Rehab-show guru "Jacked" for new series

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - After making a name for himself in the celebrity rehabilitation genre with VH1's "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" and its spinoffs "Sober House" and the upcoming "Celebrity Rehab -- Sex Addition," reality producer John Irwin is branching out with "All Jacked Out," a hillbilly-themed series for CMT.

Slated to premiere August 22, "All Jacked Up" features host C. Thomas Howell traveling the country in search of outlandish, funny and extreme stunts, sports, events, people and inventions.

Each of the eight half-hour episodes contains four segments. Among the events covered are eating contests, ostrich racing, demolition derbies and chainsaw juggling.

Although he makes a good living as a reality producer ("Celebrity Rehab" is in production on its third season, and "Sober House" recently was renewed for a second season), Irwin also stays close to his comedy roots.

He recently wrapped a one-hour stand-up special starring Nick Swardson, which Comedy Central is set to air and release on DVD in the fall.

Starting off as a producer on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and "Mad TV" and as a development and production executive at Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, Irwin went on to produce a slew of comedy series, pilots and specials before venturing into unscripted TV.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)