Naman Shrestha
Investigation Discovery’s ‘OJ Unseen: Exploitation of Evil’ is a four-part true-crime documentary series that revolves around the unreleased footage of the prank show starring O.J. Simpson, ‘Juiced.’ A decade after his controversial acquittal, Rick Mahr reached out to O.J. and convinced him to star in the show, which features awkward encounters and pranks. In the docuseries, the creator, Rick, also features and recounts his experience of making ‘Juiced’ and working with O.J.
Rick Mahr Explained He Had to Cancel Juiced After Its Details Were Leaked Before Release
Richard “Rick” Mahr, who is known for making ruckus-style videos and DVDs like ‘The Best of Backyard Wrestling 2: More Hardcore Than Ever Before’ and ‘Live at the Bike,’ took inspiration from Ashton Kutcher’s ‘Punk’d’ and created a version with OJ Simpson called ‘Juiced.’ At the time, Rick was an executive producer of ‘Xtreme DVD,’ which featured wild and often violent real-life footage from bachelor parties, brawls, and street fights. In October 2003, Rick pitched the idea to OJ in Las Vegas, Nevada, and began shooting the prank show the following year in March 2004.
It was reportedly filmed in the span of two weeks in Las Vegas, with OJ yelling a tagline: “You’ve been Juiced!” However, right before the officially slated release date, a crew member named Harmon Leon (who admitted as much on the show) shared BTS images and published a detailed article in a magazine, which reportedly contributed to the project being shelved. According to reports, while the show was briefly released as a Pay-Per-View event and later on DVD, Rick eventually pulled the project from circulation entirely. He later stated that OJ was not paid for the show, adding, “Basically O.J. Simpson has decided to do this because he wants to do it, and he wanted to have fun with it.”
Rick Mahr is a Seasoned Entrepreneur Known For Producing Multiple Entertainment Projects
About two decades after shooting ‘Juiced,’ Rick Mahr shared a few details about it on an episode of ‘This American Life’ podcast. “It was never meant to be a comeback vehicle for O.J. or try to turn him into a mainstream star again,” he revealed. “We were tasked with creating a reality show that cut through the clutter, that everybody would be talking about, really during an era when there was a reality TV boom, and there was a lot of one upsmanship in the marketplace … He (Simpson) said, look, this wasn’t designed to win Emmys. It’s supposed to be a nonstop barrage of craziness.”
Talking about burying the project on purpose, he added, “We had the blinders on to make one crazy reality TV show … After we did it, there was a part of me that said, what the hell did we just do? … We pulled it from circulation. And it’s been gathering dust until now.” However, for ‘OJ Unseen: Exploitation of Evil,’ Rick licensed and provided unseen, behind-the-scenes footage of O.J. Simpson, serving as the consulting producer on the documentary. With a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, the Centralia, Illinois, native started his career as an Editorial Cartoonist for Hearst in August 1993. Before diving into the entertainment business, he also worked as a Regional Sales and Marketing Manager at Kraft Heinz from 1996 to 1999.
In recent years, Rick has served as an executive producer of ‘Big Bet Poker,’ after being involved with projects like ‘World’s Wildest Bachelor Parties’ and ‘XPW: Cold Day in Hell’ in 2008. The award-winning creative producer resides in Los Angeles, California, with over 25 years of experience of being in the entertainment industry, developing partnerships, brand integrations, and programming. His work has been featured by many major networks and outlets, including Entertainment Tonight, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Inside Edition, Vogue, Playboy, Bravo, HGTV, Entertainment Weekly, and many more. Rick is currently the Founder and CEO of Mahr Media, Fandom Media Group, and Outlaw Media Group. Not much is known about his personal life, other than the fact that he is a doting and proud father.
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