Paramount Network is taking its unscripted Rescue franchise from the bar to the altar.
The cabler has greenlit Marriage Rescue, a spinoff in which Bar Rescue star Jon Taffer tries to help couples save their unions. Taffer brings the participants to a resort in Puerto Rico and uses unconventional methods — including paintball, skydiving and no small amount of direct confrontation — to help them get a fresh start. The six-episode series premieres June 2.
Paramount has also renewed Bar Rescue for a 12-episode seventh season. The show, which has Taffer helping the owners of family-run bars revitalize their businesses, is a reliable ratings draw for the network and has shown an uptick in the key adults 18-49 demographic through the first six episodes of its current run.
“I am very excited about Marriage Rescue,” Taffer, who is also an executive producer, said Thursday in a statement. “Bar Rescue is first and foremost about helping people flourish in difficult situations. Marriage Rescue will allow me to focus my energy and passion on couples that need to confront issues and cause serious change in their relationship. At the end of the show, whether the couple decides to stay together or part ways, I know that our work together will leave everyone in a better place with confidence in their future.”
Added Keith Cox, president, development and production for Paramount Network and TV Land, “We are thrilled to add Marriage Rescue to our roster of successful Jon Taffer-led programming. Like fan-favorite Bar Rescue, this series is a raw and emotional look at high-stakes relationships on the edge of shutting down.”
Marriage Rescue comes from 3 Ball Entertainment; Taffer, Ross Weintraub, Ronak Kordestani and Joel Rodgers are executive producers.
Marriage Rescue joins an unscripted slate on Paramount Network that also includes Lip Sync Battle, Ink Master and a revival of Wife Swap that moved to the cabler from fellow Viacom network CMT. The network also recently picked up the drama Heaven of Hell, which will have a first window on Charter Communications’ Spectrum platform, and is developing Coyote from Breaking Bad’s Michelle MacLaren and star Michael Chiklis.
Kent Alterman, president of Paramount Network and Comedy Central, told The Hollywood Reporter he wants to develop shows for Paramount Network that have “broad appeal but not broadcast sensibility,” which he defines as “deep, rich, emotional storytelling with compelling characters.” He said he wants to apply that template to both scripted and unscripted shows.
A trailer for Marriage Rescue is below.
