Andrew Younghusband has built himself quite the empire over on Discovery. I first spoke to the affable Newfoundlander when he was on Life Network’s (remember that channel?!) Tall Ship Chronicles. The next time we met up was during filming of Season 1 of Canada’s Worst Handyman. Now, with multiple seasons of that, Don’t Drive Here and Canada’s Worst Driver on his resumé, Younghusband returns with Season 12 of Driver and the debut of Tougher Than It Looks?
Airing back-to-back on Mondays, Younghusband hosts Driver’s usual passel of inept Canadians behind the wheel of automobiles before being front and centre doing some of the most bizarre—and taxing—jobs out there.
After a dozen years of Canada’s Worst Driver, we know exactly what to expect from the series: awful drivers who are oblivious to how dangerous they are behind the wheel going through challenges designed to teach them how to be better.
And, frankly, a dozen years of it, I’m pretty much done with the franchise. Clearly, I’m in the minority—the show was the network’s most-watched last season and the No. 1 specialty project in the key demographics—but my frustration at these unsafe folks who often have a blasé attitude about how much of a menace they are grows with every minute. Still, the show is doing a valuable service in educating the contestants and viewers in the rules of the road.
Tougher Than It Looks? is something entirely different from Younghusband in that he’s doing the Dirty Jobs thing … with a twist. Where Mike Rowe performed the grimiest gigs out there, Younghusband is tackling any occupation. The hook? He has just one day to practice and, hopefully, perfect.
There’s a reason Younghusband hosts so many programs. He’s not only charismatic, but he’s funny and can ad-lib. That comes into play in Episode 1 of Tougher when he attempts to best as many Guinness World Records as he can. First up? Being one of two people hauling three fire trucks using their bodies and lengths of rope. Alongside Younghusband is Rev. Kevin Fast, who has set several strength-related world records in the tome. It’s certainly a tough task, and at its most critical point it looks like Younghusband’s eyes are going to shoot out of his head and land in some poor spectator’s lap.
The rest of the first instalment shows Younghusband as he tries to break 20 Guinness records in one day, a pretty tall task and an opportunity to show how odd many of the records are. Some the categories he tries to best? Stacking coins, eating an onion, unravelling a roll of toilet paper, hula hoop revolutions and most jumps on a pogo stick. I have to say, Tougher is one heck of a good time and I’m sad it’s only a half-hour long. Maybe we’ll get an hour in Season 2.
Canada’s Worst Driver airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery.
Tougher Than It Looks? airs Mondays at 11 p.m. ET on Discovery.
Images courtesy of Bell Media.
