Wipeout is hosted by John Henson (E! Entertainment's Talk Soup) and John Anderson (ESPN's SportsCenter). Jill Wagner
co-hosts, and acts as the "on-location" presenter (Henson and Anderson
presenting from a broadcast booth). The executive producers are Matt Kunitz (Fear Factor) and Scott Larsen, and the co-executive producers are Trice Barto, Shye Sutherland, J. Rupert Thompson and Kevin Wehrenberg. Distribution of the show is handled by End
emol USA.
The show is taped on a ranch just outside the city of Santa Clarita, California.[2] The location is never mentioned in the show itself (by contrast, the British version makes a special point of talking about the show's Argentine connections).
In the show, contestants compete in what is billed as the "world's largest obstacle course" through four rounds of competition until a final winner is chosen. The first round features 24 contestants, while only the top four will make it to the final round where the winner earns the title of Wipeout Champion and a $50,000 grand prize.
The challenges change each week, but always feature offbeat and comical obstacles, such as the "Sucker Punch", "Big Balls" (the show's trademark obstacle), the "Sweeper", the "Dizzy Dummy" or the "Dreadmill", and the "Wipeout Zone". In one of the show's trademarks, the commentators have a humorous running commentary, often mocking and gently insulting the contestants as they compete.
