New York, NY (December 17, 2009) – MTV gives viewers an adventure of a lifetime in an epic cross-country journey, where anything is possible, in the new series “The Buried Life” premiering Monday, January 18 at 10PMET/PT.
This documentary series follows Duncan, Ben, Jonnie and Dave, who travel across the country in their purple bus named Penelope to pursue their wildest aspirations and sometimes “off the wall” crusades to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others. As the cameras roll, the guys trek through the country crossing off items on their list of “100 things to do before they die.” The list includes everything from playing basketball with President Obama and attending a party at the Playboy Mansion to paying off their parents’ mortgages and giving a million dollars to a worthy cause. Along the way, the guys make a promise that for each item they cross off their list, they will help a perfect stranger accomplish one of their goals, challenging each person they meet with the ultimate question – “what do YOU want to do before you die?”
Fans will get to know Duncan, who is a bit of a wild card with a heart of gold; Ben, the ringleader who will do whatever it takes to get things done; Jonnie, Duncan’s younger brother, who is a blogger and philosopher, and with whom girls seem to fall in love; and Dave, the break-dancer and “one-man party” who is up for anything. With the help of MTV, Duncan, Ben, Jonnie and Dave just crossed #53 off their list: start a television show.
Three years ago, “The Buried Life” began when Duncan, Ben, Dave and Jonnie, disillusioned about what lay ahead for the future of their generation, decided to make a list of everything they wanted most in life. The guys also promised they would help others achieve their own life goals – which has included reuniting a father and son who haven’t spoken in 17 years, helping a young woman who lost her mother in Hurricane Katrina travel to her grave site for the first time, rewarding students they met by donating computers to a low-income school in Los Angeles, and more. The title “The Buried Life” was inspired by a poem written by Matthew Arnold in 1852 in which he suggests that day-to-day minutia often buries our real lives and we each have a desire to live our “Buried Life.”
For more information about MTV’s For more information about MTV’s “The Buried Life,” head to buriedlife.mtv.com or to follow the guys’ other adventures, check out www.theburiedlife.com.
Howard T. Owens, Mark Koops and Adam Paul of Reveille are executive producers. Noah Oppenheim and Jared Tobman of Reveille, Dave Lingwood, Ben Nemtin, Duncan Penn, Jonnie Penn and Jan Coleman are co-executive producers. Brent Haynes is executive in charge of production for MTV and Mike Powers serves as executive producer for MTV.