestyle and personalities of wakeboarding to millions of people outside the endemic circle. Being the first wakeboarding show of its kind, director Tony Smith, with his limited budget, documented 5 Alliance magazine athletes as they wake boarded across the world. PULL follows
Bob Soven, Jimmy LaRichie, Jeff Langley, Mike Olson and Pat Panakos through the rivers of the Milton Sound in New Zealand all the way to the Monster Energy Wake Park in
Texas, US as they compete amongst themselves and against other riders for the Triple Crown. Airing its 6th and final season in 2010, PULL paved the way for other reality television series on Fuel TV.
Other series As of March 2024. • Action Sports Plus • Beyond the Bib • Breaking Trail • Bubba's World • Built to Shred • Camp James • Camp Woodward • Catch Up • Custom • Drive Thru Australia • Fresh Lines • FirstHand • Inside the Outdoors • Microdose • Pull • Riding Portugal • Setups • Shorebreak • Snowbound • Snowchef • Surfing Life TV • The Captain and Casey Show • The Great Ride Open • The Kickback • The Moto: Inside the Outdoors • The Standard Snowboard Show • Thrillbillies • Wave Crushers • Zion's Way == Availability ==