Over the years, the magic underneath "the big top" has found its way to the primetime airwaves in a variety of forms. This year, the circus is making a comeback on the network airwaves with the help of a number of celebrities, as NBC rolls out the new reality show Celebrity Circus this Wednesday, June 11 at 9:30pm. While the traditional circus has been part of TV entertainment for years, Celebrity Circus draws upon the success of reality TV based competitions to set itself apart from pack, as such celebrities as Antonio Sabato Jr., Blu Cantrell, Christopher Knight, Janet Evans, Rachel Hunter, and more participate in death-defying stunts (Tight Wire, Flying Cube, Fire Knives, Spanish Web, Trapeze Bungee) in a head-to-head weekly competition where the audience votes on who stays and who remains under the big top.

Leading up to the 90-minute premiere on June 11, The Deadbolt took part in a conference call with former Brady Bunch and Surreal Life star Christopher Knight and executive producer Matt Kunitz to learn more about Celebrity Circus, the training involved to master the stunts, the danger that some of the celebrities face, and the universal appeal of the circus on the small-screen.

THE DEADBOLT: I remember a show when I was a kid called Circus of the Stars. How is Celebrity Circus different or the same?

MATT KUNITZ: Well, this is a competition, so it’s the same in the sense that we have celebrities learning circus acts. It’s very different in the sense that, very much like Dancing with the Stars, each week these celebrities are coming out. They are putting on an amazing act and being judged not only by the judges but by America, who will be watching the show. And... it is real time.

So you will see them in real time and you will be able to vote and decide whether you want to see them the next week. So that’s a significant difference. The other difference that we discussed is that on Circus of the Stars, a single celebrity would spend six to eight weeks learning one act. Our celebrities are learning enough acts that they will be able to be on this show for its six-week run, and you’ll never really see the same thing twice.

THE DEADBOLT: Aside from the act that you’re doing, Chris, was there any other ones that you wanted to do?

CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT: My problem is that they all looked like fun and I would love to do them all. But I think you can’t, and certain things conspired against me trying many. So the ones that I’m doing, I am doing because it’s what I’m capable of doing in the timeframe that we have. And, as well, if everybody wanted to do the same act there wouldn’t be much of a circus. It was sort of a balance between what others were doing and other apparatuses that might have been underutilized.

Inside the Celebrity Circus with Christopher Knight and Matt Kunitz Page 2