America's Greatest Makers

What Is America’s Greatest Makers?

About The Show

In a first of its kind competition show, America’s Greatest Makers takes 24 teams of makers from across the country and puts them in head-to-head competition to invent game-changing technology for a chance to go home with $1 million.

In the first two episodes, each of the teams must speed pitch their wearable or smart device idea to the judging panel consisting of Intel CEO Brian Krzanich; business and financial expert Carol Roth; comedian, serial entrepreneur and co-host of truTV’s Hack My Life Kevin Pereira; and one of the celebrity guests.

How does AGM work?

Once all of the teams have finished the initial speed pitching round, the judges will choose 15 to move forward in the competition. Over the next five weeks, those teams will then face off against each other, with three teams competing each week for $100,000 and a spot in the finals. America’s Greatest Makers will climax with the five finalist teams presenting their finished products in one last round of competition, after which the judges will reveal which team will take home $1 million and the title “America’s Greatest Makers.”

“We have an extremely diverse cast from 15 years old to 59 with ideas that are as unique as the teams themselves,” said executive producer Mark Burnett. “We are looking to come up with the next big thing in wearable tech and smart connected devices, and these competitors will have to convince our judges that their product is just that. The competition will inspire a whole new audience of potential makers.”

The Production:

Emmy®-winning producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice) and TBS, a division of Turner, have brought together a panel of celebrity judges for this spring’s exciting new tech competition series America’s Greatest Makers, created in collaboration with Intel. The roster includes sports legends Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith; Emmy-nominated actress Mayim Bialik, who co-stars in the hit series The Big Bang Theory; and Massimo Banzi, maker and co-founder and CEO of Arduino, which makes popular development boards for inventors to create. America’s Greatest Makers is set to premiere on TBS Tuesday, April 5, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

In addition to the TBS series, viewers can already immerse themselves in the America’s Greatest Makers experience through long and short-form content presented through www.americansgreatestmakers.com.

As previously announced, Intel is a launch partner for Turner Native Plus, a capability that expands the power of native advertising to television, producing a powerful environment for better brand storytelling. Utilizing this vehicle, various short-form stories will be produced in the style and voice of brands spanning the Turner portfolio, including Adult Swim, CNN, HLN, truTV, TNT and Turner Sports. The content will feature various lifestyle innovations that resonate with that particular audience, while supporting the overall spirit of the competition series. In addition to Turner Native Plus commercial pod takeovers, integrated segments will be created with such properties as CONAN, Bleacher Report, Adult Swim and more, delivering content across Turner’s linear, digital and social platforms.

America’s Greatest Makers is a key component of Intel’s global initiative to inspire ideas and fuel innovation. It encourages makers to create groundbreaking wearable technology and smart connected consumer electronics that are fresh, exciting and practical. The competition builds on the success of last year’s Intel Make it Wearable Challenge, where the winners’ creations included a drone camera that wraps around the wrist and a cost-effective prosthetic hand created using a 3D printer.

America’s Greatest Makers is produced by MGM Television, with Mark Burnett serving as executive producer.

America’s Greatest Makers Judges

Judges

Emmy®-winning producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice) and TBS, a division of Turner, have brought together a panel of celebrity judges for this spring’s exciting new tech competition series America’s Greatest Makers, created in collaboration with Intel. The roster includes sports legends Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith; Emmy-nominated actress Mayim Bialik, who co-stars in the hit series The Big Bang Theory; and Massimo Banzi, maker and co-founder and CEO of Arduino, which makes popular development boards for inventors to create. America’s Greatest Makers is set to premiere on TBS Tuesday, April 5, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

In a first of its kind competition show, America’s Greatest Makers takes 24 teams of makers from across the country and puts them in head-to-head competition to invent game-changing technology for a chance to go home with $1 million. In the first two episodes, each of the teams must speed pitch their wearable or smart device idea to the judging panel consisting of Intel CEO Brian Krzanich; business and financial expert Carol Roth; comedian, serial entrepreneur and co-host of truTV’s Hack My Life Kevin Pereira; and one of the celebrity guests.

The Pitch Stage

Pitch Here

This is where 24 teams will pitch against 4 judges at a time. Below is a snippet from TBS explaining how the show format will operate.

First Two Episodes

In the first two episodes, each of the teams must speed pitch their wearable or smart device idea to the judging panel consisting of Intel CEO Brian Krzanich; business and financial expert Carol Roth; comedian, serial entrepreneur and co-host of truTV’s Hack My Life Kevin Pereira; and one of the celebrity guests.

Next Five Episodes

Once all of the teams have finished the initial speed pitching round, the judges will choose 15 to move forward in the competition. Over the next five weeks, those teams will then face off against each other, with three teams competing each week for $100,000 and a spot in the finals. America’s Greatest Makers will climax with the five finalist teams presenting their finished products in one last round of competition, after which the judges will reveal which team will take home $1 million and the title “America’s Greatest Makers.”

“We have an extremely diverse cast from 15 years old to 59 with ideas that are as unique as the teams themselves,” said executive producer Mark Burnett. “We are looking to come up with the next big thing in wearable tech and smart connected devices, and these competitors will have to convince our judges that their product is just that. The competition will inspire a whole new audience of potential makers.”

First look at Venn on AGM

VENN Wearable

Reach your favourite person, when they’re not by your side…

Venn is a wearable bracelet that lets you subtly reach your favourite person when they’re not by your side. Currently in beta, Venn can transmit warmth, a light squeeze or a gentle vibration - to let your significant other know you’re thinking of them.

Design and Build

We build amazing product here at Josephmark - a digital ventures studio that believes in the world-changing power of a great idea.

Zackee’s Emergency

Just before stage time, Zach’s mask BREAKS!!!

Just before one of my competitors was about to go and present on stage for the first time, his product died!!! We bumped into each other in the hallway and he was in distress, I had my soldering iron kit plus a heap of tools on standby so we grabbed them and went to work.

Sneaky Tricks

Reality TV is normally about teams battling each other and often with sneaky tricks and sabotage. This is not what the Maker community is about, we sat down and worked together to get his mask back in working operation.

Learn more about how he’s creating the future of fashion here.

Good luck Zach!!!