King of the Jungle (TV series)
King of the Jungle is an American reality television program, that appears on the Animal Planet cable television network. The original series debuted in Fall 2003 and starred a group of 12 "animal experts" (although only two were Doctors of Veterinary Medicine and one was a biologist) and was hosted by Jeff Corwin. "Nasty" Nigel Marven (from the UK) was the judge who "booted" off a contestant each week. The show was plagued with inconsistencies in judging and content, but was a ratings hit for Animal Planet. A sequel was hosted by Madison Michele; it debuted in July 2004. This show failed to earn the ratings of the first season. A hastily produced third season consisting of teams of two was all but buried by Animal Planet before and during its airing. It was called King of the Jungle: Pairs and had 14 contestants instead of 12. The teams were: Lori and Lisa, twin science teachers from Boston; Hindley and Thomas, best friends from Alabama; Lolita and Matt, lifelong friends from Columbus; Kevin and Sherry, a married couple, also from the Columbus area; David and Petite, hair stylists from Kennesaw, Georgia; Wendy and Troy, brother and sister from Indiana; and Steve and Danielle, another married couple from Greensboro, North Carolina. As of November 2005 there are no plans to renew this show, and Animal Planet has removed all traces of it off its websites.
| Name | Age | State | Season | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Benjamin | 24 | Palm Desert, California | Season 1 | 12th |
| Jamie Morrisey | 37 | Ithaca, New York | Season 1 | 11th |
| Ed Rudberg | 24 | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | Season 1 | 10th |
| Jarrod Davis | 21 | Frostproof, Florida | Season 1 | 9th |
| Ernie Ward | 38 | Calabash, North Carolina | Season 1 | 8th |
| Christina Davis | 25 | Atlanta, Georgia | Season 1 | 7th |
| Mike Maxcy | 37 | Los Angeles, California | Season 1 | 6th |
| John Elmore | 33 | Atlanta, Georgia | Season 1 | 5th |
| Aletris Neils | 21 | Phoenix, Arizona | Season 1 | 4th |
| Jeremy Kirby | 28 | Phoenix, Arizona | Season 1 | 3rd |
| Adam Stone | 36 | Atlanta, Georgia | Season 1 | Runner-Up |
| Kelly Diedring | 23 | Tampa, Florida | Season 1 | Winner |
| Jen Burns | 33 | Burbank, California | Season 2 | 12th |
| Henry Gillman | 50 | Brooklyn Park, Minnesota | Season 2 | 11th |
| Lang Solurson | 33 | Venice, California | Season 2 | 10th |
| Cherry Davis | 36 | West Hollywood, California | Season 2 | 9th |
| Cynthia Weiss | 33 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Season 2 | 8th |
| Jacob Mason | 24 | Maynardville, Tennessee | Season 2 | 7th |
| Roberto Figueroa | 31 | Newburgh, New York | Season 2 | 6th |
| Lindsay Harrison | 21 | Mt. Juliet, Tennessee | Season 2 | 5th |
| Shannon Laul | 32 | Califon, New Jersey | Season 2 | 4th |
| Bee Truong | 22 | Tustin, California | Season 2 | 3rd |
| Patrick Spain | 24 | Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts | Season 2 | Runner-Up |
| Tony Stallings | 26 | Cleveland, Ohio | Season 2 | Winner |
| Troy Teipen | 27 | Cloverdale, Indiana | Season 3 - Pairs | 14th |
| Lori DiMente | 24 | Boston, Massachusetts | Season 3 - Pairs | 13th |
| Lisa Morrison | 24 | Boston, Massachusetts | Season 3 - Pairs | 12th |
| Steve Hurley | 36 | Greensboro, North Carolina | Season 3 - Pairs | 11th |
| Hindley Brigham | 23 | Auburn, Alabama | Season 3 - Pairs | 10th |
| Thomas Nearing, a.k.a. "Newt" | 23 | Auburn, Alabama | Season 3 - Pairs | 9th |
| Lolita Haverlock | 32 | Columbus, Ohio | Season 3 - Pairs | 8th |
| Petite Harpenau | 47 | Kennesaw, Georgia | Season 3 - Pairs | 7th |
| Sherry Bean Lloyd | 33 | Blacklick Estates, Ohio | Season 3 - Pairs | 6th |
| Matt Buccilla | 32 | Columbus, Ohio | Season 3 - Pairs | 5th |
| Kevin Lloyd | 33 | Blacklick Estates, Ohio | Season 3 - Pairs | 4th |
| David Dean | 40 | Kennesaw, Georgia | Season 3 - Pairs | 3rd |
| Wendy Teipen | 28 | Cloverdale, Indiana | Season 3 - Pairs | Runner-Up |
| Danielle Hurley | 26 | Greensboro, North Carolina | Season 3 - Pairs | Winner |
| King of the Jungle | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Steven J. Santos |
| Presented by | Jeff Corwin |
| Judges | Nigel Marven |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Fort Pierce, Florida |
| Production company | Jupiter Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | Animal Planet |
| Original release | October 13, 2003 – July 27, 2004 |
Season 3 Results
| Episode | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10a | 10b |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danielle | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | KING | IN | KING | WIN |
| Wendy | IN | IN | PIT | IN | IN | KING | IN | IN | PIT | PIT | OUT |
| David | PIT | KING | IN | IN | KING | PIT | KING | IN | KING | OUT | |
| Kevin | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | PIT | PIT | OUT | ||
| Matthew | KING | IN | IN | IN | PIT | IN | IN | OUT | |||
| Sherry | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||
| Petite | IN | IN | IN | KING | IN | OUT | |||||
| Lolita | IN | IN | IN | PIT | OUT | ||||||
| Hindley | IN | IN | KING | IN | OUT | ||||||
| Thomas | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||
| Stephen | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |||||||
| Lisa | IN | PIT | OUT | ||||||||
| Lori | IN | OUT | |||||||||
| Troy | OUT | ||||||||||
- (WIN) The contestant was crowned the ultimate King of the Jungle.
- (KING) The contestant was that week's King of the Jungle.
- (PIT) The contestant was sent to the Lion's Pit that week, but was not eliminated.
- (OUT) The contestant was eliminated at that week's Lion's Pit.
- (OUT) The contestant was eliminated outside of the Lion's Pit.
- (OUT) The contestant was eliminated at the final Lion's Pit.
In season 2, Shannon was initially eliminated second and Roberto was initially eliminated third, but, in a midseason twist, all previously eliminated contestants returned for a chance to return to the game. Shannon and Roberto won this opportunity.
Also in season 2, Jacob was pulled out of the competition due to family problems.
External links
- King of the Jungle at IMDb
- King of the Jungle II at IMDb
- King of the Jungle III at IMDb
- King of the Jungle (TV series) at TV.com