Jesse James Returns for All-New Season of Discovery+ Series ‘Monster Garage’

The long-awaited Monster Garage revival finally has a premiere date and even a new home. The series, once again hosted by Jesse James, will debut on Jan. 4, exclusively on Discovery’s new streaming service, Discovery+. The revival was announced back in February but was delayed in April due to the coronavirus pandemic. The original series ran from 2002 to 2006.

The Monster Garage revival was filmed at a new West Coast Choppers garage in Austin, Texas. In the 14 years since the last episode aired, James has updated his skill set to create new custom vehicles. “The revamped legendary series will once again focus on transforming regular vehicles into functional machines with a unique purpose while elevating mechanical and automotive vision in the shop,” reads a description of the new series. “James is once again looking to accomplish the impossible and will be working with some of the most talented craftsmen and women in the country.”

Monster Garage was originally slated to return this year to mark the 20th anniversary of James’ relationship with Discovery. However, James told In Depth with Graham Bensinger in April that the series was put on hold due to the pandemic. At that point, James said only one episode was filmed. “We filmed one episode, but we’re on hold now until the 30th of April,” the reality TV star said at the time. “Up until people can congregate more than 10 [at a time], because we have a crew of about 30 people behind the scenes, so we can’t have them all together. As soon as they give the green light, we’ve got seven more builds ready to go.”

In each episode of the original Monster Garage, teams were tasked with turning a vehicle into a “monster machine.” They only had $5,000 to spend on new parts to change the built and had just seven days to complete the monster. The new series will follow the same premise. If a team does not succeed, James gets to destroy the monster they tried to create.

Discovery+ will include over 50 exclusive shows, including spinoffs from popular shows from TLC, HGTV, and other Discovery brands. Aside from Monster Garage, the other automotive-themed show will be Auto Biography, a documentary series on surprising stories behind legendary cars and drivers. Both Monster Garage and Auto Biography will be available when Discovery+ launches on Monday, Jan. 4.