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SINGAPORE : American hit reality series “The Contender” is back and this time, 16 professional boxers will battle for boxing supremacy right here in Singapore.
Produced by Mark Burnett Productions and Dreamworks Television, this is the first time the Emmy-nominated series is filmed outside of the United States.
Following the success of filming and producing “The Contender Asia” in Singapore, executive producer Mark Burnett said it was an easy decision to bring the entire US production here.
“We have a fantastic relationship with STB (Singapore Tourism Board), and we learned that on ‘The Contender Asia’. This is a place that I am financially and emotionally investing in and I really, really believe in production in this city.
“We’re working with [Infinite] Frameworks, [we have an] incredible production facility here, and if you look at ‘Contender Asia’, the quality was higher than we’ve done on ‘Contender’, you could not see that we’ve shot this outside of Hollywood and we’re really proud about that,” he said.
Taking over from previous hosts Hollywood action star Sylvester Stallone and six-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard, is professional boxer and actor Tony Danza, who is best remembered for his roles in long-running sitcoms “Who’s The Boss?” and “Taxi”.
The former middleweight fighter who was offered a role in “Taxi” after being discovered by a producer at a gym, said boxing changed his life and this was his way of giving back.
But getting Danza on board was no easy task. Said the 58-year-old, “I’m not a big fan of reality shows, I have this feeling that a lot of times, the audiences have changed. There was a time where you wanted to be entertained, now I’m thinking the audiences sometimes just want to feel better about themselves by seeing what other people are going through, and so I was a little reluctant to do it.”
He added, “I just finished doing a couple of independent movies and I’m working my way to that, and I am studying again, and then this came along, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to leave because I have children and I have a grandson now, it’s tough to leave and go far away, but if there was one reality show that I would do, it’s this one because it’s near and dear to my heart.”
Danza may have large shoes to fill but he feels that he brings more to the show than his predecessors because he can identify with the contestants.
“These guys are brokesters, club fighters, they are guys who are hoping to get their opportunity, they are not six-time world champions, they are not movie stars, I get it, I was that and I identify with these guys.
“I think in a different way than those guys [Stallone and Leonard] do and because of that, I am going to be able to be a conduit to the audience, they’ll get, through me, what these guys are going through and what it means to them. And I don’t think that Sly and Sugar can do that... they can’t do it like I can,” said Danza.
More than just throwing punches, “The Contender” which is touted as “the next great human drama”, takes you into the lives of the boxers and shows you the “human” side of boxing.
The fourth season of “The Contender” is the latest project to be supported by the Singapore Tourism Board’s Film in Singapore Scheme which aims to encourage international filmmakers and broadcasters to shoot and produce movies and TV programmes here.
While filming of this 12-episode series takes place on a closed set in an undisclosed location, viewers can expect to see some familiar Singapore locales and landmarks such as the Esplanade Park, Singapore Botanic Gardens and Boat Quay.
Burnett who is also the brainchild of hit reality series like “Survivor” and “The Apprentice”, revealed that he is currently looking at doing more shows in Singapore, so who knows, one day we might just have the tribal council right here on our shores.
“The Contender” premieres in the United States and on AXN network in Asia in December. Viewers can expect to catch the final showdown around March next year.
- CNA/il
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