New Seasons of BattleBots Are Coming to the Discovery and Science Channels

BattleBots, the show that puts robots in a cage match to the death, is coming back to life. The show, which originally aired on Comedy Central before being briefly revived on ABC, will be re-imagined for Discovery and the Science Channel. New episodes will premiere on Discovery before being repeated on Science.

(If you’ve never seen an episode of BattleBots or attended one of the live tournaments, the above video should give you the idea. I personally prefer to watch the videos without any audio commentary that are on the BattleBots YouTube channel, because watching bots smash into each other with no sound but the ding of metal is just that much funnier for me. But those videos do lack the drama you find on the actual show.)

“This is a sport for smart people,” said BattleBots co-founder Ed Roski, “where it’s all about ideas and building something cool. BattleBots is a fight to the death, but no one gets hurt. It’s the place to show off your imagination, your engineering prowess and art, and your ability to make it survive — and we couldn’t be happier bringing BattleBots to Discovery. In my opinion, Discovery is the TV network where BattleBots has always belonged.”

Science was also excited about the show. “BattleBots is the perfect union between cutting-edge science and entertainment,” said Marc Etkind, general manager at Science Channel. “Having heard the call from robot fans clamoring for more action, we are thrilled to bring back this iconic series.”

The new season will most likely be filming March 24-April 9 2018, in Los Angeles, CA. According to the BattleBots website, they have already picked the majority of the robots who’ll be competing, but “there are still some slots left.” If your robot could be ready by early March, and you’re available for a two-week shoot in the March-April timeframe, you can submit an application here. (Note: there are new design rules for this new season.)

(Via The Hollywood Reporter; image: )

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