The Buried Life, MTV Crashes the Playboy Mansion
MTV The Buried Life premieres tonight, about four young men on a road trip to fulfill a list of a hundred wishes – Monday, Jan. 18th, 10pm/9c
By Robin Rowe
MTV The Buried Life, checking off life's to-do list of wishes
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 1/18/2010 – “We were fed up racing through life without direction,” says The Buried Life producer Ben Nemtin. “We made a list of everything we wanted to do in life and decided to go after it. Our goal is simple: to complete our list and help others along the way.” For each item they complete on their list, they help others complete an item on their list.
The Buried Life follows four young men who fix up a bus and drive it across America to fulfill dreams. However, unlike The Bucket List or My Name is Earl, the MTV series is a documentary, not fiction. Ben Nemtin is the ringleader. Dave Lingwood is the funny guy, Duncan Penn the problem solver, and Jonnie Penn the brains of the operation.
Touring like a band in a big bus, the four travel to Beverly Hills for episode one. Their mission: to crash a party at the Playboy mansion. The Buried Life team gets help from people they meet on the road to help them accomplish their goals.
The Buried Life is different from other reality television in that the four shoot, produce and edit the show themselves. The series isn’t faux reality like Big Brother, filming in a specially constructed house on a studio lot. An objective with The Buried Life is to keep it real.
“MTV is just letting us do our thing,” says Nemtin. “We cut a trailer, then came to L.A. to Reveille.” The four had scored an introduction to the production company known for such shows as The Biggest Loser. Reveille saw potential to match the show with MTV. “Howard Owens at Reveille heard about the new direction we’re going and showed us the trailer at MTV,” says MTV programming president Tony DiSanto.
Like The Bucket List, The Buried Life is about a road trip to fulfill a wish list of to-dos. Sort of an Endless Summer of four dudes seeking purpose in life. The boys of The Buried Life set up for something worthwhile to do with their lives and to have fun doing it.
“We’re a very idealistic generation,” says Jonnie Penn. “We want the most because Baby Boomers raised us.” Duncan, Ben, Dave and Jonnie travel the globe in a big purple bus to complete a list of ‘100 things to do before you die’ and to help others with their own lists. For every item they complete on their list, they help a stranger fulfill a dream. Everywhere they go they ask the question, What do you want to do before you die?