‘AGT: Extreme’ Expected to Premiere Soon Despite On-Set Accident, Production Pause

The America’s Got Talent spin-off focusing on dangerous, life-or-death stunts is still on NBC’s schedule, despite one stuntman almost dying during production last month. While rehearsing for America’s Got Talent: Extreme, veteran stunt performer Jonathan Goodwin fell on his head when a stunt went horribly wrong at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, forcing producers to shut down production while the incident is under investigation. However, NBC still teased the show when announcing its winter 2022 schedule.

AGT: Extreme was among the shows that received series orders but did not get a premiere date before the end of the 2021-2022 TV season. The others are the Night Court sequel series, the documentary series L.A. Fire and Rescue, and The Wheel, an adaptation of the BBC game show. On Friday, Frances Berwick, the chairman of Entertainment Networks at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, told Deadline they still plan to air Extreme.

“We have an investigation ongoing into what actually happened but we do anticipate the show coming back in midseason,” Barwick explained. “We have a lot of safety protocols in place and we have to conclude the investigation but we have certainly paused production for the time being.” The show could take a slot on Sunday nights to take over for the void left behind by Sunday Night Football after the football season is over.

NBC is also airing the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which run from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20. The network still hasn’t set plans for Sundays after the Olympics end. “We’re actually taking a beat on our Sunday night schedule post Olympics. We have a number of unscripted shows that are in the pipeline and in production, some that we have actually completed production so we’re taking a beat to see the environment and see what goes in there,” Barwick said. “AGT: Extreme is one of those possibilities.”

In October, AGT: Extreme production was put on hold after Goodwin nearly died after falling about 70 feet in the air while trying to perform a death-defying stunt. He was dangling upside down in a straightjacket while two full-size cars swung on either side of him. He had to escape the straightjacket and fall onto a mattress before the two cars collided. However, something went drastically wrong, and he could not escape in time. The two cars collided, causing an explosion, and Goodwin missed the mattress when he fell to the ground.

Goodwin, who previously performed on Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent, was rushed to the hospital, where he is still recovering. On Oct. 20, he provided a positive update from his hospital bed and thanked everyone for their support. In his latest post on Nov. 9, Goodwin shared a photo with his girlfriend, actress Amanda Abbington, with the two wearing funny noses. “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read,” Goodwin wrote in the caption, adding the hashtag “on the mend.”

AGT: Extreme is hosted by Terry Crews and features the judges Simon Cowell, Nikki Bella, and Travis Pastrana. The show focuses on past Got Talent contestants who show off their death-defying stunts. It is produced by Fremantle, the same company behind America’s Got Talent.