I love Bear Grylls. I want to be Bear Grylls when I grow up.
Grylls, the manly man host of NBC's Running Wild With Bear Grylls, returns with Season 3 of the adventure series at 9 p.m. Monday. A second episode follows at the same time Tuesday.
Running Wild will then take a break for the Rio Olympics (Aug. 5-21) as we watch everyone run around trying to avoid the Zika virus and wonder if any of those wacky doping Russians will be allowed in Brazil.
The series returns to its regular 9 p.m. Monday schedule Aug. 22. For those unfamiliar with Grylls, here's the scoop.
The 42-year-old Grylls (birth name, Edward Michael Grylls) is a world-renowned British adventurer, author and TV host who became widely known as the host of Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild (2006-2011).
His sister Lara gave him the nickname Bear when he was all of a week old. It stuck.
Grylls comes by his rugged reputation honestly, having been trained from a young age in martial arts. Grylls spent three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces and became an expert parachutist. He once broke his back in three places in a parachute mishap and spent months in military rehabilitation.
Grylls was one of the youngest climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, circumnavigated the British Isles on personal watercraft, crossed the North Atlantic in a rigid inflatable boat, paramotored over the Himalayas, climbed mountains in Antarctica, and navigated the ice-strewn Northwest Passage in an inflatable craft.
Much of the above was accomplished for children's charities. Grylls has raised more than $2.5 million for causes around the world.
In addition to Man vs. Wild and Running Wild, Grylls has been host of nine other lesser-known adventure/survival series with similar themes.
The twist on Running Wild is that Grylls plucks Hollywood celebrities (or President Barack Obama in one special Alaska episode last season) from the comfort of their usual surroundings and leads them on two-day extreme survival adventures around the world, challenging their abilities and preconceived limitations.
Or, as the series publicity puts it, "Pushing their minds and bodies to the limit to complete their journey, they experience the excitement of being dropped into uncharted territory and tackling the wilderness head-on, which is daunting and draining, but also very empowering.
"The intrepid cast members will face their deepest fears and tackle everything from wild animals to rock repelling as they journey through some of the world's most unforgiving wildernesses."
In addition to Obama, past celebrities have included Zac Efron, Ben Stiller, Deion Sanders, Channing Tatum, Kate Winslet, Kate Hudson, Drew Brees, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Michelle Rodriguez.
Season 3 will take viewers from the African Savannah and mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada, to the remote corners of Ireland and rugged shores of Corsica.
Monday's episode will feature Nick Jonas, and Tuesday follows with Julianne Hough.
Jonas, 23, started out as the youngest member of the pop rock band Jonas Brothers. He has since gone solo and is working on his budding acting career. He stars in the Direct TV series Kingdom and had a recurring role in Fox's Scream Queens.
Other claims to fame include having dated Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, but who hasn't?
How tough is Jonas? We'll find out. Photos from the episode show lots of snow.
Hough has packed a lot of dancing, acting and country singing into her 27 years. She's a two-time professional champ on ABC's Dancing With the Stars (and she won a 2015 Emmy for her choreography), was the star of the 2011 remake of Footloose and Fox's production of Grease: Live this year.
It's obvious Hough is in shape, so it'll be interesting to see where Grylls takes her. Photos show the duo rappelling down a scary cliff, but in short-sleeve weather.
Other celebrities set for Season 3 are:
• Courteney Cox. The 52-year-old star of Friends and Cougar Town doesn't seem much of a jock, but one never knows. Maybe if there's a giant snifter of wine at the end of the day.
• Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq is only 44, but the basketball legend and TV pitchman has been around forever. He's a big guy. Will Bear squeeze him through some tight places? Will he need those Icy Hot pads to dull the pain?
• Lindsey Vonn. The Alpine skiing champion and Olympic gold medalist, 31, dated Tiger Woods for a couple of years. That'd make anybody super tough.
• Vanessa Hudgens. Is the 27-year-old actress and singer ready to handle what Bear dishes out?
• Marshawn Lynch. The retired Super Bowl champ, 30, had better bring his "beast mode" for Bear.
Style on 07/31/2016