Grylls got his survival training during his three years with the British special forces. He broke his back in a skydiving accident in Africa but recovered to summit Everest in 1998, at 23, making him a hero in the UK. He became a sought-after motivational speaker and started getting offers for television work.

Survival Tip: Hunger

Eat Only What You Know or Anything You Find? Those unfamiliar red berries may look tasty, but leave them be. You may wind up poisoned. Eat only what you know, and stay away from mushrooms—unless death by renal failure sounds appealing. A tip: Cattails, bamboo, prickly pear cactus fruit, and pine bark's soft underside can all be eaten raw or cooked. Before your next trip, consult wildfoodadventures.com.

Peter Lovering, executive in charge of production, Man vs. Wild: He had been on a show in the UK about the French Foreign Legion. He was able to really get involved with the other guys but also give great information. We thought he'd definitely work for the U.S. audience. He had that diversity to convey in a very exciting way what he needs to do to get out alive.

Neil Laughton, who served with Grylls in the special forces and with whom he climbed Everest and later jet-skied around the UK: He asked me direct: "May I join your expedition?!" I set him a challenge to go climb Ama Dablam, in the Himalaya, and then come back and reapply. He summited in some style, and I confirmed his place on the team. He combines a tremendous appetite for achievement with a remarkable ability to engage with total strangers.

Lovering: Bear taps into the child in all of us. You have all these extraordinary moments, but he conveys them with such charm and does it with such knowledge that you get a much more rounded, richer feel than something that is just a crazy stunt show.

Grylls: To me, Man vs. Wild takes my experience of extreme environments and has me show what I have learnt from them, what I do to survive.