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Reality TV show seeks owner-operators' ugly rigs
By Jill Dunn
In recent years, TV series have transformed people, homes and cars from ugly ducklings into swans. It was only a matter of time until television turned its attention to trucks.
Varuna Films, a Los-Angeles based production company, is asking owner-operators driving a truck squeaking for a makeover—or know of a rig matching that description—to apply for consideration for expert help on the new TV series Trick My Truck.
The company needs to receive applications within the next two to three weeks to begin filming in August, said Varuna producer Phil Ash. Country Music Television spokeswoman Lisa Chader said the series will premiere on CMT nationwide next year.
The show’s pilot synopsis is described as centering on the Missouri-based Chrome Shop Mafia, which producers describe as a “down-home collection of big rig truck mechanics, who search the trucks stops of America for truck drivers whose rides need some drastic help.”
The goal is to “better the lives of American truckers down on their luck and in need of money.” The “mafia,” with the help of a family member, “steal” the truck and customize it for its owner.
In the pilot episode, longtime trucker Mike Lopardo’s son John contacts the shop mechanics, who abscond with Lopardo’s truck from a local truck shop. Lopardo’s battles with diabetes left him with significant medical expenses, leaving him little to spend on truck beauty. The mechanics had two weeks to transform his embattled Kenworth.
Owner-operators must relinquish their trucks for about two months, but the film company will loan them a truck to use during that time.
Applicants must:
• Be from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri or Kansas and be prepared to travel to Missouri to deliver the truck and be on-camera for the show.
• Truck models must be Peterbilts manufactured in 1990 or after—379 with extended hood or 387; Freightliner Classic XL, International model 9900IX; Western Star’s LoMax, Kenworth W900L/T2000 “or something similar.”
• Shoot a 5-10 minute video, preferably digital, of you and your truck. They want to hear truckers’ stories of road life, their family and their truck. Producers may interview family and friends of the trucker for the show.
• Email Varuna at hr@varunastudios.com to let producers know if you are submitting a video. Submissions should be mailed to:
Varuna Films Inc.
8489 W. Third St.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
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