Fasten your seatbelt. The search is on for America's next great car designer as truTV and Chevrolet team up on the brand new competition series Motor City Masters. Hosted by Brooke Burns (Baywatch, Melrose Place), Motor City Masters will pit 10 designers against each other to test their limits of design expertise and creativity. truTV has ordered 10 episodes of the Motor City Masters, which is being produced for the network by Bunim/Murray Productions (Project Runway, Total Divas) and The Story Lab, a division of Aegis Media. Motor City Masters is set to go into production the week of Feb. 24 in Los Angeles, with plans to premiere on truTV this summer. The exciting season finale will then take place in the Motor City itself - Detroit - and will provide one final show-stopping challenge.
"As truTV's first venture into the reality-competition genre, Motor City Masters marks an important step in our strategy to diversify truTV's programing slate and develop the
truTV brand," said Chris Linn, president, head of programming for truTV. "Cars are a huge part of American pop culture, and people are more interested than ever in how design meets function to impact our everyday lives. We are extremely proud to be working with such an iconic American brand as Chevrolet, as well as the top-notch team at Bunim/Murray Productions."
"This is going to be a really fun competition for the designers," said Jonathan Murray, chairman of Bunim/Murray Productions. "The challenges they face will push them to really think about what the American public wants in a car and how the car can better serve their needs."
"Creating vehicles with great design and performance that live up to the Chevrolet name will be a challenge for the participants," said Tim Mahoney, chief marketing officer, Global Chevrolet. "We look forward to seeing the top two designers here in Detroit in a few weeks for the finale."
Motor City Masters will bring together 10 experienced designers, with various specialties and backgrounds, all of whom share a passion for car design. In each episode, the contestants will have the ambitious task of creating new, fully functional (though not street legal) concept cars based on a theme that will showcase the each competitor's unique personality.
Challenges on Motor City Masters will explore various aspects of design, inside and out. The designs will be judged by Jean Jennings, president and editor in chief of Automobile Magazine and internationally renowned car designer Harald Belker. They will be joined each week by a special celebrity guest judge. Competitors will be judged on their creativity, execution and forward-thinking design, among other criteria. The field will narrow with each elimination challenge until only the top two designers remain. These two competitors will then
Face Off in front of Chevrolet's world-class car design experts, after which only one designer will be crowned "The Next Great Car Designer." The winner of Motor City Masters will receive a brand new 2014 Camaro Z28 and $100,000 cash. The winner will also be named a Brand Ambassador, with the opportunity to showcase his/her designs at major auto show exhibitions.
Executive producers for Motor City Masters include Jonathan Murray, Gil Goldschein, Rick de Oliveira and Scott Freeman from Bunim/Murray Productions, as well as Lisa Eisenpresser from The Story Lab. Kirk Durham from Bunim/Murray Productions serves as co-executive producer.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality.
About truTV
truTV offers a wildly entertaining look at the real world through engaging characters, unpredictable situations and fun storytelling. Currently seen in 92 million U.S. households,
truTV features such popular original series as Hardcore Pawn, Impractical Jokers, Lizard Lick Towing, Killer Karaoke, Upload with Shaquille O'Neal, Storage Hunters, Full Throttle Saloon, South Beach Tow, World's Dumbest... and Operation Repo, as well as the upcoming series The Carbonaro Effect, Motor City Masters and The Safecrackers. In addition,
truTV is a partner in airing the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
