MTV’s ‘The Buried Life’ May Expand Reach Says Ben Nemtin

Whitney Port, Ben Nemtin

Don’t be surprised if MTV’s “The Buried Life” quartet takes off for foreign countries in coming months — now that the show has garnered a devoted following in North America.

“We actually experimented with it a little bit this year,” reports ringleader Ben Nemtin. “On next week’s show (11/1), we escape from a deserted island. We have to survive and we have no survival training.. We actually build a raft to get off the island. It’s one of my favorite episodes. It’s always best when we’re out of our element.”

Tonight’s (10/25) show features the guys stealing a lock of Robert Pattinson’s hair — on a dare from fans. The four twentysomething friends who set off in a purple bus with their bucket lists and a camera four years ago have already accomplished feats including playing basketball with Barack Obama and asking dream girl Taylor Swift on a date.

He reveals that items that have been rejected include Going Into Space and Smoking Cigars With Fidel Castro. “We tried to get MTV to go for it. We’re Canadians; we could go to Cuba,” Nemtin points out. “But we’d have to get a different crew….”

“The Buried Life’s” humanitarian bent sets the show apart, with each episode also showing the guys — Nemtin, Dave Lingwood and Jonnie and Duncan Penn — helping other people achieve what they want before they die. They also hope to inspire others to make their own life lists, a topic Nemtin loves to talk about on college campuses and community spots where they interact with young people.