Update 1/18/2011: Pitchmen has relaunched season 2. Read more about the new time slot.
Pitchmen was what I thought a pretty popular show and I often covered the products and websites displayed on the show because it was interesting to see the amount of buzz the show created for the products on the web. After Billy Mays passed away last year I wasn’t sure if the show would come back in 2010 for a second season but Anthony "Sully" Sullivan was going to carry on the series on the Discovery Channel and the second season of Pitchmen aired August 19, 2010.
Only two episodes ran with the season premier delivering two hot products that have done and will continue to do well due to the amount of exposure each product got. It also helps that the products
Hex Light ~ Hands Free Flashlight to wraps around your forearm and beams 6 ultra bright LED lights down your arm. Perfect for an electrician, plumber, mechanic, sportsmen and much more! You can read my article on the Hex Light and see more pictures and uses for this great hands free flashlight.
Cold Fire Extinguisher was the second product featured during the premier of Pitchmen for season two and this product was also a big hit! A fire extinguisher in an aerosol can! Fire extinguishers are often very messy and hard to use if you have never used on before. Cold Fire is super easy to use because it is an aerosol can that people use daily! You can read the article that I wrote about Cold Fire here.
Episode two airing on August 26, 2010 may have been a dagger in the heart for Pitchmen as the show IMO just didn’t have the feel of the first episode and the products displayed during the show were both flops when it come to web traffic all the others had.
Secure Sleeve by ID Stronghold was the better of the two products and is an RFID blocker in the form of a simple paper sleeve you slide over and RFID style credit card. I explain a lot more in my article about the credit card sleeve protector that aired on Ptichmen. The other product that aired ran into design issues and a patent that was already in place for the design. The product was reworked and redesigned but the inventor and his team were still in the very early stages with the product and was not heading to market anytime soon.
Episode three was set to run on September 2, 2010 but the night before the episode was removed from my DVR listings and the show never aired. "County Jail: Miami" aired in the Pitchmen time slot on the 2nd. There was a hostage situation at the Discovery building a couple days prior (Jamie Jay Lee) and I thought that may have had something to do with the show not airing on September 2 but that appears not to have been the case. The two main products that were set to air on the 2nd were:
ShaveMate Razor ShaveMate Diva6 and ShaveMate Titan6 which are All-In-One 6 blade razors that include shaving cream right in the handle of the razor. Great idea for a portable / travel razor! The razors also pack 6 blades, which is 3 more than the razor I currently use so I would expect that to help! This product is doing great even though it didn’t get air time on Pitchmen. I covered the ShaveMate and both of its versions in an article I wrote about ShaveMate here.
Fridge Locker was the second main product to be featured and it is a lockable storage system that you place into your fridge. It prevents people from "borrowing" your lunch, a protector for kids or people with food allergies, a way to keep kids from snacks they only get at certain times.. well, the Fridge Locker I’m sure could be used for a lot of things! It didn’t make it to air but it would have done pretty well if it did, because it really can be a useful product. I wrote about the Fridge Locker with the ShaveMate article.
Wikipedia.org states the following about the 2010 season two and the shows stopping after only two aired "Starting September 2nd, 2010, Discovery Channel has removed "Pitchmen" from it’s regular Thursday night at 9pm slot without any explanation. It is not known if the show will be returning in the future."
On an airing list for Pitchmen the series simply states the show is not scheduled to air "in the next two weeks". That is all the further the airing is ever scheduled out, even re-runs.
I reached out to Sullivan Productions for a comment and or confirmation that the show was pulled from Discovery and have not heard back at time of posting. A Twitter comment by Sully on September 4th 2010 states the the Pitchmen show is "moving":
So the show may have been pulled for now but it just may air again in a different time slot on Discovery, so we will have to wait and see.
SL
That’s ashame. The premise was great because it also offered a look at what gets turned down. Hopefully it’s just a hiatus…fingers crossed.
Kevin
One of the ONLY reality tv shows I watch, and the one I really was really looking forward to and they cancel it. I don’t understand. Its a great show and very interesting to watch. This really sucks.
Jamie Zoch
@Kevin,
Still some hope the show will return on a new day or time slot but it seems never a good sign when the show just stops airing and no official word. What Sully wrote is promising it will air again, so we will see.
Shawn
I’m bummed, I love this show and have been looking forward to it for a long time. I get excited for Thursday night for my favorite show. I can’t believe it’s been pulled. Please rethink this one guys, it’s a great show and if it doesn’t come back there will be a lot of upset people.
Justin
I’m in the same boat with everyone else. Everyone here shares my same feelings. For the past two weeks I’ve been eagerly waiting for pitchmen to come on. I hope pitchmen comes back on air.
LJae
It was the only show worth watching and was a favorite! I learned things and loved the products! I thought Sully did great without Billy. No fighting and yelling. Just got down to business. And adds Billy from time to time was a nice touch. All that is on TV now is all COP shows. Hope we will find the show when it returns since no one usually advertises its on. If the ratings were low its because Discovery didnt let anyone know it was on which was expressed on Twitter.
StevenZ
My feeling are mixed about pitching new product ideas on TV. What we need is a TV show with a panel and studio audience. The panel would be manufacturing and marketing experts to critique inventers pitches. The studio audience will be allowed to cheer or jeer at the various product pitches and what better way to get a genuine rection from consumers that would be potential buyers of a new concept. The panel of experts will explain the pro’s and con’s of each presentation and if the concept is good or has no potential. This show method would be entertaining by producing either hysterical laughs or wow’s by TV viewers. Could be a voting system by viewers with call in’s similar to TV talent shows. Well, that’s my two cents worth ! We need to attract TV viewers of all types. Not just inventors. I could put a show together and make this work and have fun doing it too.
Not Sully @ As Seen on TV Life
The thing about Season 2 of PitchMen is that post-Billy, we’re reminded that what makes the show great is the people, the inventors chasing the American dream. The story lies within their successes and failures.
We hope Discovery Channel smartens up, starts promoting season 2 and brings it back to their primetime lineup. It deserves the prestige.
Terry C
A shame this was pulled. This was real and showed the triumphs and pitfalls of inventors getting their products to the market. The people were real, the challanges real, no “game show elimination” challenges. With all the “surreality shows” this was a show that showed the value of enlisting people to help you, because you can’t do it all and working hard for your dream. Hope Discovery does bring it back.
Jamie Zoch
@Terry,
The show has recently relaunched but Discovery has been promoting it that much and it has a crappy time slot. http://www.dotweekly.com/pitchmen-returns-to-airing-new-episodes-shavemate
Dana
My son and I LOVE the show!!! Way to go !!
Ray West
I loved this show and was fascinated by seeing how someone’s idea can become a marketable product. Even though many items are rather silly, some are just amazing–like Cold Fire. I immediately ordered it for my home. I hope they bring back the show. I love “Sully” and Billy (may he rest in peace).