Nik Walldenda to follow Chicago high-wire act with headstands in Georgia

Over the past few years, Nik Wallenda has clearly established himself as America’s premier TV daredevil. He has crossed over Niagara Falls, some extremely high canyons, and last night, he went from one Chicago skyscraper to the next while also handling windy conditions and a blindfold.

The ratings for Discovery are sure to be enormous, and while it is not 100% clear he will be doing another special with them soon, it seems likely.

On NBC’s “Today Show” this morning, Wallenda did confirm that he has another major feat planned, and it includes something that he has never done before:

“I’m working on recreating my great-grandfather’s greatest walk, which was over Tallulah Gorge, Georgia …[it is]  600 feet high, 1,000 feet long … He did two headstands on the wire. I’ve never done a headstand on the wire in public, and I’m training for that.”

Regardless of whether or not you like Wallenda in general, it is pretty easy to appreciate what he represents. He is giving circus performers / daredevils a voice and identity on TV these days, and that is something that is extremely rare in the days of social media and YouTube. With so many other options out there for people to check out, it has become increasingly difficult for performers to stand out.

Of course, we do expect networks to continue to exercise as much caution as possible when it comes to some of these broadcasts. Last night, Discovery had a ten-second delay on their own telecast of the Chicago stunt, just in case there was a tragic event that took place. Wallenda was walking without a harness.

Are you still interested in seeing some of what this guy is going to do next? Let us know with a comment below, and you can also head over here to get further TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via Discovery.)