A lot of reality shows coming out today sound like carbon copies of previous series, just with one weird twist thrown in to shake things up. But CBS’ newest project, Hunted, is like the ultimate form of adult hide-and-seek and sounds like nothing we’ve ever seen before. I mean, it’s based on an already existed reality series in the U.K., but the “we” I’m talking about is specifically Americans who don’t have access to Channel 4.
Hunted, which has officially been ordered by the network, will center on run of the mill citizens who try their damnedest to disappear from obvious existence, in a modern world where people are rarely farther than a few mouse clicks away. After the people go on the run all around the country, they will be tracked by professional investigators who will combine several state of the art tracking techniques to hunt the contestants down. Not only will they go through the participants’ personal lives by searching through their homes, but they’ll also use Internet and cell phone records to find clues and establish behavior patterns. If the people try hiding out with close friends or at “secret” hideouts, you can bet the investigators will know about them.
This seems like a strange breach of privacy that Edward Snowden would disapprove of. It’s unclear what kind of an application process these people are going through, and exactly how much of their personal lives are being ripped apart, but I’m guessing there’s some kind of a payday that is urging these folks to get involved.
Here’s how CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller explains the network’s excitement in getting behind this new series.
Hunted is a compelling new alternative series format, which our Alternative department had been tracking for a while, that feels tailor-made for CBS. It combines the suspense of a crime drama with the thrill of a competition reality series and some very topical social issues.
CBS does like procedural shows involving criminal stories of the week, so Hunted kind of fits into that mold. The network isn’t known for developing tons of reality series, either, and beyond the stalwarts Amazing Race, Survivor and Big Brother, the most recent shows are The Briefcase and Undercover Boss. Hunted could easily stand out in that crowd.
The U.K. series premiered earlier this month to decent reviews. Check out a trailer for it below.
Our biggest question now is: will Dog the Bounty Hunter be involved?
