‘MythBusters’ Debuted 20 Years Ago: Catch Up with the Cast Now
Twenty years ago, on January 23, 2003, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman started debunking urban legends on the Discovery series MythBusters. In that first episode, Savage and Hyneman quashed the tall tale that a man got his Chevy airborne with rocket engines, and they disproved the schoolyard story that consuming Pop Rocks and cola can make one’s stomach explode.
Across hundreds of episodes and thousands of experiments, MythBusters became a hit for Discovery, bringing in up to 20 million viewers a season, per The New York Times. “You can’t underestimate the power of TV to give young people a lens to see science through,” materials scientist and STEM advocate Anissa Ramirez told the Times. “MythBusters helped viewers feel empowered to participate.”
To mark MythBusters’ 20th anniversary, scroll down to catch up with the cast of both the Discovery series and its Science Channel continuation — with the sad exceptions of Jessi Combs, who died in 2019, and Grant Imahara, who died in 2020.
Jamie Hyneman
Hyneman is in the middle of a five-year stint as professor of practice at LUT University in Lappeenranta, Finland, which is set to conclude in November 2026. The school previously gave Hyneman an honorary doctorate and named a prototype lab after him.
Adam Savage
Savage now leads Tested, a YouTube channel that “explores the intersection of science, popular culture, and emerging technology” and hosts Adam Savage’s Tested VR, an Oculus Quest series that “takes audiences on a journey inside the creative workspaces of incredible makers, bringing their processes to life, from ideation to creation.”
Kari Byron
In 2021, Byron hosted Crash Test World, a Science Channel docuseries about how “inspiring people around the world are working on solutions to some of the biggest questions of the time.” She’s also the co-founder of EXPLR Media, an educational video production company.
Tory Belleci
Belleci continued his MythBusters fame in 2021 when he hosted the MotorTrend series Motor MythBusters. He also hosted the 2020 Science Channel series The Explosion Show and the same year’s Prime Video series The Great Escapists. And Belleci appeared as himself in the 2022 film Jackass Forever.
Scottie Chapman
After leaving MythBusters, Chapman returned to school to become a dental hygienist, per the Discovery Channel. She seems to have a new career prospect afoot, though: In a September 2022 Instagram post, Chapman said she was “about to start a two-year program to further [her] education.
Jon Lung
Lung, who co-hosted the Science Channel version of MythBusters alongside Brian Louden, is still an industrial designer, now working with the global design company IDEO, his LinkedIn profile shows. He’s not all business with his design skills, though: he recently crafted a Rick & Morty costume for Halloween.
Brian Louden
Louden is living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as his Instagram page shows, and he’s developing a podcast called #Love #Death and #Happiness With Brian Louden, which will feature “open and emotional discussion from those who have suffered a death or loss.”
