Manhunt (2001 TV series)
Manhunt was a reality television series that aired on UPN in the summer of 2001.
| Manhunt | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality competition |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 43 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Paramount Network Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | UPN |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | August 3 – September 7, 2001 |
The contestants on the show posed as fugitives who tried to escape actors who pretended to be bounty hunters. The one who eluded the bounty hunters the longest would receive a cash prize.
Manhunt was plagued with problems during its brief run. First, a deal collapsed with the World Wrestling Federation (where SmackDown! aired in the same network) in which a number of their "superstars" were to be a part of the show's cast. Then, the bottom fell out when separate investigative reports by conspiracy theorist Peter Lance and game-show enthusiast Steve Beverly revealed that the show was being filmed at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, rather than on location in Hawaii as claimed. It later came out that Paramount Television had convinced a producer to rig the show in favor of a particular contestant, which violated FCC regulations put in place following the 1950s quiz show scandals.
The program was pulled after six episodes.
John Cena (prior to his WWE debut) and former American Gladiator Raye "Zap" Hollitt were among the cast members.