The Gross Challenge That Caused Fear Factor's Cancelation

Fear Factor was created as NBC's answer to Survivor, making Joe Rogan a household name and one of the most important people in American pop culture. It started in 2001 and ran for six seasons until it was canceled in the fall of 2006 due to low ratings.

The reality show saw six individual contestants take on increasingly disgusting or terrifying tasks in the hopes of winning $50,000, as reported by ScreenRant. The stunts were originally supposed to be physically and mentally challenging, making contestants eat bugs and dangling them from zip lines attached to helicopters. As the show went on, the challenges became more and more extreme until it went too far, and the audience started to tune off.

The show was canceled due to low ratings in 2006 but was revived five years later. Its revival featured a challenge so extreme that the episode was never aired in the USA, according to Looper. The show struggled to regain its following after this shocking episode, even when MTV brought it back to life in 2017.

Here's Why Fear Factor Was Canceled

The Hollywood Reporter claims that Fear Factor was canceled in 2006 due to low ratings. Although it debuted to strong figures, it failed to compete against American Idol, which aired in the same slot.

Joe Rogan, who at the time was predominately known for his recurring role on the sitcom News Radio, was surprised it lasted as long as it did. "It was bizarre for me being there, being the host of it, as it wa1s for anyone to watch it. Ninety percent of the time I would show up at work and I’d be shaking my head going, 'I can’t believe this is a real show,'" he said, per Distractify.

I thought it was something completely ridiculous. I’m like, ‘There’s no way this is going to stay on television.’ Then, 148 episodes later…

• Fear Factor would return twice more, with the format slightly changed, but the show never caught the audience's imagination in the same way again.

Here's Why Fear Factor's Reboots WereShort-Lived

Fear Factor was rebooted in 2011 after the reruns started to build a significant audience, with Joe Rogan returning as host. It slightly changed the format, with four teams of two people with pre-existing relationships taking part in even more extreme stunts. According to Today, the reboot was "ramped" up to make it "more challenging and competitive."

However, this first reboot didn't fare well due to production pushing the contestants a little too far. In a 2015 interview with Art Bell, Joe told the author that the show started coming up with more and more extreme ways to challenge those appearing on Fear Factor.

The former host said, "The second time around we did it for seven more episodes… and then I was worried because there were some episodes… where they really kept upping the ante further and further and there was a few accidents."

Nobody got hurt; [it was] nothing serious. But it was like wow. This is more risky than we ever did before.

In 2017, Fear Factor was rebooted by MTV, with rapper Ludacris hired as the new host. The format cut down the gross factor, with the challenges appearing tamer than previous versions of the show.

"We study what they're really scared of, and try to cater to their worst fears for what they're going to do, challenge-wise," Ludacris told GQ at the time. "It's not mean-spirited, but it's fun. And definitely scary."

The show was canceled after two seasons, likely due to low viewership. The show was called tame by audiences and was met with criticism by animal activists, according to PEOPLE.

Did Fear Factor Go Too Far With This Gross Challenge?

When the network brought Fear Factor back “with even bigger stunts” in 2011 with host Joe Rogan, it didn't last long. Fans felt like one specific task shown on the reality show was just too low, and Joe Rogan agreed!

The podcast host said in an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience that a task where they made contestants drink donkey semen led to the show being canceled. He admitted it was not his idea, and he told the production team that the idea was a bad one. "When I'm the voice of the reason, you got a really f****d-up program!"

When news of the stunt leaked before the episode, titled “Hee Haw! Hee Haw!,” aired, audiences criticized it, and, Life & Style reported that the network pulled the episode. Twins Brynne and Claire Odioso, who appeared on the canceled episode, said it was the “hardest 15 minutes of (their) life.”

According to Fox News, the twins explained, "If you vomited, you would have to start over. I ended up just vomiting in my glass and drank that. The cameramen were vomiting," said one of the participants. "It smells. It's so bitter, and it has a little hint of hay."

According to TMZ, NBC lawyers approached the twins and threatened them with legal action if they spilled any more secrets about the controversial episode.

When asked by TMZ if the contestants would do the shocking challenge again they replied, "Probably. We are proud of what we did."

“I’m sure that the contracts caused the talent to agree to do anything and everything, including eat/drink things from animals. Typically, you even accept the fact that you might die in the show, and you release all liability,” a source told Fox News.

They eat bugs, rats, etc., all the time on ‘Fear Factor’ – and I know that the network tests all challenges before using them to make sure they’re safe. So legally, NBC is very likely covered.

Could Fear Factor Return In The Future?

The ill-fated 2017 version of Fear Factor may not be the last version audiences see of the iconic show.

According to a 2024 Variety, producers are looking to reintroduce Fear Factor to audiences once more. “I’m not a fan of a straight-up reboot without a reason for being,” Endemol CEO Sharon Levy told the outlet. There is no word if Joe Rogan will return.

Allegedly, producers want the reboot to have a more social experiment feel, “using where we are in society and how crippled people are by fear — and how important it is to overcome that as a backbone,” she said. “We are looking at it completely differently than it has ever been done before. When you have a category like ‘Fear Factor,’ which is a social experiment with real stakes, the potential of that idea excites me.”