TV Guide has been given the first look at the cast for the next reality show from Mark Burnett. The show is called Pirate Master. And contestants will have to–you guessed it–live like pirates. How awesome. The only way this could be more genius was if it was called Ninja Master. But still, we’ll take pirates and not complain. In the show, contestants will have to live on a ship and tramp through island jungles in search of weekly treasure–paid in real gold dubloons! Here’s what Burnett told TV Guide about the proto-pirates:
“It’s a really interesting diverse cast,” says Burnett. “Everybody’s a good athlete, but what they’ve learned is being a great pirate, you have to be really smart. When you’re exhausted and you’re trudging through a jungle, jumping off waterfalls or swimming up canyon lakes, you still have to think about what the pirate clues are.“It takes a lot of brains,” Burnett continues, “to decipher the clues. It’s very, very hard. On top of that they’re trying to sail a three-masted ship with huge sails. It’s epic!”
Here is a first look at the men and women, who, Burnett says, “knew a lot about the world of pirates and all agree had they been born 250 years ago, they’d have like to have been pirates.”
That final statement is one of the most joyously absurd things a TV exec has ever said. I’m sure if you’d asked the cast if they were born 250 years in the future, they’d all agree that they’d want to be robots.
So obviously this is a show we’ll all be watching. (Premieres May 31 on CBS!) Plus there’s one surprise in the cast. It’s all nobodies with the bizarre exception of a one Mr. Christian Okoye. Yes, that’s right, the former Kansas City Chiefs running back. Basically this guy has gone from being an Indian to being a pirate. That’s one of the best things in the world ever…
