Format

Survival shows have always been very popular, but lately even more so. Sunday 30th July, 2 brand-new formats (among others) will premiere on Discovery.
The first one is Survive the Raft, produced for Discovery by Critical Content. This new series will place 8 strangers on one boat (Alcali II) to see how well they can survive living and working together on the sea. But unlike many other survival shows, this one has a competitive aspect to it: the contestants will be put to the test with mental and physical challenges that will test their abilities to work as a team.
When they are sent out on missions and are successful, a cash prize is added to the prize, with the goal of having a pot large enough to be split among the team members. But will they be able to survive these abrupt challenges, or will they turn against each other and give certain team members the sack?
One of the reason of interest is also that the series is inspired by a behavioral study done in 1973 by a Mexican anthropologist named Santiago Genovés. The study was to see if people from all walks of life and varying cultural backgrounds could work together over 100 days on the Acali raft. The experiment proved very interesting, with an increase in violence and interpersonal chaos. Survive the Raft revamps this study, and it will certainly be interesting to see how the results will change (if they do) 50 years later.
The second one is Naked and Afraid Castaways, spin-off of the “classic” Naked and Afraid (launched in 2013). The upcoming series, which will actually follow the same premise as the original show, will feature nine contestants (former participants of the previous series) as they are left stranded on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
However, unlike the previous show, the surviving has become even harsher: they will have no maps, bearings, or tools to ensure their survival during their stay. The cast will have to make do with their bare hands, their skills, and the things they can find from the wreckage of a ship, an abandoned military jeep, and a crashed airplane to survive. Starting out in groups of three, this combustible mix of seasoned pros -just like Survive the Raft - will either come together or fall apart.