This is a future of TV that I could get behind #TimFerriss
Tim Ferriss (4 Hour Work Week) has a TV series coming out on May 27th. The premise:
In each episode, I team up with world-class teachers to “hack” a different skill….then I get thrown through a gauntlet of tests. Sometimes I do well, other times I face-plant and decimate myself. You get to see all the struggles, nervous breakdowns, and little breakthroughs. It ain’t always pretty, but it’s real.
Here are some of the topics I jump into:
- Music and drumming
- Rally car racing
- Language learning
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu (and chess) — ouch.
- Parkour — super, double ouch.
- High-stakes poker (with real money)
- Tactical gun fighting
- Dating and the pick-up game
- Building a business in one week (I co-teach a student)
- Golf
- Long-distance swimming (I co-teach a student)
- Surfing
- And the mysterious finale episode…
While the subject is very Tim Ferrissy, and likely going to be very entertaining and thought-provoking, what I like most about his approach is how he’s rolling the series out.
On May 27th if you would like to buy the series all at once, you can do so on iTunes. Otherwise he will be rolling each episode out once a week on YouTube. As he puts it:
If you’ve bought — or buy — an iTunes season pass (click “View in iTunes” here to purchase), more good news: you’ll get a ton of bonus footage. Current estimates are 10+ minutes of extras per episode, and I’m fighting to release much more footage into the wild, hopefully hours and hours.
If you can’t use iTunes or can’t afford to pay, here’s the solution: Each week after the May 27th launch, one episode will be released on YouTube for free viewing. It won’t contain bonus footage, and you’ll have to wait 3+ months to see the whole season, but you’ll be able to see them all.
If you’d like a sneak peek, the first episode can be watched here for free.
I hope TV continues to move in this direction. Between interesting ideas like this one, the Netflix House of Cards-style viewing, and Louis CK’s approach, I think we’re on the brink of a serious shift in “cable-less” TV. And its about time.
