HOT OFF THE GRILL - 'BBQ PITMASTERS' IS BACK ON AUGUST 12!

TLC premieres all-new season with BBQ's biggest prize ever: $100,000

Los Angeles, CA - A hot new season of BBQ PITMASTERS is cooked up and ready to be served starting August 12 at 10pm. TLC has reimaged the series and created its own competition, designed to find the country's best BBQ cook and this year's BBQ PITMASTER. The first five of the series' six episodes feature different competitions, each one selecting a winning team that moves to the grand finale. Those five teams compete head to head, and only one can walk away with the largest prize ever awarded in competitive barbecue: $100,000.

BBQ PITMASTERS features an all-star panel of judges: celebrity chef Art Smith, BBQ champion Myron Mixon, and Superbowl winner Warren Sapp, and is hosted by chef Kevin Roberts. Each episode brings together four BBQ teams to face off in a series of challenges that reveal who has the best mastery of meat, but with a twist. While the main challenge focuses on a popular protein - from ribs to brisket - the contestants will also face a "Pit Fire Challenge," cooking a more exotic meat (alligator, rattlesnake, etc.) that will truly test their culinary skills. And the stakes are high - the team with the worst Pit Fire dish is sent home on the spot.

This isn't a competition for the casual cook. From being over the pit non-stop for 10+ hours to facing unexpected challenges, these aspiring Pitmasters all have the goal of satisfying the picky palates of the judging panel and taking home the $100,000 prize. It's the biggest competition of their lives in the all-new season of BBQ PITMASTERS.

Season 2 of BBQ PITMASTERS premieres Thursday, August 12 at 10pm.

The premiere episode description:

BUTT OUT!

As four of America's best BBQ Pitmasters come together to prepare the best pork butt possible, one team is called our for breaking the rules while others struggle against the clock forcing one team to be extinguished over their fishy dish. These regional Pitmasters will give it their all as they compete for $5,000 and an invitation into the finale for the $100,000 grand prize.

The episode's contestants include:

* PONDEROSA BBQ, Marlando "Moe" Cason from Des Moines, IA

* SOUTHERN SOUL BBQ with Harrison Sapp from Saint Simons Island, GA

* TAINT THE SAUCE with Nicole Davenport from Sheffield, TX

* HOT GRILL ON GRILL ACTION with Ryan Amys from Omaha, NE

BBQ PITMASTERS is produced for TLC by Original Media.