Bear Grylls' new show will teach us how to survive mountain lions, stairs

Man vs. Wild host Bear Grylls will headline a second series for Discovery, the network has announced: the six-episode Worst Case Scenario, debuting this spring. According to the press release, Grylls will rely solely on the advice and instruction of experts to show viewers that with the proper knowledge (and ability not to panic), anyone can survive the potentially life-threatening situations they may encounter in “everyday life.” These scenarios include:

• escaping a high-rise apartment fire

• fending off a shark attack

• escaping out of a sinking car

• getting yourself out of a frozen lake

• handling a car when its brakes give out while driving down a hill

• preventing a mountain lion attack

• falling down a flight of stairs — unharmed

This kind of “urban survival show” idea sounded good when Grylls mentioned it to us back in June, and as proven recently, we’ll watch him do just about anything, so we’re in. I know every time we write about Man vs. Wild, the comments section becomes a debate over whether Bear’s a pure survivalist or a bit of an entertainer. Because he’s on my TV, and I’m not adventurous enough to ever get stranded in the middle of nowhere, I don’t really care either way. So let’s just weigh in on this: Which one of the above scenarios are you most psyched to learn how to survive? Because I’ve watched years and years of Discovery’s Shark Week, I feel like I could already fend off a shark, IF I saw it coming, didn’t die of an immediate heart attack, and could communicate, while punching its gills, how many times I’ve sat through Jaws IV: The Revenge. And since I don’t have a car in NYC, and only live on the second floor… I’m going to go with falling down a flight of stairs. I feel like I have that in me, and I’d like to be prepared.

Photo credit: Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage.com