It didn’t take Travel Channel execs long to realize they had a winning formula in a group of gruff guys moving pianos into Boston’s most dense neighborhoods made up of ancient buildings with narrow stairways and no elevators.
“About three days into it, they started asking to do episodes — and by the time they finished, Travel Channel ordered a whole season,” said Greg Keane, who owns the legendary Deathwish Piano Movers. “All of a sudden, we’re just a bunch of piano-movers who have a TV show.”
The reality show “Deathwish Movers” premieres at 10 p.m. tonight.
“Those guys are great TV, they are incredible characters,” Fred Graver of the Travel Channel said. “They get involved in peoples’ lives at one of the most stressful times in anyone’s life.
“And when an object weights 1,000 pounds and has to be lifted five stories out of a window by a crane, there’s a lot of emotion.”
Out-of-town movers who can’t crack the code of moving into Boston buildings often contract Deathwish.
“If it’s a tough space to move in, you’re gonna find us,” Keane, 48, said. “You’re gonna find us in basements, on rooftops; really we’re the cleanup crew.”
Beyond Boston serving as a main character itself, the show also highlights six or seven men in Keane’s 20-man crew.
