SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor
Fox has picked up a second season of John Cena’s “American Grit” TV series, reports Deadline.com.
Cena hinted at having a reduced TV schedule as part of the Smackdown Live brand in an interview on WWE’s website released Friday.
It appears he will be taking time off soon (at an undetermined time) to film the second season of Grit.
Deadline reports that Season 2 is currently at the casting stage.
Cena is executive producer of the series as well as the host of the military-themed competition show. Cena is re-collaborating with Leftfield Productions on Season 2 after they announced a partnership agreement earlier in July.
It remains to be seen when Season 2 will premiere on Fox.
The first season struggled to draw an audience on Thursday nights this spring. The show was head-to-head with Smackdown, which meant WWE did a minimum amount of promotion for Cena’s project.
Cena relied on social media using various campaign hashtags to drive interest to the show, but the TV viewing audience did not come around.
We’re back for Season 2!! Excited to announce the return of @AmericanGritFox. Get ready, it’s time to #ShowYourGrit. pic.twitter.com/jfHDeFBh8W
— John Cena (@JohnCena) July 29, 2016
Surprised. It looked awful and did poor numbers. Seems like it could return in the summer of 2017.