American Chopper returns to Discovery Channel

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Thu, 10/19/2017 - 03:00

From Entertainment Weekly:

After five years off the air, Discovery Channel is reviving the iconic motorcycle-construction reality series American Chopper.

The famously feuding father-son team of Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. are back on board as the show’s bike-building craftsmen.

In the new show, the duo “set out reclaim their preeminent bike brands and – hopefully, rebuild some sort of relationship … with A-list celebrities, world famous athletes and Forbes 100 businesses as clients, millions of dollars and their brands’ reputations are on the line with every signature build.”

“The Teutuls have been on a wild ride, and it certainly isn’t ending anytime soon. Paul Sr. has revamped Orange County Choppers – turning it into a complex with a shop, café, bowling alley, restaurant and of course, the showroom – but all that didn’t come without a hefty price tag and he is feeling the burden of a high overhead and a lack of foot traffic. Meanwhile, Paul Jr. has also felt the sting of a rough economy – with his business built solely on high-dollar custom-builds and commissions becoming tougher to come by, Paul Jr. stresses about the long-term stability of his own shop, Paul Jr. Designs especially now that he has his own family.”

The original American Chopper premiered as a special in 2002 and ran for 10 years, airing 223 episodes before being cancelled in 2010 and then was rebooted as the spinoff American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior for another two years.

American Chopper returns to Discovery in the winter.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Commentary: Late last year, Paul Sr. had been talking about doing an online version of the show that would give them a bit more creative control with a crowd-sourced funding model. I had been following that pretty closely, but then my mom got sick and I completely lost track of it. I always really enjoyed AMERICAN CHOPPER, and it appeals to me more than most reality TV. I love seeing the amazing bikes the Teutul family can create. I am also happy to see that Paul Jr and Sr seem to have reconciled enough to work together on this new version of the show. I will definitely give this a shot.