OFF THE WIRE
agingrebel.com
It looks like some version of American Chopper, the reality
motorcycle soap opera about an unhappy father and son who got rich and famous
building ridiculous bikes, may be coming back and the show is hiring.
On April 12th, Orange County Choppers’ Facebook page announced:
“Orange County Choppers is back at it again! We are about to begin production
on a new TV series for a new network. But before we begin, we need a new
Creative Director – someone who will work alongside Paul Senior (both on and off
camera), building the best custom motorcycles in the world. So, if you are
skilled, creative, outgoing, fun and think you can withstand Sr.’s over-the-top
personality, demanding style, and sometimes relentless criticism, then we want
to hear from you!
“Send an email to getajobatOCC@gmail.com with your resume & location.
Also include a recent photo and a brief explanation of why you would be the
perfect person to appear on the new show as the new Creative Director for Orange
County Choppers. Feel free to include photos of work you’ve done or any other
material you think we need to see.”
American Chopper
American Chopper debuted on the Discovery Channel at the
height of the custom V-Twin boom in March 2003. It presented custom motorcycles
as a kind of modern art and portrayed the men who built the bikes as being as
temperamental and high strung as fashion designers. The principal divas were a
bike builder in Orange County New York named Paul Teutul and his son Paul
Teutul, Jr.
The show quickly became a hit on Discovery. It moved to another
Discovery network named TLC (originally The Learning Channel) in
2007. Paul Jr. was fired by his father and started his own custom bike business
in 2008. The show was cancelled by TLC in February 2010. At the time,
the network issued a statement that read “The Teutuls will always be a part of
the Discovery family and we congratulate them on a tremendously
successful series run.” Five months later that network announced the show would
be reborn as American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior. That incarnation
lasted two seasons and concluded with an episode titled “Chopper Live: The
Revenge” last December.
Pilgrim Studios
The new show will be produced by American Copper’s original production
company, Pilgrim Studios. Founded by Craig Piligian, a one time producer of the
CBS reality series Survivor, Pilgrim is probably the leading producer
of reality content for television. The company’s shows include Ghost
Hunters, Dirty Work and The Ultimate Fighter.
A casting notice on Pilgrim’s website asks “Are you Paul Senior’s right hand
man?” The notice explains that Orange County Choppers, “needs some fresh blood –
someone who will work alongside Paul Senior, running the shop and helping to
build the best custom motorcycles in the world. This is a full-time job working
with O.C.C. on and off camera. It doesn’t matter what your specialties are in
the motorcycle world. As long as you KNOW the world of choppers, are outgoing,
fun and think you can withstand Senior’s onslaught when he’s angry, then we want
to hear from you!”
