After ten years, Discovery Channel is ending American Chopper.
The Teutuls are going to build their final bikes on the network next month. One of Discovery’s most popular programs, American Chopper helped pioneer the “docusoap” reality genre and inspired a surge of gear-head shows. Chopper‘s run will conclude with the previously announced four-way bike build-off special titled The Revenge airing live from Las Vegas on Dec. 11.
“After 10 years and 233 episodes of incredible, riveting reality television, American Chopper will be ending its run,” says Eileen O’Neill, group president, Discovery and TLC Networks. “This series was one of the very first family-based reality programs on television. Special thanks to Pilgrim Studios for over a decade of great producing. The Teutuls have given us really innovative bike builds and real drama since 2002. We wish both Orange County Choppers and Paul Junior Designs the best.”
The series had a simple format — a father and son building custom motorcycles amid frequent infighting. Yet nothing about the show’s colorful history has been straight forward. American Chopper has changed networks, switched names and was previously cancelled, only to rise again.
“I have mixed emotions,” executive producer Craig Piligian tells EW.com. “It’s had a great run. We had a lot of ups and downs. There’s been so much that’s happened to this family over the last 10 years. We’ve seen them grow to a huge motorcycle shop. We’ve seen them fight bitterly. We’ve seen them sue each other. And recently we’ve seen them come together to open up a new business. I think the show has come full circle.” READ FULL STORY »
