CBS’ “Tough As Nails” was a late addition to the Eye network’s summer schedule, as broadcasters continue to adjust their primetime schedules in light of the WGA writers strike. This time out, the competitive series — hosted and executive produced by Phil Keoghan (“The Amazing Race”) takes place north of the border for the first time.
Variety has a first look at Season 5 of “Tough as Nails,” which premieres with a two-hour opener on Sunday, July 2 at 8 p.m. ET. The series will then continue to air twice a week, at 8 p.m. ET on Fridays and Sundays, on CBS and Paramount+.
“To be completely honest, we didn’t see the launch of ‘Tough as Nails’ 5 happening so quickly but even with a short notice we are doing everything we can to make the most of this awesome opportunity,” Keoghan told Variety. “‘Tough As Nails’ appeals to people of all ages and a lot of our audience are early to bed early to rise so the early time slot is a chance to grab people like we did when we launched in the summer of 2020 as CBS’s highest rated new reality format in the last five years. We know there’s an audience in the summer who love our show and we are extremely excited to know we have something really special to share with them this season.”
Shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada — the city with the nickname “The Hammer” — “Tough As Nails” features 12 contestants from the U.S. and Canada, considered “the best of the best in their chosen trade.” This season’s players include a carpenter, toolmaker, ironworker, electrician and firefighter.
“For the first time, we offered Canadians a chance to compete,” Keoghan said. “Now, instead of just highlighting the best of the best in their chosen trade from America, this season we have amazing competitors from all over North America. Including Canadians means making the cut was even more difficult. I would describe this season as the elite of the elite with the most hyper competitive competitors ever.”
Contestants are eliminated from the individual competition until a winner is crowned., but players don’t go home— they still compete in team face-offs for a chance to still win cash prizes.
“Fans of “Tough As Nails” love that we plug our challenges into real job sites instead of having people compete on TV sets,” he said. “Being in Canada’s ‘steel town’ opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us to design work competitions unlike anything we’ve been able to film in LA. We worked with a talented Canadian crew who brought a wonderful new energy to our shoot and eager to show off their hometown.”
In the first individual challenge of the season, competitors will cut, grind and torch 500 pounds of scrap metal. The first two to finish the job choosing their teammates for ‘Dirty Hands’ and ‘Savage Crew.’ Watch above.