New IUSTV reality show ‘Competition Crimson’ searches for contestants

Punt a football through the goal posts at Memorial Stadium, find a hot pink bikini and use it to dress Herman B Wells, purchase a large pizza from Mother Bear’s and eat it in its entirety.

The pilot episode of “Competition Crimson” asked three teams of two to fulfill these tasks as they ran across campus in January’s snow.

“I was hoping the whole way that I was remembering the right statue,” Andi Wellman, a participant with her boyfriend Dustin Jean, said about the Herman-bikini challenge.

The two other teams found bikini tops and placed them on the statue as Wellman and Jean continued to circle the Indiana Memorial Union in search of Herman’s bench.
With such a distance between them and the other teams, the couple arrived last at the finish line.

“We got here, and we lost, which sucked,” Wellman said in her final statement on the show. “But that’s okay because I figured we would lose. I couldn’t see anybody when we were walking.”

The casting crew for “Competition Crimson,” a new reality show that will air on IU Student Television in September, is now looking for five teams of contestants to participate in the semester-long series, filming one episode a month.

Each episode will consist of three tasks the teams must complete, and the team that finishes last will be kicked off the show.

After four episodes, the first of the last two teams to cross the finish line will take home a prize: more than $200 in gift cards to local businesses.

“‘Competition Crimson’ is something I’ve been wanting to do for a really long time,” said Greg Mergruen, founder and host of the show. “I’ve always loved ‘Amazing Race.’ It’s probably my favorite reality show. I wanted to do something similar.”

Mergruen said he had pitched a few shows to IUSTV before, but they were mainly scripted.

“The first show I pitched got picked up. But the biggest problem is, if they’re scripted shows, they’re not actors,” Mergruen said. “The students get busy. After a couple episodes they realize ‘Oh, I have finals.’”

Episodes for “Competition Crimson” will be filmed for two or three hours on a Saturday morning, Mergruen said, which should be less of a problem for participants.

While Mergruen has mulled over the idea for a while, IUSTV Programming Director Jason Schiff said the executive board heard the pitch last spring and decided to run with it.

“IUSTV is currently expanding its programming line-up, and it fit the needs of our network,” Schiff said in an email. “IUSTV is currently looking for new show concepts for students to produce.

“Long time IUSTV show ‘The Food Guy’ is on an indefinite hiatus, as well as several other shows, which has created room for new shows on the IUSTV network.”

Aimee Stanton, public relations and casting director for the show, said teams that want to participate can upload a two to three minute video to the “Competition Crimson” Facebook page.

They will be accepting video auditions until Sept. 3, and filming will begin Sept. 17.

“We’re going to be checking (the videos) ourselves, and then we’ll see which team is the best we think would be good for our show,” Stanton said. “I think that we would like people who are, you know, ready for anything, who are ready to compete, interesting, the usual.”

No experience is necessary, Mergruen said. Anyone over the age of 18 can participate, whether they attend IU or not.

“We love to see quirkiness. We love to see people’s real personalities,” Mergruen said. “The more you stand out, the better.”


JOIN THE GAME
To be a part of the show or watch the pilot episode, check out the “Competition Crimson” page on Facebook.