This Sunday night, History is set to premiere their new reality series Top Shot. The competition features marksmen (and one markswoman) as they compete against one another in a series of shooting competitions.
Premiering June 6th at 10 PM ET, Top Shot is set up like your typical team-oriented reality TV competition series. While all of the contestants except for one are men, their ages, professional backgrounds, hometowns and experience with various weapons vary quite a bit. Some are former cops or military, while others gained their weaponry skills in their spare time. In the series opener, the contestants are broken up into two teams. They’re given time to practice with the weapons featured in the upcoming competition and then are set up to work together to help their team complete an obstacle course, which includes shooting at targets with a variety of guns. The losing team chooses two contestants among them to face off in a final challenge, which will send one person back to the house and the other home.
When I read the synopsis for Top Shot, I wondered how a shooting competition series had to do with history. Sure, we’ve seen other networks stretch the definition of their theme to branch out in the programming area, however History actually manages to work some historical references into this series, which, like many aspects of this show, will appeal to gun enthusiasts as much as it does to history buffs. The weapons are not merely props in the competition, but are laid out for us in terms of their historical relevance. Whether it’s a rifle used in a specific war or a handgun used often by law enforcers, each weapon used is described prior to or during the competition to give viewers some background information. As the weapons vary from competition to competition, the varying backgrounds and skills of the competitors are showcased for better or worse as the teams work through the group challenges.
As I said, I think this series is going to appeal to gun enthusiasts and history buffs. Reality show fanatics will also appreciate the set-up of the show, as we get to see the contestants attempt to work with one another through challenges and again later when the losing team has to figure out which two contestants will face off against one another in the final competition.
