Cable network truTV held its first upfront presentation Tuesday, and announced several additions to its lineup of original programming, including new projects from "Punk'd" producer Katalyst and "The Biggest Loser" producer Reveille.
TruTV also announced it has renewed "Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura" for a second season. Also renewed: "Black Gold," "Full Throttle Saloon," "Las Vegas Jailhouse" and "Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel."
New shows include "Exposed!" from Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg's Katalyst, a "top-secret comedy that takes it all off in front of unsuspecting people, in the name of a unique social experiment"; "The Naked Office" from Reveille, which "uses an unorthodox form of very revealing group therapy to rebuild broken spirits"; and "Vegas Repo," which is exactly what it sounds like, from "Operation Repo" producers Arietis and Intrigue.
truTV in 2009 achieved strong growth with its targeted adult 18-49 audience, along with a five-year drop in median age. In the first quarter of 2010, truTV saw its most-watched quarter ever among adults 18-34, adults 18-49, men 18-34 and men 18-49.
“When we introduced the truTV brand, we decided to target an audience we call real engagers – viewers who love exciting, real-life action,” Marc Juris, executive VP and general manager, said in a statement. “We have built a lineup that has attracted a strong fan base – and it only continues to grow.”
From the network's press release:
RETURNING SERIES
truTV has 13 returning series in 2010, including renewals announced for the first time today:
CONSPIRACY THEORY WITH JESSE VENTURA – Jesse Ventura has taken on some tough opponents as a pro wrestler, as a Navy SEAL and as a politician. Now he’s back to tackle modern-day conspiracy theories for a second season. Jesse and his team will cross the nation to find evidence in the hit series CONSPIRACY THEORY, which comes to truTV from A. Smith & Co. Productions (Hell’s Kitchen) and Braverman/Bloom Co.
FULL THROTTLE SALOON – This high-octane series is back for a second run, focusing on the wild life at the world’s biggest biker bar. truTV turns its cameras on a bar that serves throngs of bikers during the infamous annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D. FULL THROTTLE SALOON comes to truTV from A. Smith & Co Productions (Hell’s Kitchen).
BLACK GOLD – Thom Beers’ Original Productions – creator of Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers – is back for a third season of BLACK GOLD, a hit series about life on Texas oil rigs. With the economy taking time to rebound, the stakes are high for roughnecks who can’t afford to make mistakes that might cost them their jobs – or their lives.
LAS VEGAS JAILHOUSE – This series – which is coming back for a second run – takes viewers inside Las Vegas’ Clark County Detention Center, where corrections officers try to maintain peace in a facility packed with a colorful range of unpredictable violators. LAS VEGAS JAILHOUSE comes to truTV from Langley Productions (Cops, Inside American Jail).
