Sí TV ‘Urban Jungle’ Returns.

Sí TV announced the return of its hit reality series “Urban Jungle,” the show that takes 13 sheltered kids from suburbia and plops them in South Central Los Angeles, all for a chance to win a $50,000 grand prize. The second season, “Urban Jungle 2: South Central,” premieres on Sunday, October 9, 2005 at 10 PM (ET/PT) on Sí TV and will air every Sunday at 10 PM for 13 weeks.

“Our first season of ‘Urban Jungle’ was wildly successful. Sí TV is proud to bring back a second season,” says Sí TV Co-founder and Chairman Jeff Valdez, who grew up in the housing projects of Pueblo, CO. “With so much anti-immigrant sentiment these days, we want to give our contestants and our viewers a chance to find out what it’s really like to live as working class poor and in the process uncover the humanity of the working-class immigrant.”

Returning producer Roni Menendez and camera crews converge on the tiny two-bedroom, one-bath home in South Central Los Angeles to follow the group of 13 privileged twenty-somethings as they adapt to life as immigrants. This season Urban Jungle raises the stakes by adding a new element….paying the rent.

Last year, contestants were given jobs to test their resolve. This year, it’s all about the cold, hard cash. In addition to seeking out their own jobs, each week, contestants will be issued a “Challenge.” Challenges including picking strawberries, selling paletas (popsicles) and selling oranges on freeway off ramps. The losing team will have to pay the rent for the house. Members from the losing team who can’t contribute must plead their case for staying in the house to Pete Esquivel (Little Heroes), Monique Marvez (Rocking New Year’s Eve) and Thea Vidale (Thea), the three street-wise, yet benevolent “Padrinos” (Godparents).

Based on each contestant’s sincerity, the Padrinos will decide who to “evict” and who stays. The added stress of paying the rent, and the third-world living conditions create intense pressure and lead to dramatic clashes. The last contestant in the house will win $50,000 in cash and prizes, and perhaps learn a thing or two about life on the other side of the tracks.