Looking for some dirt on Dirty Jobs ? You’ve come to the right place!
The show is as dirty as it sounds, so if you like that kind of thing, you’ll be very at home here.
Here are 10+ behind-the-scenes secrets about the show!
1. The show started as a news segment called *Somebody’s Gotta Do It*.
Host Mike Rowe and producer James Reid were the ones who came up with the idea over some beers.
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“I liked the idea of trying something truly unscripted and inserting myself into situations for which I was neither trained or qualified to attempt,” Rowe said.
“James was up for anything (as long as I kept buying the beer), but wanted to keep the focus on local, anonymous people. I agreed completely .”
2. Rowe was injured during a Season 1 episode:
While working with a blacksmith, Rowe got a little too close for comfort to a blast furnace.
“[T]he little thing looks like a toaster oven, but it’s actually a portable furnace. The shot I wanted was my eyes to the camera, I flick the switch, and you see the flames pop up. The gas accumulates, so the flames shot out, wrapped around my head and burned my eyebrows off,” he explained .
3. So much of the show is done on the fly:
In other words, “there are no location scouts, no advance people, and no scripts,” Rowe said .
This keeps the camera crew on their toes, as they have to be ready to capture whatever happens.
For example, if a tree falls down, they have to get the shot the first time since there are no do-overs.
4. In addition to being dirty, some of the jobs were extremely dangerous:
The cast and crew had a heavy job of keeping themselves — and their expensive equipment — safe.
“We’re in a salt mine. There are explosives around. We have people and equipment to protect. Not to mention, this is someone’s actual job. The people we visit have to feel comfortable with us because there is so much at stake for everyone,” explained producer Dave Barsky.
5. After the show was canceled, it was moved to *CNN*:
When the show was canceled in 2012, Rowe moved it to CNN under its original title: Somebody’s Gotta Do It .
6. Rowe then ended his show on *CNN* because of Donald Trump:
Since his show was airing during the 2016 political election, the network kept interrupting his show to air Donald Trump.
This annoyed Rowe to no end.
“Obviously, the sudden and repeated appearance of Donald Trump in the middle of a lighthearted show with no political agenda will almost certainly leave viewers confused and frightened. [Therefore], I have agreed to “Trump” myself, by moving my show to a channel where the politics are limited to traditional sixty second attack ads packed with good old fashioned hate speech,” he said .
7. Rowe once made an inappropriate comment on *Sesame Street*:
When Oscar invited Rowe to go into his famous trashcan, he said he can go in through the backdoor…
To this, Rowe replied, “I always wanted to go in through the back door.”
Talk about dirty talk!
8. Some jobs were simply too dirty:
Rowe had to pass on a crime scene cleanup, as he said it was “too heavy for the tone of the show… The work is too grisly to take lightly, and we aspire to be a lighthearted show.”
9. Rowe’s least-favorite job had to do with sharks:
While working as a shark-suit tester, he got bit…a lot.
“You put on the suit; you hop in the water; you create a bloodbath of chum,” he told Fox News .
“The sharks come in, and you let them bite you. If you live, the suit works. If you don’t, it’s unfortunate.”
In the end, he got bit too many times to count.
“I gave up counting around the mid-double digits,” he said.
10. There are some episodes that never aired:
One of these dirty jobs included working with a roadkill taxidermist.
In the end, the taxidermist ended up uploading the video himself, with the title “Too Gross for Discovery.”
11. A monkey once attacked a camera operator:
This happened while filming at a monkey sanctuary in South Africa.
Cameraman Chris Whiteneck got bit in the leg by a disturbed monkey named Paddy.
12. Every state has *Dirty Jobs*.
That’s right, Mike has gone coast to coast doing at least one different dirty job in every single state in the US.
The show has been applauded for the way it depicts the diversity of the American landscape.
13. The initial concept for the show was rejected several times.
These were still the early days of reality TV, so it was difficult trying to sell a network on a show about jobs that nobody wanted to do.
Thankfully, after many failed attempts , Mike finally found a home for Dirty Jobs .
14. Mike Rowe is an accomplished singer.
He spent his early days traveling and performing with the Baltimore Opera .
It seems like an odd pivot to go from opera singer to the world’s dirtiest man, but that’s what happened!
He does a mean Pavarotti that you have to hear to believe!
The hands of a carpenter and the voice of an angel. Mike Rowe truly is the total package.
I bet he’s a great listener too.
15. Mike Rowe gave a TED talk.
It was about everything he learned from his show.
Be warned, Mike tells a very graphic story involving animal castration. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
The whole experience was a huge success and garnered a ton of positive responses.
Mike elegantly explains the value of a hard day’s work.
Fans of the show and newcomers alike had nothing but positive comments for Mike and the Dirty Jobs crew.
16. Mike was in the running to host *The Daily Show*.
Fans of the show will no doubt remember Mike for his political candor.
Because of this, he was on the shortlist to host The Daily Show . They even called him before Jon Stewart.
17. In 2017, he testified before congress.
Mike testified before the House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee on the need for the labor force to continue education after formal schooling. He’s an advocate for trade, unions, and those who work low-income jobs.
