'The Ultimate Surfer' Cancelled After One Season
After just one season, the American Broadcasting Corporation has declined to continue filming The Ultimate Surfer.
The show, a twelve-part reality TV series, was a vital prong in the WSL's storytelling ecosystem. Woz Studios provided production, CEO Erik Logan was listed as executive producer, with Jessi Miley-Dyer and Dave Prodan producers, and of course Kelly Slater was the much-hyped 'creator' - though in concept The Ultimate Surfer was a simple facsimile of the UFC's The Ultimate Fighter.
From the outset, the Wozzle's agenda was to find a commercial purpose for the Surf Ranch - last year dropped from the Championship Tour and this year from the Longboard Tour - and The Ultimate Surfer appeared a way to keep it in public view. Thus a surf show filmed 500kms from the very thing makes the lifestyle so appealing.
The Ultimate Surfer "averaged a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 1.28 million viewers in the live+same day ratings" and if those numbers don't mean much, consider it "was the least-watched original series on ABC’s Summer 2021 schedule."
It was originally announced that each winner, man and woman, would get a ticket to compete on this year's Championship Tour. However, that was scaled back to one wildcard each at one CT event. Then when Men's winner Zeke Lau qualified for the CT it meant only one wildcard was awarded, and that was to Women's winner Tia Blanco. Blanco lost in the Elimination Round of the Portugal Pro.
Though cancelled, The Ultimate Surfer at least made it further than the planned six-part documentary series by Apple TV+ that silently fell by the wayside.
Comments
Nuf said
My nomination for ultimate surfer?
Wayne Lynch
Has the moves and the hide to live life out on a limb - wanna be like him.
Only ever hung his posters
now there's a pioneer. Id say arguably there'd be similar today in the Lynch mold. Like the Rastos, Laurie Towner?
no commercial plastic bs
Yes I think you're right Flemo. Just watched the Cramiverse and can see another example of a surfer going his own way, carving his own tracks, which was something WL championed, the freedom of the whole surfing experience.
Do you think when Elo got the call from ABC he was surprised? I like to imagine he was actually shellshocked..
Well that's a dam shame!
I think I'm going to have to shed a little tear too.
WSL is starting to remind me of MTV. For whatever reason, I listened to MTV Unplugged this week. They probably had no idea what kind of legacy they were creating, especially with documenting legendary grunge bands in the 90s. Fast forward to today and one asks himself if MTV even exists? Years of 'Teen Mom' and co destroyed what was once a critical part of growing up. WSL seems to be following a similar, ambiguous strategy.
This is a tragedy. Now Ms Ashley can seek some help with that left foot, and Ms Blanco can search for another mirror.
Just saying....the Love Island mentality has no place in the real surfing world.
Sounds like you were an avid watcher.
Yeah - but I can't compete with you. You likely paid to have the entire episode backed up on DVD. Creepy.
So, what now for the Surf Ranch/KSWC?
The promised cash cows are delivering a very thin trickle of income.
Except for the extraordinary amount of money he charges to surf there? I doubt he is crying himself to sleep every night.
Algal diesel production?
Tech bros rent it for $50k a day, I think it's going OK
….and that’s US$50k so more like AU$75k
It makes every other pool look decidedly cheap on a per wave basis.
SAS "Surfer edition" would be interesting
My initial comment was tongue in cheek, but as I reflected...Id probably actually watch it ( not that I've watched any SAS ) , if it was CT level and not wanna be Baywatch Influenceeeeeeerrrrssss
So can the two that qualified for the CT based on this literal shit-show step aside now? What a dumb-arse marketing fail.
Cancelled after one season. Surprise, surprise, surprise. What a joke it was.
I’m with you StandingLeft, give me Wayne Lynch any day, cracking guy to talk to and he’s just one of that ilk of many like him where there’s no frills, spills or dills. Ultimate surfer for sure. I was only just last night reading that fine little publication by Richard Loveridge, ‘Surfing Victoria-The Ultimate Guide’ and there’s a great spiel about Wayne Lynch, couldn’t disagree with any of it.
I'd go for a Mason Ho / JOB type challenge show...
You know surf barrels over rocks in all types of craft etc...
There's a skating show called King of the road like that. It was awesome. Give it a watch if you're into skateboarding for sure.
I have seen that one pretty sure it wasn't cancelled at the end of season 1
Never saw it but surely any surfer with some self respect would not watch this so why would any old viewer bother to tune in?
That book of Richard Loveridge was a fucken disgrace . He outed some very quiet spots, pissing off a lot of locals along the way . And for what - a few more seconds of look at me time , as if his footy glory wasn't enough
Victoria does a good job itself of keeping away surfers IMO. I'm traveling OZ now atm and have a big list of spots to go. We were due to be in Victoria for prime wave season. The missus and I decided winter in Bali would be preferable! You'll have on less qld'rrrrr down your way this winter!
A disgrace, hmm. I can’t and haven’t quite seen all the massive hoards of out of town surfers converging any of those spots, nothings changed in my opinion, maybe you should set up a couple of those ‘road rubber band’ counters and get back to me with those extraordinary high numbers of new surfers to ‘those spots’ , sounds like you don’t own a car or any form of transportation, probably just enjoy sitting on your little verandah whittling away at a piece of left over cannabis wood, watching out for all those unwanted visitors. So, you’ve never surfed a break outside your locals or been in someone else’s backyard or been informed by a mate about a spot, give me a break. Google Earth mate, very easy to incrementally scope out any coast anywhere anytime on any continent that has surf. You probably haven’t even got electricity way down where you live, hey there’s a new thing out, it’s called a telephone. You should check them out, you can actually speak to someone whose ‘from out of town’.
I might use that rubber band counter Alf to try and count the number of assumptions in your reply there . Its obviously pretty old school, but there's plenty of crew out there who prefer the word of mouth and a quiet nod and wink here and there to a broad publication outlining detailed conditions , spots and how to get there etc etc . and yea , I get its all different now with google earth and the various websites , but back in the 80s Loveridges book was pretty full on .
Its one thing to have a guide with well known spots and a general overview , we've all used them and thats all good , but I reckon RLs book went way past that .
Actually Blue diamond is right , I'm probably more pissed off with Loveridge ( and Dermott ) for belting the bombers up in the early 80s , however 84 and 5 ........
Here's the thing with surfing; unless you surf it's literally the most boring thing to watch ever and there's nothing anyone can do to change that outside of sharks with fricken laser beams.
Unless it is Nazarre, which ironically a lot of surfers find boring to watch.
I've shown friends who don't surf the craziest waves in the world and at best they'll last 2 waves before they're bored. Someone going over the falls at monster Chopes gets a 'woah', show a second crazy one, interest gone, on to something else... You just can't sell surfing to non-surfers.
Would you settle for mutated sea bass?
What a shame. Such promising, quality viewing.
I once went to see nitro circus despite zero interest in bikes. I was like wow that jump was amazing for the first 5 mins, then I was just bored shitless. The bs hype and music didn’t help “give it up for….”. Went home after about 20 mins.
And that was staged, arena production stuff.
Surfing. Yep boring as bat shit to watch for non surfers. For surfers it ok to watch but whenever over been at Bells I’ve lasted only about hour - it just makes we want to go surfing.
Yep. The difference being that if you don't surf, the only real reaction is from a flyaway kickout, if you do surf, you'll have a Taylor Knox wave on slow motion on youtube trying to work out his exact hand postioning, what the wave is doing at exactly the same moment. I think there's an old surf company saying that sums it up perfectly. Not sure why WSL keeps flogging a long dead horse. Surfing is for surfers. Very simple.
ahhh upon two seconds of reflection i just got it!! It's being run by a very wealthy non surfer who got awarded waterman of the year and a SUP rider.
Same for Cricket I reckon.
Shocker.
Yes the irony and the fact RL is a lawyer makes complete sense.
That book was a surfing bible when we were younger but hows the spiel on line-
" Victoria has some great waves but it’s no fun surfing with Victorians. Take this book with you when you head east to get the jump on them on their own spots. Richard Loveridge’s intimate knowledge, affectionate description and intricate diagrams make this book a must on your next Victorian surfari."
Rubs shoulders with dodgy pricks like Andrew Demetriou.
Low life lawyers love to think they're better than others.
I've still got that book at home which I've had since about 1986?
Love the detailed little mud maps and accompanying synoptic charts that match up the epic days at certain spots with what you need to look for on the charts. Didn't leave a lot of stones unturned.
Local lads West of Cape Otway would have been overjoyed when it was released!
Ringmaster. Most of the lads surfing west of Cape Otway are basically the only lads surfing those waves, especially at real size. Occasionally very fit and capable dudes from Melbourne may be seen but very few and far between.
Thanks for the heads up but I'm reasonably familiar with the demographic surfing that area having burned up plenty of time and fuel down there myself over the past 35 years.
Love him or hate him, he's gotten me more good waves throughout vicco in the last 20 years than i would have without him.
And so he bloody should, his stupid Hawks stealing a flag off the Mighty Bombers in '83. Dog!!
the promo photo looks like a advert for a new bay watch... seppos
If some of you above take issue with Richard Loveridge, you might want to have a word with Mark Warren.
Zen. Spot on fella. There are no secrets anymore, just makes the hunt even more enjoyable. How’s your Spring surfing in your adopted homeland?
Keep warm and well.
Zen. Do you have a copy of RL’s book. If not I’ve a few. Let me know, I’ll send you one to Japan.
Cheers Alf, I'm fine thankyou. I do have Mark Warrens Atlas of Australian Surfing on the bookshelf in front of me though.
Usually this time of the year the surf is pretty ordinary but there's been tons of swell recently. Water is still bitter though.
Nat did it before both of them
And I think Readers Digest before him. If you have or can get a copy of their guide to the Aussie coastline it's worth its weight in gold. I've been looking for one of those for years.
After a quick check on Dr Google Zen, there seemed to be some available on a few sites
Cheers SS. Gave up a few years ago but had a quick look on Amazon this morning and found one, but without the original cover pic.
Anyway, I'm gonna buy it.
Ps- How's Maggie May? Time for an update.
Thanks for asking Zen, Maggie May is now one little happy magpie, getting ready for release soon (in the next week). I'll post a picture and update on day of release. All growths gone except for the tail of the big growth which I ended up cutting off (no blood). Been bloody amazing, her mum has been coming in daily to feed it through the cage with little skinks, big fat spiders and grasshoppers.
Awesome. Looking forward to the release date.
My Dad bought me a copy of the book mentioned years ago......and I lost it during house moves. Occasionally I'll poke around in second hand book shops and the Salvos. I found one today in Lorne (an art gallery at the start of the pier). Twenty bucks! Bargain..
Is that real? Never heard of it but I’ll keep an eye out. Was it surfing related or coast in general?
Surfing, swimming, fishing, boating. Beautifully produced book mapping the Australian coastline with hundreds of aerial photos. Almost impossible to get so if you can, grab it.
I stupidly gave away my copy of Grants Guide to Fishes. Farking regret that. Another beautiful book.
Imagine the contrast. The backslapping and high fiving and sense of 'here's our big play' when the first season got greenlit (or whatever fancy term they use in that world)... then imagine the deflation as the viewing numbers atrophied along the way ... then the final phone call, yeah, nah, no season two... there must have been a moment of clarity, like – what the actual fuck was it trying to achieve anyway? – before old mate dusted himself off and found something to hype up about.
#1 Surf Journo Stu Nettle
{ The Readers Digest Guide to The Australian Coast }
swellnet [ The Depth Test ] Hooking up the Hyperlink for 2011 crew...All Done!
https://www.swellnet.com/news/depth-test/2011/08/02/readers-digest-guid…
tbb rating ( Stu's Review ***** ) + Proud Owner of copy for 15 years ( Book ***** )
Stu's Ultimate ELO Wipeout
Washed Up Review { Priceless }
Devastated Crew are left to mop up the tears ... none saw that coming!
All can see this is one of them premeditated April Fools Day pranks that backfired...as they so often do!
Most likely Stu's stunt double got caught up in one of them scandalous rumour mills.
( I'm a Surf Journo's Ghost Writer...get me outta here! ) One of those!
End of the World Wave Pool Tsunami is being held back until next season...let's pray not!
Is this the low point in the representation of surfing?
Never,
in the history of surfing,
have so few,
done so much,
to trash the image of surfing,
for what seems so little in return.
It's interesting, peak saturation is the low point. Almost every ad on TV has surfers with their cars on the beach beginning/ending a session in wonderful lighting, set to platitudes and mission-statements of the advertiser... It's like this is the new temple or something.
Interesting reading back through the comments when Ultimate Surfer was announced (Nov 2019) and then when the cast was decided (May 2021).
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2019/11/14/wsl-announce…
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2021/05/09/cast-announc…
How can the WSL conceptualise, pitch and execute an idea, that the entire recreational surfing community (having not yet seen the finished production) unanimously agreed would be terrible - both as a product, and as a way forward for the sport?
Were there any dissenting voices in Santa Monica? Or, did everyone smile politely and say "YES! This will be a fantastic TV show, and surfing will become a better sport as a result. I can't wait to tell everyone I know about it"...?
Odds on bet there was considerable 'groupthink'
https://www.britannica.com/science/groupthink
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_82.htm
The Woz could do worse than to bounce their ideas off the Swellnet forums for a bit of a read of the room. ;-)
bluediamond ...last WSL groupie was executed just for linking to swellnet WOTD...
https://www.worldsurfleague.com/posts/a2113?itemId=48256&social=1
Elo's thought bubbles brainwashed the WSL thinktank to ultimately jump the shark.
Fonzie...HEYYYYYYYYYY!!
https://c.tenor.com/8jJfUR4tLroAAAAC/the-fonz-fonz.gif
Not the end of the world...still got WSL "Entrepreneurial Surfer"
https://bond.edu.au/world-surf-league
I wonder just how different the mindset of the American corporates, and even a small part of their surfing public, is to that of Australia. Obviously the States was the main/only market for the show and it tanked there after one season, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few people outside of the Wozzle HQ bubble thought it was a great idea. Just imagine what a massive win it would be product wise if even a fraction of the usual reality TV audience could develop some semblance of an interest in surfing. Would have always been easier said than done.
Oh gawd wingnut, I think our entire lives are being determined by "groupthinkers".
Otherwise you're just not being a "team" player.
There was a podcast where Danna white was interviewed about Ultimate Surfer and how it was going to do what TUF did for MMA for surfing and he went on and on and on and just sounded like a complete fuck who had no idea about surfing.
There was nothing wrong with "Ultimate Surfer" on a conceptual level.
"Ultimate Fighter" was a big success as a series, so why not "Ultimate Surfer"?
Ah, but there you go - the Assumptions of the Unsurfed will kill a good idea, every time.
As we have seen, Hollywood has been working the stereotype of Surfer Dudes and Surfer Babes since the Beach Blanket Gidget Malibu movies of the 1960's. "Ultimate Surfer" was entertainment within exactly the same genre as "Beach Blanket Bingo".
What went wrong for "Ultimate Surfer" was the execution of the concept - the apparent necessity of using only American participants and zero highly deserving foreign surfers due to pandemic travel restrictions, the utter cluelessness of using a retired American football player as the host (?) and having the entire thing at an artificial wave in the middle of Nowhere, California, which significantly negated many of the more appealing characteristics of the surfing lifestyle.
A giant, energy-hungry clanking machine that generates waves on demand is easy for the production schedule, but does nothing for the few viewers who aren't ocean engineering geeks.
Reboot the concept, with my recommendations and watch it become a runaway success - he he.
Probably makes alot of sense.
Never watched an ep in my life, but send a troupe of mad dogs to somewhere like Apocalypse in Indo, have them living a survivor type lifestyle and surf offs in that....and i just might be interested.
Indeed, a tribal outdoor adventure travel format with groups camping and surfing on Pulau Panaitan in Ujung Kulon National Park, the Oso Peninsula of Costa Rica or the desert NW of Australia would be hella more interesting and engaging for a viewing audience than Lemoore, California for a start - not as convenient for a production schedule.
But it's the ocean @john.callhan! It just makes no sense!!! haha
Thats a shame
Well, I thought many attrocious assaults on our intelligence would not be back for a second episode let alone second season. Look where we are now. Some of these shows have had more lives than a cat named Lazarus. Somehow they took Pointbreak and replaced surfers with street racers and gave us 9 more exact replicas with different titles and people bought this shit. The ultimate surfer? you'd have to strap me to a chair and pin my eyelids back. They may resuscitate it yet.
In the article above I made mention of the AppleTV+ documenatry series and how, despite being planned for a 2021 screening, we've heard nothing about it.
Overnight, the Woz sent a press release announcing the now-seven part series will premiere shortly, and ilike an insecure teenager they've gone out of their way to tell us that, unlike Ultimate Surfer, it will definitely be back for a second season
As per the presser:
LOS ANGELES, Calif./USA (Wednesday, April 6, 2022) - Apple TV+ today revealed a first-look at "Make or Break,” the new seven-part documentary series that delivers behind-the-scenes access to the world’s best surfers as they battle for the World Title at the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). Set to debut globally on Friday, April 29, Apple TV+ also announced today that the soon-to-premiere series has received an early season two renewal, with production underway during the current competition season.
"Make or Break" offers an intimate deep dive into the aspirations, challenges, accomplishments, and personal lives of the surfers who compete to remain on the elite 2021 Men's and Women's WSL Championship Tour (CT), and takes viewers on a journey to stunning surfing locations across the globe. The series follows the 2021 competition, navigating as the league responds to the global pandemic, while exploring the dynamic surfing culture along with timely issues, including diversity, mental health, and the physical impact of the sport.
Each episode in the seven-part first season of the series spotlights internationally recognized surfers and features never-before-seen interviews with:
11-Time World Champion and 56-Time Career Victory Winner Kelly Slater
Seven-Time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore
Three-Time World Champion Gabriel Medina
Two-Time World Champion Tyler Wright
2019 World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Italo Ferreira
2021 Olympian Tatiana Weston-Webb
Additional notable surfers featured in "Make or Break” include Morgan Cibilic, Johanne Defay, Leonardo Fioravanti, Jeremy Flores, John John Florence, Filipe Toledo, Kanoa Igarashi, Matt McGillivray, Isabella Nichols, and Jack Robinson.
The docuseries is produced for Apple by Box to Box Films, in partnership with the WSL. Executive producers are Oscar and BAFTA winner James Gay-Rees (“Exit Through the Gift Shop,” “Amy”), BAFTA nominee Paul Martin (“Formula 1: Drive to Survive”), WSL CEO Erik Logan and Ryan Holcomb.
In addition to assessing the quality of WSL's TV productions, it's also worth looking at whom they're partnered with - Apple might be a tech behemoth, there's a lot of industry conjecture as to what they're doing in the TV space.
Point being, did anyone see any episode of Apple TV's "Greatness Code", let alone the one on Kelly Slater? (I did, and it was very average).
From one of the best analysts in the tech industry:
https://twitter.com/benedictevans/status/1501315567344492548
Not sure just how relevant this is to surfing, but there's a news report today:
"UFC completes shift back to entertainment carnival as it merges with WWE"
"UFC parent company takes majority stake in WWE to form $31 billion combat sports giant"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-04/ufc-completes-shift-to-entertain…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-04/ufc-merges-with-wwe-31-billion/1…
One day soon we may all be a little surprised at how relevant WWE is to surfing