[3] The eighth season focused on Taffer's residence of Las Vegas, a city whose hospitality industry was devastated during the COVID-19 pandemic, then returned with episodes of bars throughout the United States in its traditional format on March 20, 2022.

Bar owners submit an application via the Paramount Network website to have their failing establishment rescued by Taffer and his team of experts.

[5] A typical episode begins with Taffer's team performing reconnaissance and surveillance on a struggling bar to determine its operational and service weaknesses.

For the recon, one or more team members and/or local residents enter the bar, order food and drinks to gauge their quality, and form an opinion of the atmosphere and service.

The surveillance involves hidden cameras, preinstalled with the owner's consent, through which Taffer and his team watch the kitchen and customer service areas.

During these meetings, Taffer exhibits a brusque, no-nonsense, and confrontational attitude intended to goad the owner(s) and staff into making drastic changes to the way the bar is run – including the firing of inept and/or dishonest employees when necessary.

Taffer's team members train the staff on methods of improving food/drink preparation, customer service, and efficiency, frequently concentrating on a more limited selection of recipes than the bar typically offers.

After the initial training, Taffer puts the bar through a "stress test" (similar to a soft launch), inviting in a large crowd of patrons in order to determine how well the staff can use their newly learned skills to deal with the pressure of a busy night.

After discussing the stress test's results with owners and staff, Taffer meets with his experts to begin devising a new concept for the bar.

After the overhauled bar (often re-branded with a completely new name or a variation of the old one) is unveiled, Taffer takes the owners and staff on a tour to point out its new features.

The bars featured on the show are already in dire financial and operational situations by the time Taffer intervenes, posing a significant challenge to a turnaround.

[citation needed] On June 27, Taffer announced on Facebook that he would begin shooting 30 episodes for season 4 after a week-long trip to Paris.

[15] The seventh season's roll-out from March 2020 until June 2020 was a victim of unfortunate timing, starting at the first height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

The bars featured on the show are already in dire financial and operational situations by the time Taffer intervenes, posing a significant challenge to a turnaround.

[21] The show's first rescued bar of season 2, Piratz Tavern, reverted to its original pirate theme[22] and would later close in April 2015 (see below).

The Chicken Bone, Canyon Inn, Angry Ham's Garage, Weber's Place,[citation needed] The Brixton, ZanZbar,[24] Stand Up Scottsdale!, and KC's reverted to their original names.

The owner released a YouTube video called "Piratz Revenge", showing the "Corporate" sign created by Taffer's team being shot at and burned in effigy.

Piratz was revisited as part of the April 5, 2015, episode, in which Taffer grades the bar an "epic fail", and the owner sought a second rescue.

[34] Jon and Nicole Taffer, along with the show's production company Bongo LLC, have been sued by Dr. Paul T. Wilkes from Bar 702 (formerly Sand Dollar).

However, Wilkes stated that the producers ordered him to be sleazy and make offensive comments on women, and texted him to "Hit on [Mrs. Taffer] hardcore!!"

Wilkes stated that he suffered from emotional distress and symptoms such as migraines, nausea, vomiting, night terrors, crying spells, severe depression and anxiety attacks as a result of the confrontation.

During the taping for season 3, Taffer visited BoondoxXx BBQ & Juke Joint in Nashville, Tennessee and worked with owner Chris Ferrell, who was noted for having a hot temper.

The rescued bar was renamed Pit & Barrel and the episode featuring the bar was to air on November 24, 2013, but on the night before the episode was supposed to air, Ferrell was arrested by Nashville police for shooting and killing country singer Wayne Mills during an argument inside the remodeled Pit & Barrel.

The city attempted to sell the bar, but nobody wanted to buy it due to its reputation, and the land in the booming area was more valuable than the business itself.