Fox Teases Tiny Joe Rogan's Big 'Fear Factor' Return

Joe Rogan’s time as a television star is indelibly tied to his legacy. People will wonder how a second-tier Man Show host garnered international influence over a slew of CHUDS who pound supplements and spout slurs. Future generations will ponder how the seventh funniest person on NewsRadio helped sway a Presidential election. Aliens will sift through the wreckage of our doomed planet and, through beeps and whistles, will ask each other, “Someone at the last Presidential election ever once made money getting people to eat Donkey testicles?”

I never watched Fear Factor, but I saw the Chappelle’s Show sketch skewering it several times (thank God Chappelle’s still on the up and up, right? I have lived under a rock for fifteen years). It was something I watched happily, and I even remember thinking it was cool of Rogan to make fun of a show he was actively hosting. The parody was easier to stomach (pun intended) because Fear Factor is trash TV. It’s people debasing themselves for a few minutes of fame. It’s not the first show to have that as a feature (nor the last). Fear Factor is embarrassing. So it only makes sense that it makes its return when its home country is at its most shameful.

Fox is set to have its upfronts today, and that will include information about their new iteration of Fear Factor, which I’m genuinely shocked to learn hasn’t been on Fox before. It feels tailor-made for the ’90s era of a network that featured shows like Totally Hidden Video and When Disasters Strike. The new iteration of the show will put contestants in an “unforgiving, remote location.” They’ll be bombarded with “mind-blowing stunts and harrowing challenges” in a “twisted game of social strategy,” a Fox description says. Remote location? Sounds like it would be right up Joe Rogan’s alley!

I’m not the only one to think that, either. Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn was asked if Rogan would appear on the show, and Thorn didn’t exactly shoot the idea down. “We just ordered the series, and we are in the process of hiring showrunners and everything right now,” he explained. “Obviously, he’s major talent tied to the show, but it’s too early for us to say how we’re going to move forward right now. But we’re thrilled to have the property and think we’re going to be able to really complement our unscripted lineup with it.” Woof!

Of course Fox would want to work with a man that has a built in audience of muscle-bound dweebs and conspiracy theorists. The wildest aspect is that Rogan once needed Fear Factor, but now the show likely needs Joe Rogan. Maybe people will flock to this new show, but it would only behoove FOX to court the Short Jester for their new show, even if it’s for a one-off appearance. Joe Rogan’s stock has risen so thoroughly that he may be out of reach of the show that once made him a star via people eating bugs and bungee jumping. We, as a society, deserve whatever befalls us.