We’ve known for quite some time that what often makes the best reality TV is our fascination with watching ordinary people deal with (somewhat) extraordinary situations. That’s the formula that works well for shows like Survivor or Amazing Race, where ordinary folks get stranded on an island or have to travel the world and compete in a crazy competition.
But what happens when ordinary Americans have to do something that is rather… ordinary?
To clarify, it’s more like super hard work-ordinary. That’s the formula found in Tough As Nails, this summer’s breakout reality competition show that celebrates blue-collar work.
The premise is rather simple—gather many “hardworking” Americans and see who is toughest. To that end, they have created a pool of what will hopefully become a who’s-who of notable tough folks, including firefighters, sheriffs, drywallers, sheet-metal layers, fishermen, farmers, and many “normal” folks you’d find at Home Depot. The people who truly know what to buy without asking for help.
The show is hosted by Phil Keoghan, the New Zealand-born Amazing Race host who has previously been nominated for outstanding reality show host for his work on that oft-praised show. Here, Keoghan gets to be involved in more of the action, often barking encouragement and praise, much more like Jeff Probst on Survivor. It works—and Keoghan genuinely seems to admire these contestants—but there’s nothing incredibly moving in the show’s format that necessitates making the host a part of the story.
Like most competition programs, the contestants are in it for the title of sole champion—“toughest”—but also for the prize money. The last person standing will receive $200,000 and a new pickup truck (which manages to make a cameo in every episode). But you also have opportunities to win money for your “team” each week. Therefore, when each show’s closing individual elimination ends, the loser doesn’t go home (like on many reality shows) but instead just “punches out” from the individual competitions in the future. He or she can still partake in the group challenges and add to their collective winnings. That seems genuinely nice, because they can still earn money before going home. And based on the somewhat repetitive soundbites, you get a sense that every time the contestants win $2,000 each the money means a lot for their families waiting at home.
In fact, Tough As Nails steals quite a lot from The Amazing Race’s “challenge” portion of the game—the part of each episode when teams must figure out a complex task and complete it before other teams.
Sample tasks include carrying bricks in wheelbarrows, constructing walls with perfect accuracy, or shoveling three times your weight in coal. The first episode, set in a rail yard outside of LA, allowed teams to build a stretch of railroad and then drag a train car (with their own strength) across their newly built track. The winning team earned $12,000, or $2,000 per player. The second episode was set in a junkyard and involved a lot of deconstructing vehicles. (Although the best part was that Phil kept calling it a “pick-a-part” which is a term I’ve not heard of and seemed amusing). The third episode is set on a farm. It’s interesting to see these settings, because some of the contestants will naturally be “at home” each week, but it’s more fascinating seeing how a roofer can thrive on a farm or a sheriff can find new skills in a junkyard. It can actually make for interesting TV.
The pacing of the pilot is off because the first episode was a double episode and twice as long—but subsequent episodes are shorter (and that helps a lot). What also helps is the fact we won’t be introduced to anyone new. We know who we have by episode two, so we won’t need time to hear all of their stories again. But there’s still something missing. There’s no “tribal council.” No betrayal. No suspense. I’m all for feel-good TV, but there’s something missing in reality TV when it’s too formulaic.
Nevertheless, Tough As Nails is a gritty, interesting show that helps us admire the determined every-day workers who will do anything to get a job done and help their families back at home. It’s a feel-good reality show for a summer where we definitely need it.
Tough as Nails airs on Wednesdays at 9 PM on CBS.
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