NBC has handed a series order to car makeover competition series Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge from Endemol Shine North America, Workerbee and Mattel Television.
The competition, which is based on the popular toy cars, will be hosted by Rutledge Wood, who will also serve as one of the judges. The 10-episode series gives Hot Wheels fans the opportunity to rebuild a nostalgic car from their past into a life-sized Hot Wheels creation.
In each episode, two contestants will face off. Their goal is to use personal stories and pop culture touchstones to transform their car into a Hot Wheels. They’ll receive help from a team of technicians known as “The Car Pool.” To raise the stakes of the competition, the show has thrown in a larger-than-life vending machine known as the the Inspirationator 5000 that will rev up in each episode to present the contestants with a twist in the road.
The winner of each episode will take home $25,000 and the chance to get into the finale, where three lucky finalists will transform another car in hopes of winning a legendary prize – an additional $50,000 and the honor of having their design made into an official Hot Wheels die-cast car.
In addition to Wood, there will be two more permanent judges: Hertrech (“Hert”) Eugene Jr., an influencer in car culture and the drift scene, and Dalal Elsheikh, designer for the Ford Motor Company and Hot Wheels Brand Ambassador. The rest of the panel will be made up of a rotating list of celebrity guests.
“Everyone remembers their first car, the life experiences they had and the friends who came along for the ride. Hot Wheels is a legendary brand that has created a space for imaginations to run free,” said Corie Henson, EVP, Unscripted Programming, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “Our prolific partners at Endemol Shine North America and Mattel have created larger-than-life family viewing with edge and humor all led by car enthusiast Rutledge Wood, whose creativity, credibility and passion for Hot Wheels makes him the perfect person to drive this wild competition.”
Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge is an original format developed and produced by Endemol Shine North America in association with Workerbee under license from Mattel Inc. Executive producers are showrunner Tim Warren, along with Andy Thomas, Sharon Levy, DJ Nurre and Michael Heyerman from Endemol Shine North America; Rick Murray and Chris Hale from Workerbee (a Banijay UK Company); and Fred Soulie and Phil Breman from Mattel Television.
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