| BBQ Pitmasters | |
|---|---|
 Logo from its first season. | |
| Composer | Vanacore Music |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 57 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 46 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | TLC (2009–2010) Destination America (2012–2015) |
| Release | December 3, 2009 – July 16, 2015 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
BBQ Pitmasters is an American reality television series which follows barbecue cooks as they compete for cash and prizes in barbecue cooking competitions.
The series premiered on TLC on December 3, 2009. The eight-episode first season was filmed in a docu-reality format, as it followed several competing BBQ teams around the country to various BBQ contests.
Season two premiered on August 12, 2010, at 10 pm EDT featuring a completely new competition game show-based format.[1] Each week, four teams competed against each other. Challenges included common protein and more exotic meat. Weekly winners faced off against each other in the second-season finale as they vied for $100,000 and the Kingsford Cup. The judges for the second season were Myron Mixon, Art Smith, and Warren Sapp.[2] Kevin Roberts served as host.[3]
On January 29, 2012, Myron Mixon confirmed on his Facebook account for Jack's Old South that filming for Season 3 would start in March. On April 4, 2012, it was announced that Season 3 would air on Destination America, which is a rebranded version of the Planet Green channel that launched on May 26, 2012.[4]
On May 26, 2014, Destination America debuted a preview of their new TV series named BBQ Pit Wars. The episode first aired on May 31, 2014. This new reality show uses the old docu-reality format of BBQ Pitmasters season 1 (many viewers had voiced their preference for this format on the channel's website), in which Myron Mixon is one of the team competitors rather than a BBQ judge. Along with Stump McDowell of Stump's BBQ, Moe Cason of Ponderosa BBQ, and Michael Character of Character BBQ, the four teams compete in regional BBQ championships around the nation, for prizes, and bragging rights to be named the master of BBQ.[5]
- ^ "TLC BBQ Pitmasters Season 2 – Docu-Reality to Pro Competition BBQ". Barbecue-party.com. 2010-04-15. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
- ^ "TLC BBQ Pitmasters Season 2 BBQ Pitmaster Judges". Barbecue-party.com. 2010-07-02. Archived from the original on 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
- ^ "Kevin Roberts Joins TLC as Host of BBQ Pitmasters". The Futon Critic. May 27, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- ^ "Planet Green Becomes "Destination America," the First and Only Network to Celebrate the Stories of America's Past, Present, and Future". The Futon Critic. April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ "DESTINATION AMERICA RINGS THE BACKYARD… : Discovery Communications". Corporate.discovery.com. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2015-02-02.