Simon Cowell on his broken arm and new 'AGT: Extreme': 'Why would you do this?'

"America's Got Talent: Extreme" judge Simon Cowell broke his arm in an electric bike accident last month. His second serious e-bike crash came just days after fellow judge and stuntman Travis Pastrana broke his pelvis in a parachute jump stunt gone wrong from a Florida high-rise that required surgery.

Cowell, 62, doesn't try to hide his purple arm cast on his left arm speaking over a Zoom call before "AGT: Extreme" premieres Monday (8 EST/PST). He laughs when asked if these injuries are coincidence or dangerous ways to promote the new version of "AGT." .

"The idea that two out of three show judges broke bones just before the show airs: It's like, 'What is it about this show?'" Cowell says.

It's all in the title: This "AGT" spinoff, airing for four weeks, features adrenaline-pumped stunts and contestants vying for the title and a $500,000 prize.

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Cowell, who created and executive produces the original "AGT," which returns for a 17th season this summer, says he has pushed for a decade to turn up the juice for an all-stunts format.

"Occasionally, we'd have these big acts on the main show, and every time we did they were one of our favorite auditions," he says. "We kept saying to NBC, 'What if we did a whole show just full of these acts?'"

In 2020, NBC finally agreed, setting up the series with host Terry Crews, Cowell judging along with WWE superstar Nikki Bella and the often-injured Pastrana ("that almost comes with the job with him; he's broken like 70 bones," Cowell says).

"I can honestly say it's a show you will never, ever forget. It's beyond belief," Cowell promises. "I'm not just saying that."

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The judges back it up in one episode, inspecting an act to get the contestant's point of view of a 100-foot vertical drop onto a ramp. It was eye-opening.

"I'm not great on heights anyways, and I'm standing at the top going, 'You're actually going to go down that ramp?' " says Cowell. Yes, he did.

An exclusive "AGT: Extreme" sizzle reel shows the terrified looks on judges' faces and palpable relief when a stunt is completed.

"You've seen us look nervous in the main show, occasionally, On this show, we were nervous from start to finish," says Cowell. "It was extreme actually judging. You're thinking the whole time, 'Why would you do this?' Things can and unfortunately did go wrong on this show."

Stuntman and contestant Jonathan Goodwin, who had performed on Season 15 of "America's Got Talent," was hospitalized last October after suffering serious injuries from a daredevil "Extreme" stunt, which led the show to shut down production. Goodwin posted on Instagram from his hospital bed that "a couple of days ago my life took a complete left turn," and thanking fans for their support.

"What happened is horrific," says Cowell, who declines to discuss specifics. "I actually spoke to John today and he's literally leaving the hospital to become an outpatient. His mental strength and how he's handled this is phenomenal."

The risk-taking contestants employ long-harnessed skills, training and constant repetition of their stunts to pull them off.

"I literally can't understand how someone could do this every single week. It just blows me away because of the risks involved," says Cowell. "But they do."

Cowell, who is vaccinated, is back to work on several projects after a positive coronavirus test forced him to miss auditions for "Britain's Got Talent" earlier this month. "Because I had the vaccinations, having a cold was really worse than this," he says. "I really had no symptoms."

He's not planning on quitting his not-so-extreme e-bike riding either.

"I actually got on my bike again yesterday because I think it's important. When you fall off something, you gotta get back on it again. And I wanted to see if I was nervous," says Cowell. "I sent Travis an email saying 'You've got the best story. I just fell off a bike, you fell off this massive building with a parachute.' "

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'AGT: Extreme's Simon Cowell talks insane dangers, his broken arm