ADVENTURER BEAR GRYLLS RETURNS TO DISCOVERY CHANNEL WITH ALL-NEW EPISODES OF MAN VS. WILD BEGINNING MAY 2
Companion Book Showcasing Grylls' Survival Tips Hits Newsstands April 29
(Silver Spring, Md.) � Seasoned adventurer Bear Grylls returns to Discovery Channel with six of the most intense and daring episodes of MAN VS. WILD yet. Premiering May 2 at 9 PM (ET/PT), new episodes of the second season of MAN VS. WILD will take Bear through some of the harshest conditions on Earth as he parachutes into the frigid Siberian Tundra, braves flash floods in Southern Africa and journeys through Indonesia's highly erratic �Ring of Fire'. Season two of MAN VS. WILD, which began in November of 2007, brings Bear Grylls face to face with the grueling task of navigating each remote location, sharing invaluable survival strategies along the way.
"MAN VS. WILD gives viewers the opportunity to experience some of the most extreme conditions in the world � with Bear Grylls as the ultimate adventure expert," said John Ford, president and general manager of Discovery Channel. "These latest expeditions truly portray the all-out gumption Bear possesses, as he throws himself into the harshest of situations using his vast knowledge of life-saving techniques."
The return of MAN VS. WILD begins with a trip to one of the hottest and driest places on earth on May 2: the Namibian Desert. From there, Bear Grylls takes a death-defying trip to Zambia on May 9, where he'll face 12-foot waves and some of the world's biggest rapids. Indonesia's Ring of Fire � an area responsible for 90 percent of all earthquakes - will be the subject of two consecutive weeks, May 16 and 23, followed by Siberia on May 30 and June 6. Bear journeys through the Siberian Tundra and then through the treacherous conditions that make up the Sayan Mountains, where he demonstrates a wide range of survival skills as he navigates these varying terrains.
His new book, MAN VS. WILD (Hyperion, 2008), on shelves April 29, will give his millions of fans a crash course in the many ingenious survival techniques he uses to navigate and conquer the extreme wild.
An ex-Special Forces soldier, Bear Grylls was trained as a survival expert in the British army, has a black belt in karate and is an experienced high-altitude mountaineer. Grylls has channeled his daring spirit into feats such as the highest-ever dinner party at a table suspended below a hot air balloon at 24,500 feet, and the first unassisted crossing of the frozen North Atlantic Ocean in an open rigid inflatable boat.
In addition, in 1998 at age 23, Bear became the youngest British climber to ever complete a summit and descent of Mount Everest. Last year, Bear returned to the Himalayas to conquer a new dream � attempting to fly a powered paraglider higher than Everest. Through this expedition, Bear and his team donated over $2.5 million to charities, including $600,000 to the Global Angels Foundation, a charity that supports long-term projects for underprivileged children worldwide. In 2007, Bear served as the host of the Global Angels Step Up event "Feed a Child for a Year," a partnership between Hard Rock International and the Global Angels Foundation.
MAN VS. WILD is produced for Discovery Channel by Diverse Productions and executive produced by Jane Lomas. Peter Lovering is the senior vice president of production and development overseeing MAN VS. WILD and Dan Korn serves as Executive Producer.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications is the world's number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery's founder and chairman. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.
|