The Contender (TV series)

The Contender is an American reality television series that initially aired from March 3, 2005 to January 7, 2009 on NBC, ESPN, and Versus and currently airs on Epix. Each season of the series follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted.

The Contender
Created byMark Burnett
Presented by
Starring
Theme music composerHans Zimmer
Composer(s)
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes47
Production
Executive producer(s)
Production location(s)Los Angeles, California
Production company(s)
Release
Original network
Original releaseMarch 7, 2005 (2005-03-07) – January 7, 2009 (2009-01-07)
August 24, 2018 (2018-08-24) –
November 9, 2018

The series was created and executive produced by Mark Burnett. The first three seasons of the show were hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard, who shared hosting duties in the first season with actor Sylvester Stallone. Leonard departed the series after season three and Tony Danza joined as his replacement.

On January 22, 2018, it was announced that the series was being revived by premium cable network Epix for a fifth season which premiered on August 24, 2018.[1][2]

Premise

The show takes the format of a gameshow, with the boxers divided into two teams based on their place of residence in the United States: East Coast or West Coast (or simply “East” and “West”). These teams live together in group living quarters, in Pasadena, California in the historic Royal Laundry Building on Raymond Avenue, and compete for the right to choose which of their team members fights that week, and who he fights against. Most of the second half of the hour-long episodes are devoted to that fight: the loser is eliminated.

Production

The series’ tagline is “The Next Great Human Drama”, and its soundtrack was scored by Hans Zimmer. Before the show premiered, rival US television Fox network rushed to air a competing show The Next Great Champ, hosted by Oscar De La Hoya. The show performed very poorly, with the final episodes being relegated to cable FSN. In an effort to distance itself from the Fox disaster, NBC opted to hold airing its show until spring 2005.

On May 16, 2005, the series was cancelled. The first season cost NBC $2,000,000 per episode. Reruns were seen on CNBC. On August 11, 2005, ESPN announced that it was picking up the rights to a second season of the show,[3] which began airing on the network in July 2006, although special editions under the Contender title are currently airing as of March, 2006. ESPN also announced that it has options to renew the series for two additional seasons. However, on April 10, 2008, ESPN announced that it was canceling the series. Executive producer Jeff Wald maintained that the show would continue on another network.[4] It was later announced the show would move to Versus.

Najai Turpin suicide

On February 14, 2005, one of the 16 contenders, Najai Turpin,[5] despondent over personal matters, committed suicide, shooting himself while sitting with his girlfriend in a parked car outside the West Philadelphia gym where he trained. In his memory, the producers set up a trust fund for his daughter Anyae. The show still aired in its entirety, but with a special tribute to Turpin.

Seasons
Season Network Airdate Presenter Trainers Winner Runner Up
1 NBC March 7 – May 24, 2005 Sylvester Stallone
Sugar Ray Leonard		 Tommy Gallagher
Jeremy Williams
Dub Huntley		 Sergio Mora
“The Latin Snake”		 Peter Manfredo Jr.
“The Pride of Providence”
2 ESPN July 18 – September 26, 2006 Sugar Ray Leonard Tommy Gallagher
Jeremy Williams		 Grady Brewer
“Bad Boy”		 Steve Forbes
"2 Pound”
3 September 4 – November 6, 2007 Buddy McGirt
Pepe Correa
Carlos Vargas
Romnick Dongiapon		 Sakio Bika
“The Scorpion”		 Jaidon Codrington
“The Don”
4 Versus December 3, 2008 – January 7, 2009 Tony Danza Tommy Brooks
John Bray		 Troy Ross
“The Boss”		 Ehinomen Ehikhamenor
“Hino”
5 Epix August 24 – November 9, 2018 Andre Ward Freddie Roach
Naazim Richardson		 Brandon Adams Shane Mosley, Jr

Broadcast

The show ran for fifteen weeks through 2005 on NBC in the United States of America. The show ran in the UK on ITV2 and was repeated later in the week on ITV, and now airs on ITV4. It also aired on AXN in India, and on the Spanish language network Telemundo. The second season, featuring welterweight contenders, premiered in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 18, 2006, at 10 pm ET/PT, on ESPN. The third season, featuring super middleweight contenders, premiered in the U.S. on Tuesday, September 4, 2007, at 10 pm ET/PT, on ESPN. The fourth season, featuring cruiserweight contenders, premiered in the U.S. on Wednesday, December 3, 2008, at 10 pm ET/PT, on Versus. A fifth season produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by Andre Ward aired on Epix in 2018.[6]

International versions
CountryTitleBroadcasterPresentersOriginal runTrainers
AsiaThe Contender AsiaAXNStephan Fox & Jaymee OngJanuary 16, 2008 – April 23, 2008
 AustraliaThe Contender AustraliaFox8Charlotte Dawson & Daniel Amalm3 November 2009Billy Hussien (Blue Team) & Paul Briggs (Gold Team)

See also

References
  1. Evans, Greg (January 22, 2018). "Epix Plans New Version Of Mark Burnett's Boxing Competition 'The Contender'". Deadline. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  2. Pedersen, Erik (June 27, 2018). "'The Contender': Mark Burnett's Boxing Competition Revival Gets Premiere Date On Epix". Deadline. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  3. "'The Contender' to begin second season on ESPN". ESPN. August 12, 2005. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  4. The Contender: Boxing Series Cancelled for a Second Time – Will It Return for Round Three? | TV Series Finale
  5. "Reality TV Boxer Commits Suicide". Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  6. https://deadline.com/2018/04/the-contender-host-andre-ward-trainer-freddie-roach-naazim-richardson-epix-mark-burnett-1202361699/
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