Celebrity Name: Bear Grylls
New Company: United Talent Agency (UTA)
Primary Agents: Andrew Lear, Jason Heyman
Department: Unscripted Television
Territory: Global
- Adventurer and TV host Bear Grylls has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) for representation, with agents Andrew Lear and Jason Heyman leading the partnership in UTA’s Unscripted Television department.
- Grylls retains his existing relationship with Peters Fraser + Dunlop for representation, while publicity duties remain with the Bear Grylls Survival Academy.
- The signing comes just days before Running Wild with Bear Grylls makes its FOX debut on April 21, 2026, now in its ninth season with guests including Matthew McConaughey, Uma Thurman, and Colman Domingo.
- UTA has been rapidly expanding its unscripted and multi-hyphenate roster in 2026, recently signing Janelle Monáe and Tom Hopper in similar representation deals.
Bear Grylls, the internationally recognized adventurer, survivalist, and television host, has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) for representation. Agents Andrew Lear and Jason Heyman will spearhead the deal at UTA’s Unscripted Television department.
Grylls first became a household name as the host of Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild, a series that redefined the survival genre and reached an estimated 1.2 billion viewers worldwide.
He currently stars in Running Wild with Bear Grylls, now in its ninth season and making its FOX debut on April 21, 2026, with celebrity guests Matthew McConaughey, Uma Thurman, and Colman Domingo set to join him in some of the planet’s most extreme landscapes, from Norway’s glacial wilderness to the mountains of Wales.
Beyond his flagship series, his credits span Netflix’s interactive You vs. Wild, Amazon’s World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji, Channel 4’s The Island with Bear Grylls, and ITV’s Mission Survive.
UTA has been on a high-profile signing run in 2026. The agency recently brought on Janelle Monáe for global representation across all areas, and added The Umbrella Academy star Tom Hopper in a similar deal.
Grylls continues his long-standing relationship with Peters Fraser + Dunlop for representation, while publicity remains with the Bear Grylls Survival Academy.
Takeaways
This isn’t just a routine agency move, it’s a strategic realignment for one of unscripted television’s most bankable global brands. By landing with UTA’s Unscripted Television department under Andrew Lear and Jason Heyman, Grylls gains access to an agency actively building the industry’s most ambitious roster of multi-hyphenate talent.
With Running Wild Season 9 landing on FOX days after this announcement, the timing tells you everything: this deal is designed to maximize Grylls’ crossover potential, from TV to speaking, brand partnerships, and beyond.
How will Bear Grylls’ new UTA partnership change the scale of his survival shows? What new brand or product lines might emerge from Grylls’ growing entrepreneurship push? Does UTA’s run of high-profile signings hint at a bigger strategy in unscripted global talent?
