Revisiting “Wild On…” – The “Wildest Show On Earth!”
I had the chance to revisit a show I created in 1993 – a travel show that didn’t get caught up in dry, dull travelogue: instead, it was a show that was “wild” – literally!
Wild On! was a popular late-night reality and travel television series that originally aired on E! Entertainment Television from 1997 to 2003. The show followed glamorous hosts as they traveled to exotic, high-end tourist destinations around the globe to explore the local food, culture, and especially the vibrant party and nightlife scenes.
Did You Know That Show Was Originally Called “Sex On?”
That’s just one of the stories I share on a great new podcast called “The Wildest Show On Earth!”
The Hosts are former “Wild On!” Supervising Producers Paul Haddad along with Show Producers Cary Millman and Sean-Patrick Olsen. When I spoke with them. another former Producer Chad Gajadhar sat in – it was great seeing them all again!
I really appreciated being asked to participate in this podcast…in our business, too many people forget or don’t bother to acknowledge who created a show…I truly appreciate that I was given credit for this show and was invited to talk about its origin. As they post on the intro:
“On this highly acclaimed episode, the man who created Wild On! and programming legend, John Rieber, joins us to give us the tea on how the show developed, the early days of E! Entertainment back when it was called Movie Time, and all the revealing secrets behind building a new network and finding that next break out star. Plus, former Wild On! producer, Chad Gajadhar, sits in for Cary as we disclose some of our favorite memories touring South Africa for a month and what it was like being an outcast in Morocco. Stow your luggage & put your seat in the upright position, because it’s about to get Wild.”
I was able to discuss how it all began, and I also revealed a never-before-told secret audition I had in the late 90’s when the show’s Host Jules Asner wanted to stop traveling:
That’s the iconic adult film star Jenna Jameson – more on that later, but if you want to watch and see that story plus so many more, here is the entire podcast – hope you like it!
It was great talking about the show and how it all came to be. Here’s one of the title graphics, when the title of the show was scrawled in the sand:
That’s my wife Alex and our good friend Michael Castner, who hosted early episodes of the series when it was called “Sex On The Riviera”…after advertisers expressed concern about the title, we went with “Wild On…” and the rest is history!
In 1995, we gave new adult film actress Jenna Jameson a featured role in our 2-hour long “Sex On The Riviera ’95” – and it was th highest rated special in E! history!
So, when looking for a new host for the “Wild On…” series, I flew Jenna to Singapore and Bangkok for the opening of two new “Planet Hollywood” restaurants, and she interviewed stars like Bruce Willis!
Jenna was so much fun to work with – ultimately, the network President decided an adult film star couldn’t host a mainstream cable television show…
Still, she did a great job and brought a renewed energy to the show – here’s more of my “wild” adventure with Jenna:
Another highlight of “Sex On The Riviera” happened in 1994, when Michael was interviewing Jim Carrey on Cannes’ famed Croisette:
He was hilarious, about to become a superstar thanks to “The Mask” – and we got to interview his new co-star Cameron Diaz as well…check out the video:
Carrey was hilarious and bravo to Michael for handling that comedic energy perfectly!
You can read the whole story here:
When I ran programming at a network called G4, I also did a few travel specials – and journeyed to Australia with another iconic adult film star, Sasha Grey – where she walked with sharks and got photobombed!
She also surfed for the first time at the iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney:
I was filming a bit of behind-the-scenes footage as she was preparing to go into the water for the first time – water much much older than she expected!
Watch her reaction!
It was an adventure with sharks, surfing and more! See it here:
Thanks again to both Sasha and Jenna for doing some great travel shoots with me!
I also filmed with Joan and Melissa Rivers on the Riviera – not for “Wild On…” but their terrific Fashion Review series I created with Alex!
See it here:
If you like these stories, why not sign up to receive emails whenever I post? It’s easy to do, I do NOT collect any information about you at all, there are absolutely NO ads of any kind, just stories about movies, music, books, food, travel and pop culture…
You can sign up by clicking on my blog here and see the note on the right!
Thanks again to the “Wildest Show On Earth” for having me on – if you like this story please share on social media…
Categories: Cannes Film Festival, documentary films, Exotic Travel, Hollywood, Memoirs, Pop Culture, Sasha Grey, Talent/Celebrities, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, TV Show
Such great nostalgia for you, John. And it was fun to see you again at the time when you still had the ‘Magnum P.I.’ moustache! Shared on Twitter.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
This is way cool….I never watched the show……but I bet it was marvelous…..chuq
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was my favorite show I ever created…more than 150 episode sand I only ever traveled to Cannes – didn’t go on any of the other shoots around the world!
LikeLike