‘Mythbusters Jr.’ is latest kid-focused reality spinoff
Good things come in small packages for reality TV franchises.
Science Channel’s “Mythbusters Jr.,” arriving Jan. 2 (9 EST/PST), is the latest youthful spinoff of a successful series, following “Top Chef Junior,” “MasterChef Junior,” American Ninja Warrior Junior,” “Dancing with the Stars: Juniors,” “Project Runway: Junior” and “Chopped Junior.”
The junior Mythbusters display skills, smarts and camaraderie, says Adam Savage, the longtime “Mythbusters” co-host who returns in an “emeritus” role with six eager young scientists taking the lead in mythbusting experiments. (One is a real-life “Young Sheldon,” 13-year-old Texas college sophomore Cannan Huey-You). In Wednesday’s premiere, they do new experiments using a “Mythbusters” fan favorite: duct tape.
“Every one of these kids has a hungry mind, a desire to be a science communicator and to really learn,” he says. “And what was amazing on set is that all six of these kids are really kind.”
Those traits extend to other reality competitions.
“Kids are often underestimated,” says Nikki Bidun, 12, a New York seventh-grader who won Season 2 of Universal Kids’ “Top Chef Junior” in December. “Winning means a lot, because I worked really hard to get to that point.”
Youth-oriented versions of popular reality shows make sense on several fronts. Familiarity with an established series – and often, a host – can help a spinoff attract viewers.
“It’s an easy, cheap way to extend the brand while also adding dimensions for viewers,” says Andy Dehnart, editor of realityblurred.com. “Junior editions tend to use the same format, set and perhaps even the same judges and host, all of which are familiar to viewers, making it a lot easier than creating a brand new show.”
Dehnart says kid editions have had mixed success.
“The best versions treat their competitors like talented artists; they don’t pander to them but aren’t unnecessarily cruel, either,” he says.
Some youth shows appear on niche networks, reaching smaller audiences than the main series. “American Juniors,” an “American Idol” spinoff that flopped in 2003 – near the peak of the “Idol” run – was one of the first youthfocused offerings, and evidence the strategy doesn’t always work. The first junior version of ABC’s “Dancing” was a dud this fall.
“Mythbusters Jr.” offers a chance to regenerate a popular format after the original series ended on Discovery Channel in 2016 (although a revival, featuring a new cast, premiered on Science in 2017). Savage says he has no interest in resuming the original series – and coMythbuster Jamie Hyneman “is happy as a clam building stuff in his shop without cameras pointed in his face” – but he’s having a great time watching a young generation experiment on a wide range of myths.
The course for Universal Kids’ “Ninja Warrior Junior,” which returns with new episodes Feb. 23, features many obstacles familiar to viewers of the original, but they’re scaled down slightly to accommodate smaller competitors. And the dynamic changes simply because the competitors are not yet established in careers, as adult contestants are, Bidun says.
“We’re kids. We don’t really have a reputation. We don’t have restaurants, we don’t have catering companies, we don’t have a team,” she says. That, she says, makes it easier to bond with fellow competitors and develop friendships. “We get to make memories and have friends for the rest of our lives.”
Younger participants bring “an incredible, vital energy,” Savage says of the new “Mythbusters.” “I love all these junior versions, because they’re essentially loving, supportive television,” a contrast to shows focused on conflict.
Deirdre Brennan, general manager at Universal Kids, says the trend is “about making kid-focused shows that embrace the rest of the family. … We’re taking things that are well recognized, that (children) already love and putting them at the center of it.”
But that doesn’t mean judges go easy on them.
“I feel like they taste the food and they’re really honest. That’s what I like,” Bidun says. “They don’t sugarcoat it. I think we all appreciate that. We’re being treated as chefs, which is how we all really want to be treated. We want to get feedback, and we want to become better.”