What MythBusters' Cast Is Doing Now
Once a reliable stalwart of reality TV that entertained viewers while sneaking in some education, "MythBusters" hasn't been in production in years, leaving not only a hole in the cultural landscape but a lot of questions. While "MythBusters" itself solved all kinds of mysteries about nature, the world, humanity, and how everything works and how what we think is true often isn't, the show's cancelation posed another big question — what happened to the on-air crew?
"MythBusters" went off the air in 2016, and the Discovery Channel then produced a revival with a new cast ... that disappeared in 2018. Featuring one of the smartest and most inventive lineups in the history of TV, millions of "MythBusters" fans miss the men and women who blew holes into common assumptions and the historical record, and who also literally blew up a lot of actual stuff, too. Now that their show is gone, here then is the answer to the query that the brave and wild "MythBusters" can't answer themselves: Aside from other tragic details about the "MythBusters" cast, whatever happened to the program's testers, hosts, fabricators, assistants, and experts?
Adam Savage
The first incarnation of "MythBusters" with its original cast wrapped up a 13-year run in 2016. It didn't take long for co-host Adam Savage to return to television with similar projects. In 2019, he executive produced and solo hosted "Mythbusters Jr," a spinoff of his previous show featuring kid and teenage science and engineering students, all conducting experiments and exploding things. In addition to that 10-episode series in 2019, Savage also made eight episodes of "Savage Builds," a twist on the "MythBusters" formula that found the host creating objects like vehicles made from scrap and hot dog cannons.
An occasional actor well before "MythBusters" — Savage's work in the 1985 music video "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" was one of the lesser-known figures in Billy Joel's career — Savage made notable cameos in a couple of recent science-fiction projects. He appeared briefly in a prequel short for the film "Blade Runner 2049" and an episode of the TV series "The Expanse."
Savage continues to create things on different levels. He runs the website and YouTube channel Tested, which primarily features a playful Savage in his favorite environment — a workshop. In 2019, he published his professional life memoir "Every Tool's a Hammer," and then took a position as the creative director of the fan convention SiliCon. Much of his time in the 2020s is spent on Savage Industries, a company he helped found to manufacture gear bags made from sustainable materials.
Jamie Hyneman
"MythBusters" star and main experimenter Jamie Hyneman left the franchise when the mother series ended its first run. He hasn't made any television of any kind since the 2010s, instead returning to the kind of cutting-edge scientific and technological pursuits that made him such a well-qualified "MythBusters" co-host. He built the special effects house M5 Industries, from which "MythBusters" was conceived and produced, and since the end of the TV series, Hyneman has kept M5 open but shifted focus to research and development of other technologies. Among the projects Hyneman brought to fruition is Wavecam, an aerial robotic camera intended for use at sporting events. He also helped develop Sentry, a robotic autonomous vehicle used for firefighting.
In 2017, Hyneman received an honorary doctorate from LUT University in Finland, and in 2021, he joined that institution's faculty as a Professor of Practice for a five-year term. "I plan to encourage and support student innovations," Hyneman said in a LUT University communique. "I also hope to participate in the university's activity on a wider scale. For instance, environmental issues and different types of vehicles are especially close to my heart."
Kari Byron
After 12 seasons and more than 220 episodes as a secondary host and active builder on "MythBusters," original cast member Kari Byron departed the series. Unable to come to an agreement with producers during contract renegotiations, Byron left Discovery Channel for Netflix, where she starred in "White Rabbit Project." Along with a team of scientists and builders, Byron headed up comical experiments and real-world testing related to strange and famous moments from history, movies, and TV. The "MythBusters"-esque series produced a single season of 10 episodes that debuted in 2016.
In 2018, Byron published her memoir, "Crash Test Girl," revealing her experiences with postpartum depression. Following a divorce, Byron went on to host a solo show, a six-episode Science Channel series for kids in 2021 called "Crash Test World," signaling a jump into educational programming. Byron also co-created EXPLR Media, an educational streaming video service designed for teachers in science courses.
Tory Belleci
Generally working closely with Kari Byron as part of the second-unit "Build Team" on "MythBusters," Tory Belleci was probably the series' most fearless cast member, willing to try out almost anything in search of the truth and a good time. The long-serving Belleci appeared on more than 200 episodes of "MythBusters," departing the original series after failed contract negotiations in 2014. Alongside the similarly exiting Byron and Grant Imahara, Belleci continued his antics and expertise on Netflix's "White Rabbit Project." He'd later reunite with Adam Savage on "Savage Builds," return to the franchise where he made his name with a stint on "Motor MythBusters," and also host his own series, "The Explosion Show," in 2020.
Belleci gave acting a try, too, playing a fictionalized version of himself opposite "Top Gear" star Richard Hammond on the Prime Video survival comedy "The Great Escapists." Now a member of the "Jackass" crew, Belleci appeared in the big-screen "Jackass Forever." He also seeks out adventure on his own, blowing up things on his YouTube channel, Toryland, and teaming up with electronic music artist deadmau5 to run the Gumball 3000 rally.
Grant Imahara
Along with Kari Byron and Tory Belleci, Grant Imahara departed "MythBusters" after contract talks broke down in 2014. Imahara accompanied his former costars to Netflix for the short-lived 2016 entertainment-education series "White Rabbit Project." Imahara then capitalized on his "MythBusters" fame and audience goodwill and went solo, hosting the Curbed documentary series "The Home of the Future." He also delved into acting, voicing Sulu on the fan-made projects "Star Trek Continues" and "Star Trek: Renegades" (both of which are very much part of the entire "Star Trek" timeline), and providing cameos on "Drunk History" and in "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!"
When not in front of the camera, Imahara resumed his before-"MythBusters" work — crafting cinematic robots. The one-time "BattleBots" competitor and robotic sidekick operator on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" built a lifelike animatronic of Grogu from "The Mandalorian," intended to be used to visit children's hospitals. Imahara additionally built machines and published for Disney Research and Spectral Moon until 2020, when he died at age 49 from an aneurysm.
Scottie Chapman
Scottie Chapman popped up in 24 episodes of the first iteration of "MythBusters." A talented builder and fabricator of metal, Chapman was instrumental in helping hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage pull off their entertaining experiments. After regularly working on the series in Seasons 2, 3, 5, and 6, a special guest appearance in Season 7, and some work on other science and building shows like "Beyond Tomorrow" and "Monster Garage," Chapman got out of the television industry altogether. No longer involved with large-scale fabrication projects, either on "MythBusters" or as a high school metal workshop instructor after 2009, Chapman enrolled at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and earned an associate of science degree in dental hygiene. For about a decade, Chapman used that professional certification in her work as a dental assistant.
In 2022, the former buster of myths switched career tracks once more. "I am about to start a 2 year program to further my education," Chapman wrote on her Instagram account in 2022, not specifying what path of study she'd follow.
Jessi Combs
When Kari Byron took maternity leave from "MythBusters" in 2009, car expert, racer, and automotive fabricator Jessi Combs occupied the open spot on the "Build Team." It would be a star-making turn for Combs. Co-starring on just nine episodes of "MythBusters," Combs would be featured in many other vehicular and building-themed reality programs, including "All Girls Garage," "Overhaulin'," "Jay Leno's Garage," and "How to Build... Everything."
Not long after her stint on "MythBusters," Combs dedicated herself to the goal of setting a new land speed record. In 2013, Combs became known as "the fastest woman on four wheels" when she piloted a jet-powered car to 398 miles per hour. Five years later, Combs demolished her own record, reaching 483 miles per hour in the jet-based North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger high-performance vehicle. On August 27, 2019, Combs would try to top herself once more, aiming to hit 512 miles per hour in an attempt during a run through the desert in eastern Oregon. A foreign object collided with a front wheel, and Combs lost control of the vehicle, tragically becoming one of the people who died attempting a world record. Combs was 39 years old.
Jon Lung
The original edition of "MythBusters" went off the air in 2016, but only a year later, a reboot was in the works. To find new hosts, Discovery Channel launched a nationwide hunt and taped the process for a reality show called "MythBusters: The Search." One contestant who wowed judges and producers and who went on to host the revived "MythBusters" for one season was industrial designer Jon Lung. His experience getting ready to host "MythBusters" and then actually doing it would be his first and last television projects to date.
Since his foray into entertainment, Lung returned to his career in industrial design and artistic product development. A former furniture designer and lab technician for the Visible Futures Lab at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Lung freelanced for nearly a decade before he took a position as an industrial design contractor at X, formerly known as Twitter, and then became a lead designer at IDEO.
Brian Louden
Along with Jon Lung, Brian Louden emerged victorious from the reality competition series "MythBusters: The Search," and claimed the prize: the chance to host the 2017-2018 reboot of "MythBusters." That version of the Discovery Channel franchise produced and aired just one season, and that's the extent of Louden's career in television. Sometime after his work ended on the "MythBusters" revival, the Texas-born Louden moved to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and became, in his own words, an "island misfit and guide." He's the general manager of Carambola Zipline, which provides educational car tours of St. Croix's jungles and high-elevation zipline excursions.
Louden is also highly active in a project called FRB Experimental, a restoration of a disused old boat he's turning into a sophisticated search-and-rescue vessel, intended for use around St. Croix. Louden also operated a local shop specializing in spear-fishing supplies and compressed air tanks to serve local fishers and divers.
Heather Joseph-Witham
In unlocking the secrets of history, mythology, and the truth behind common knowledge, the makers of "MythBusters" had to first fully understand what they were working with. One of the series' most crucial researchers was its resident folklorist, Heather Joseph-Witham. In the first two seasons of the original "MythBusters," Joseph-Witham appeared on 18 episodes to provide context, knowledge, and direction in experiments that tested the veracity of urban legends.
Since her final appearance on "MythBusters" in 2004, Joseph-Witham continued her dual careers in entertainment and folklore scholarship. She's appeared on reality shows like "Food Network Challenge," "Vigilante Project," "Dawna of the Darkness," and "Eye of Entertainment," and a filmmaker, too, writing and directing "UFOs in Derbyshire," "Down and Out in Vampire Hills," and "Vampires in the Big Easy." Still a folklore academic, Joseph-Witham is an associate professor at Otis College of Art and Design, where she's taught classes on topics including witchcraft, UFOs, and what vampires look like in different cultures.
J.D. Nelson
When the curious, scientifically-minded cast and crew of "MythBusters" needed to pursue a truth that involved a particularly dangerous or explosive situation, they'd bring in occasional guest consultant Sergeant J.D. Nelson. An authority on the most potent and potentially tricky explosives and firearms, Nelson helped keep the "MythBusters" environment safe on 19 episodes, appearing on camera in 11 of those installments.
After the original "MythBusters" ended production, Nelson appeared on the follow-up's host-seeking reality series "MythBusters: The Search" as a judge, as well as on Adam Savage's kid-oriented spinoff "Mythbusters Jr." Credited on "MythBusters" as a representative and officer of the Alameda County (California) Sheriff's Department, Nelson retained his day job. As of 2024, he remains employed by that office of law enforcement. Owing in part to his experience on television, he's a spokesman for the department, providing interviews and statements to print media reporters and in San Francisco area news broadcast
Some other MythBusters cast members have died
"MythBusters" employed dozens of crew members, experts, and specialists over the years. Some of these supporting stars of the long-running series died tragically and suddenly not long after they helped out on "MythBusters." Erik Gates appeared on four episodes between 2003 and 2005, credited as an "Amateur Rocket Expert" and assisting with experiments centered around rocketry. Also a consultant on the rocketry reality show "Master Blasters" and an electrical contractor by trade, Gates was overseeing a job at a business park in Ventura County, California, in 2009. The work surface gave way, Gates fell 30 feet, and he died at the scene from blunt force chest injuries at age 47.
Sanjay Singh served on the on-site medical crew, helping to treat the biggest accidents and injuries on "MythBusters," and driving an ambulance when needed. Singh appeared on camera in three "MythBusters" episodes, the last of which was in 2007. His October 2010 death was announced on the show with a dedication card.