America's Toughest Jobs Explained

Runtime:60 minutes
Creator:Thom Beers
Starring:Josh Temple
Country:United States
Network:NBC
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:10

America's Toughest Jobs is a reality television show that lasted one season and aired on NBC. It pitted contestants against each other as they attempted a series of difficult and dangerous jobs. The prize was the sum of the salaries that would be earned by people doing these jobs in their first year.

The show's creator and executive producer was Thom Beers, notable for creating shows such as Deadliest Catch and Monster Garage. Some of the jobs he chose to be featured on America's Toughest Jobs were featured on shows he previously created. The host was Josh Temple, a character actor who had minor roles in shows such as Will & Grace and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In each episode, contestants took part in tasks associated with a job, and were supervised and evaluated by workers or employers in that business. After spending time on the job, the supervisors selected one or more top employees for praise, and selected the employees who had the worst performances (the bottom four in the first five episodes, and the bottom two thereafter). Those employees were required to compete head-to-head in an additional challenge to determine who would be eliminated. For example, in the gold digging episode, the bottom four contestants were required to spend additional time digging for gold with the contestant who found the least amount eliminated. Once there were four contestants remaining, timed challenges were held for three of the season's toughest jobs with the contestant who had the slowest time at each eliminated until a winner was determined. At the end of each episode, an information screen was shown that detailed what the eliminated contestant decided to do after the show.

Ben Coleman was named the winner of season one on October 25, 2008. The results were accidentally posted on NBC's website several hours before the show aired.[1]

On March 13, 2009, it was confirmed that the series had been canceled and would not be returning for a second season.[2]

Season one

Contestant Progress

Week123456789Finale
ContestantResult
BenSafeSafeBtm 2WinSafeWinWinSafeSafeWinWinWIN
StevenBtm 4SafeBtm 4SafeBtm 3Btm 2 3SafeSafeSafe2nd2ndOUT
SandyWin1SafeWinSafeSafeSafeBtm 2WinBtm 23rdOUT
MichaelaWin1SafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeWinOUT
RommelSafeBtm 4SafeSafeWin2SafeSafeBtm 2OUT
BryceSafeBtm 3Btm 3Btm 4Btm 4SafeSafeOUT
ChrisSafeBtm 2SafeBtm 3Btm 2SafeOUT
RieSafeSafeSafeSafeWin2OUT
EricBtm 2SafeSafeBtm 2OUT
RickSafeSafeSafeOUT
PhilSafeWinOUT
AmyBtm 3OUT
SentaOUT

The contestant won the competition

The contestant won the challenge

The contestant was called out as one of the worst performers, but was not eliminated

The contestant was eliminated

Episode list

1 Job featured in Deadliest Catch, a show created by Thom Beers
2 Job featured in Ice Road Truckers, a show produced and narrated by Beers
3 Job featured in Black Gold, a show created and narrated by Beers
4 Job featured in Ax Men, a show created and narrated by Beers

Prize

The prize for the contest winner was the combined amount of the salaries of what a first-year worker would earn on each job. Below is a table that details the breakdown:

Job Salary
Crab Fisherman $29,805.98
Ice Road Trucker$31,714.72
Gold Digger$15,464.62
Monster Trucker$45,614.581
Oil Driller$35,184.22
Bullfighter$41,785.81
Bridge Crewman$47,592.152
Logger$35,248.00
Mountain Guide$15,589.92
Total $298,000.00

In addition, each of the contestants in the final four was awarded a 2009 Dodge Ram.

Epilogues

Notes and References

  1. http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/americas-toughest-jobs-nbc-spoils-reality-show-last-episode/ TVSeriesFinale.com, October 27, 2008
  2. http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/2008-2009-cancelled-shows-nbc-cancels-10-television-series/ 2008 - 2009 Cancelled Shows: NBC Cancels 10 Television Series
  3. http://www.rodeoattitude.com/spur/features/behindthechutes/rob-smets-nbc-1665.shtml "World Renowned Bullfighter - Rob Smets hosts "America's Toughest Jobs" Episode on Bullfighting," RodeoAttitude.com, Reg Bravo, September 26, 2008
  4. http://www.nypost.com/seven/08242008/tv/dont_die_on_the_job_125639.htm "Don't Die on the 'Job'," New York Post, Deborah Starr Seibel, August 24, 2008
  5. http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080908/NEWS/809080303 "Port Angeles logging company to be featured on two reality TV shows," Peninsula Daily News, Tom Callis, September 8, 2008