The Discovery Channel made the firm and resolute decision to cancel its longest- running series, Mythbusters. The decision was doubtlessly tough for the network to make and hard for fans to swallow, but now series lead Adam Savage has explained why the upcoming season will be a good time to wrap the series up.
End Of An Era
Mythbusters came to a close earlier this year after 14 seasons on The Discovery Channel. But why did such a longtime hit show have to come to an end?
More Than Ratings
Turns out that, while the show was a big hit for the Discovery Channel, the ratings had been steadily declining for years. But there may have been more to the cancellation than just low ratings.
Myth Of Friendship
It seems that, despite their on-screen chemistry. hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman didn’t necessarily like each other. Savage said, “We don’t get along very well together on a personal level. In 25 years we’ve known each other, we’ve never had dinner alone together. We do not choose to hang out if we don’t have to be in proximity.”
Group Decision
When asked about the show’s cancellation, Hyneman said, “We’re executive producers on the show and have been for a while. So we were part of that decision.” So it wasn’t just the network’s call, which means Savage and Hyneman probably also felt it was about time to bring the show to a close.
Making It Work
But that doesn’t mean there was any strong animosity between the hosts either. Savage said the two made the show work because, “You don’t have to get along with someone if you respect their work.”
Mutual Respect
Savage added that, “Jamie and I might argue back and forth about how to execute something, but the simple fact is that I know by the end of the day that he’d get it done, even if I wasn’t there, and he knows the same about me.”
The Return
Meanwhile, after the show was canceled, The Science Channel announced they would bring the show back. Except this time, there would be new hosts.
The Show Before The Show
To find these hosts, The Science Channel is creating a reality game show, Search For The Next Mythbusters. The show accepted applications from potential Mythbusters, but it appears no premiere date has been set.
Behind The Camera
As for the future, Hyneman said, “I expect Adam may well pursue things in front of the camera, but I’m most likely not. It’s not who I am. This has been a very rewarding and interesting decade, but it’s not really what I’m cut out for.”
Tested
And Hyneman was right, as Savage is now building things and making videos for the website Tested.com. He may not be busting any myths, but you can go here to see what he’s been up to.
It was evenly split between the two leads.
The experiments run by the build team. The build team were an interesting slot in the show. Grant was always my favorite – he’s a former Battle Bots champion.
Three lovable co-hosts were axed from the program.
This was a tragic loss to many, and it was shocking to see more than half of the presenters cut from the show in one go.
The real reason comes down to the two originals.
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are the reason the show came to an end. While it may have been a sign, it wasn’t the actual cause of the series’ end.
The two of them don’t actually get along all that well.
Adam said they were “adhering to the most age-old of performance tropes of the funny man/straight man.”
Incredibly different.
He also further explained that the two of them were happy for the separation. They’re simply incredibly different people.Adam was quick to clarify that the two work well together on builds and have great respect for each other. Their skill and professionalism is without question, but they genuinely drove each other “batty,” as Adam put it.
Every show has its bell curve.
We’re cognizant of our ratings. It’s not like they were terrible but we could see them changing. Three or four years ago we started wondering more if we were going to be renewed. It’s not like it’s unexpected. Still it was kind of amazing that it happened.’
We’ve known each other for 25 years.
While ratings were a major factor to the show’s cancellation, the two stars of the show also didn’t get along. Jamie Hyneman told Entertainment Weekly, ‘We like to point out we’ve known each other for 25 years and never once sat down to have dinner together. We sort of managed to tolerate each other. I think it’s probably safe to say that continuing our onscreen relationship in front of the camera is probably not happening.
It was kind of amazing that it happened.
The thing that really makes me happy is most cable shows like ours just end. They get past their freshness date, you finish a season and then you hear you’ll never see another one. I truly thought that’s the way Mythbusters would end. We’ve been filming the last season this year and we get to send it off. We get to pay homage to this thing that’s changed our lives.
They’re tired.
There is also some release. I’m tired. We’ve been making the show 40 weeks a year. That’s a rough schedule, even in television. At the same time, the future is uncertain and that’s an intense state to confront. Mythbusters has have given me this incredible platform to tell stories and produce television.
It’s almost impossible to answer.
I was particularly astonished at our “Flights of Fancy” episode last season. My flight in the U2, I think that’s the loveliest segments from a cinematography and storytelling perspective. I also loved the variance of going to The Simpsons one week and to Indiana Jones the next. The episodes that stand out are the ones where we learned something new about how to make the show.
