CBS has scheduled its long-in-the-works competition reality series Hunted. The show, based on the UK format, is getting a high-profile launch pad — it will premiere immediately following the NFL’s AFC Championship Game, on Sunday, January 22, at about 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. Hunted, in which ordinary people go on the run as fugitives and try to evade capture by an elite team of investigators, will move to Wednesdays on January 25 with a two-hour (8-10 PM) episode, before settling into its regular Wednesday 8-9 PM berth, bridging the two cycles of Survivor.
CBS brass has high hopes for Hunted. It was the first major buy and series order for Glenn Geller after he was named entertainment president in September 2015. “I think we found the next big reality hit,” he said at TCA in January. “I’m very excited about it.”
Hunted follows nine teams of two in a real-life manhunt as they attempt to disappear in today’s digital world, as highly skilled investigators combine state-of-the-art tracking methods with traditional tactics to pursue and catch them. From searching their targets’ homes and scouring their Internet and cell phone histories to identifying behavioral patterns, Hunters in the field and Command Center investigators work together to identify clues to potential hiding places and collaborators that ultimately can lead to capture. A grand prize of $250,000 is awarded to each team that successfully evades being caught for up to 28 days within 100,000 square miles of the southeastern U.S.
Hunted is produced by Endemol Shine North America. Laura Fuest Silva, Brian Catalina, Eden Gaha, Rob Smith and Robin Feinberg are executive producers. The original British series, created and produced by Shine TV, returned for a second season on Channel 4 this fall.
