Andy DehnartMorgan Spurlock has starred in one episode during each season of his FX series 30 Days, and for the second season, he’ll reportedly be in two episodes.
Yesterday, he revealed that, for the third season, he “will work as a coal miner in his native West Virginia,” Variety reports. “Preproduction has begun with filming to commence in approximately four weeks, though [executive producer RJ] Cutler noted that it takes five months for an episode to go from conception to delivery.”
Appearing at the Paley Center for Media, Spurlock and RJ Cutler discussed the series’ reception and reality. “The only misnomer about grouping (“30 Days”) with reality is that it deals with reality,” Cutler said.
Spurlock noted that participants are compensated for their month away, but don’t get rich off their appearance. “You don’t want people who are coming on a TV show to be on TV, You want someone who is interested in this; you want someone who is brave enough to let their guard down,” he said.
Still, Spurlock says that executives at networks asked him “Who wins this show?” when he pitched it to them. Because no one wins or gets a prize, no network would pick up the series; of course, that’s their loss, and instead they can air shit like On the Lot and Age of Love.