The Ultimate Surfer: What We Know About ABC's Newest Competition Show
The series will bring the world's fastest-growing sport to ABC, along with love, alliances, and rivalries. This show is about mastering the waves.
Later this summer, The Ultimate Surfer will air on ABC, and we're here to share fun facts about the upcoming show. This sporty reality competition show series will launch with a two-night premiere in late August of this year. On the heels of one of ABC's hottest summer shows, Bachelor in Paradise, The Ultimate Surfer promises viewers top-tier competition, alliances, rivalries, and romance.
ABC announced the show in early May, along with their summer premiere dates, and shared the first look at the 14 contestants who will be competing for the title of The Ultimate Surfer. ABC also shared a brief synopsis of the show. The synopsis stated that the series would feature up-and=coming surfers from around the world. They will train and live with one another while they compete for the title, and a shot at the World Surfing League Championship Tour. Since announcing details about the upcoming show, ABC has released two trailers for the series on social media, which tease some of the rules of the competition, as well as potential drama.
Former The Bachelor star and NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer will be serving as the main host of the show and will be joined by sports anchor Erin Coscarelli and the voice of the World Surfing League, Joe Turpel. Erin and Joe will be serving as commentators, while eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater is set to be the lead consultant and special correspondent throughout the season. Kelly is also responsible for the creation of the show, and the wave pool that the contestants will be competing in. He was pictured in the first official promo image that ABC released for the show.
The competition will be taking place at the World Surf League's Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California, where the wave pool is located. The pool is high-tech and will allow the contestants to showcase their mastery of the sport. Each week, the contestants will participate in individual and team challenges, testing their surfing abilities. Contestants will be eliminated each week until two male and two female contestants remain to compete for The Ultimate Surfer title.
As for the contestants, seven men and seven women will be competing for the title of The Ultimate Surfer. The seven women are all between the ages of 22 and 33, while the men's ages range from 25 to 34. Of the seven women, only one contestant (Brianna Cope from Koloa, Hawaii) traveled stateside to compete for the title. Aside from Brianna, a majority of the women already reside in California, including 23-year-old Tia Blanco and 30-year-old Bruna Zaun. Kayla Durden and Anastasia Ashley are the only East Coast female contestants.
While only one of the female contestants will be coming from Hawaii, three of the men competing for the title of The Ultimate Surfer will be traveling from the islands to land-locked Lemoore, including 30-year-old Kai Barger and 26-year-old Zeke Lau. California natives Mason Barnes and Luke Davis will be coming from the USA's West Coast. Austin Clouse from Jacksonville Beach, Florida will be the only male contestant from the East Coast. 34-year-old contestant Alejandro Moreda be the oldest contestant in the competition, and he will also be the only contestant coming from a US territory rather than a state, hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico. This show brings together contestants from all over, and the sports action should be amazing.
The two-night premiere of The Ultimate Surfer starts August 23 at 10pm ET.
Source: ABC