Everyone’s had a million-dollar idea at some point in his or her life; it probably came and left just as fast. There are those, though, who constantly come up with great ideas for inventions. Discovery Channel’s latest show, American Made Inventors, will give people a chance to pitch in their ideas for a chance to make their pioneering dreams come true. We’ve listed five interesting facts about this new show that might make you want to tune in on Fridays if you aren’t already planning to do so.
1. The show’s main cast has a Shark Tank past.
Besides the show already having similarities to the ABC giant, Jason Shackelford and his business associates actually appeared on Shark Tank to pitch their product, IcyBreeze, a portable air conditioner. They said their business took off after their tank appearance, and that’s also how they got the idea for having a show of their own. Shackelford and his partners believe that they can help other people get their ideas moving.
2. Shackelford is not new to television.
He used to work as a TV news personality at a local channel KJRH channel 2. He left the industry in order to pursue his business full time but also because he was ready to leave TV altogether. Shackelford finds it ironic now to be back in TV once again, although on a different type of programming, to an even wider audience that he had when he worked for the news.
3. The inventors didn’t know they were pitching for the Discovery Channel.
When casting call came, inventors stood for hours in line just to be able to pitch in their inventions. Some were small-scale; others were completely out of this world. The interesting part of the whole process, though, was the fact that none of the inventors knew they were actually auditioning for such a big network. Many of the inventors feared that Shackelford and his partners were out to steal their ideas, but since they weren’t able to say otherwise, Shackelford just told the inventors to just “trust them.”
4. The show is based in Oklahoma.
Casting calls were held in Tulsa and Oklahoma. Although inventors nationwide came to the auditions, many of the inventors and inventions we’ll be seeing are probably from around the area. It’s a great publicity for Oklahoma altogether and the many businesses in the cities. Shackelford and his partners are also based in Oklahoma, so it serves as homage to their home state.
5. Chunk from “Goonies” is Shackelford’s agent.
This one is just a little bit of trivia. Remember chubby Chunk from The Goonies? He grew up and actually became a successful entertainment attorney. Jeff Cohen now works as Shackelford’s agent, since he’ll be needing one now with the coming release of the new show. American Made Inventors is expected to be as successful as some of Discovery Channel’s best.
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