History Television’s spring schedule was unveiled today. Full Metal Jousting, a bone-crushing jousting tournament, Cajun Pawn Stars, a Southern spin on the channel’s #1 series and Real Deal, a look at the high-stakes demands of the auction world, make up the channel’s must-see line-up of new shows. Proven performers returning to History Television this spring include the original Pawn Stars, Swamp People and The Real.
History Television brings back the most dangerous collision sport in history with the Canadian broadcast premiere of Full Metal Jousting on Wednesday, April 4. Full Metal Jousting transforms this Renaissance sport into a 21st century event, but this is no dinner-show theatre. Each episode features full-contact jousts in which competitors charge and collide at 45 kilometres an hour, with every moment captured by high-speed cameras. The last man standing in this hard hitting challenge will take home a big cash prize as this historic extreme sport is reborn.
Monday, April 2 features the Canadian broadcast premiere of Cajun Pawn Stars, a spicy take on the top-rated series, Pawn Stars. Jimmie “Big Daddy” Deramus owns The Silver Dollar Pawn Shop, a massive store located in the heart of Cajun country where Jimmie sells anything from a rare long lost first album by rock and country legend Jerry Lee Lewis to a herd of donkeys. As the former president of the Louisiana Pawn Brokers Association, Jimmie literally wrote the book on pawning in the state. With the help of his brother Johnnieand feisty daughter Tammie, the shop has earned a reputation for bringing in eclectic and exceptional historical items with a Cajun flavour.
The new schedule also features the Canadian broadcast premiere of Real Deal on Thursday, April 5. Real Deal focuses on the high-pressure, drama-filled interactions between buyers and sellers as they bargain over pieces of history. Whether it’s a collection of footballs signed by NFL legends or Harry Houdini’s autograph, a German stormtrooper dagger from World War II or a 19th-century spittoon, the relics featured on Real Deal convey fascinating information about how people lived in bygone eras. During these tense negotiations, dealers must capitalize on their extensive knowledge of both antiques and human nature to make the trade. But at the end of the day, it’s the sellers who really have the upper hand. They can walk away from the table at any time and head straight to the auction block, where big money might just be waiting.
History Television takes viewers from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the murky waters of Louisiana with returning fan-favourites Pawn Stars and Swamp People. New episodes of the Canadian original series The Real examine the facts and myths that Hollywood films have portrayed about real people and events. Some of the revealing new episodes are The Real Inglorious Basterds, The Real Close Encounters, The Real Braveheart and The Real Apollo 13. The Real Sherlock Holmes, for example, explores the Sherlock Holmes phenomenon and the influence the fictional master detective has had on movies, television and pop culture, as well as present-day detectives who use techniques inspired by Sherlock’s deductive methods.