Wildboyz is an American television series which debuted in 2003 on MTV and moved to MTV2 in its third season. It is a spin-off and follow-up to Jackass. The show stars Steve-O and Chris Pontius, who perform stunts and acts with animals, often putting themselves in situations for which they are not trained.
Format
Wildboyz follows the antics of Chris Pontius and Steve-O as they travel around the globe. Over the course of 4 seasons, Pontius and Steve-O traveled to 19 different locations. At each location, the pair would interact with the wild and learn the culture of the natives. Some of their antics include dressing up and running with the animals they encounter, subjecting themselves to the defense mechanisms of the animals, and eating the food of the local people.
The dangerous nature of the stunts go beyond that of either Jackass or another similar spin-off, Viva La Bam. In the course of the show, Steve-O purposely subjected himself to the relatively mild sting of the emperor scorpion on more than one occasion, and Pontius was nearly attacked by a jaguar and was bitten by an American black bear. One of their most dangerous stunts showed the boys attracting a great white shark while disguised as seals, then jumping into the open water just 10 meters away. Another stunt included dangling meat attached to a hammock to attract lions. In yet another dangerous stunt, the pair dressed up as fake zebras to try to lure lions. The supposed sport of "hyena football" also made its debut, which in its earliest form was nothing more than a game of keep-away with a pack of spotted hyenas, using smoked ham as a ball. The "sport", according to its founders, "deserves Olympic status".
Some of the scenes were intentionally mislabeled for dramatization, as many of the animals used were from a company called Hollywood Animals.
Several members of the Jackass cast and crew contributed assistance to the show. The co-creator, director, and producer of Jackass, Jeff Tremaine, served as director and executive producer of Wildboyz. Cameramen Dimitry Elyashkevich and Rick Kosick, and photographer Sean Cliver also continued to work alongside Tremaine on Wildboyz. Manny Puig, a wild animal expert who appeared on Jackass several times, occasionally joined the Wildboyz on their adventures. Fellow Jackass cast members Johnny Knoxville, Wee Man and Loomis Fall also made guest appearances on the show throughout all four seasons.
End
The show ended in 2006, after four seasons. Steve-O later wrote in his memoir that "Wildboyz probably could've kept going after Season 4. It just didn't seem like there was a point. Over time, it had essentially evolved back into Jackass. During our final trip to Russia there were no stunts that wouldn't have fit in just as easily on Jackass. Johnny Knoxville came along on that trip too, which contributed even more to that vibe."