From Survivor to Alone, from Man vs Wild to Naked and Afraid, outdoor survival comprises a whole other genre in the pantheon of reality shows. While obviously, some elements of these shows are staged, fabricated, or just performed under expert supervision, they still present deadly situations under which ordinary people might not last, even for a day.
Mishaps, accidents, and even deaths in extreme situations have taken place while shooting a few survival shows. As unfortunate as these events are, they serve as reminders that, even when the proper precautions are taken, there's no way to totally neutralize the danger in a hazardous situation. Here are a few twisted questions that many fans have about survival shows, along with the realities behind them.
Updated on May 18th, 2022 by Tanner Fox: While the thrills of reality series like Survivor and Naked and Afraid are undeniable, they're often accused of either heavily manipulating events to increase drama or being flat-out fraudulent. Of course, this hasn't impacted the popularity of the genre, though it does have some viewers trying to parse truth from fiction.
Sad as it is to say, while much of what occurs in these series is edited to enhance tension, real tragedies do occur. From the untimely demise of several reality series contestants to legal issues and other unfortunate circumstances, here are some twisted tales from some fan-favorite survival shows.
Has Anyone Died On A Survival Show?
While the casts and crews behind these survival shows do everything in their power to ensure that none of the performers are harmed, it’s unfortunate that some of these shows have resulted in deaths. One such tragic incident was a helicopter crash while shooting the French reality TV show Dropped. The series ‘dropped’ various celebrities into harsh, remote settings, leaving them to survive on their own. The show was eventually canceled after, as per Variety, two helicopters transporting the contestants crashed in mid-air in Argentina. Ten people were killed, including three contestants, one of which was French Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat.
After that, there was a casualty on Koh Lanta—the French version of Survivor—in 2013 when contestant Gerald Babin fell ill during a game of tug-of-war. He was airlifted to the hospital but was pronounced dead soon after, and the series was swiftly canceled.
Have Survival Shows Led To Indirect Deaths?
Shows like Survivor and Expedition also add drama by turning the show into a popularity contest not dissimilar to the hit series Big Brother. For some, this staged popularity can be pretty toxic.
In 1997, Expedition: Robinson used to air in Sweden, which is considered by many as one of the earliest survival reality shows. One of the show's contestants, Sinisa Savija, was eliminated in the course of the show. Soon after his elimination, Savija committed suicide. While the exact causes behind this event remain unclear, his family is adamant that Savija's death stemmed from the rejection and the feelings of dislike he faced from the other contestants on the show.
Is Drinking Urine Like Bear Grylls A Safe Practice?
Bear Grylls, the star of Man Vs Wild, has been a source of public interest for the bizarre survival tactics he uses. He often eats and drinks anything that’s "safe," according to him. He has even urinated in snakeskin and drank it as a last resort!
It's true that some people do drink their own urine, believing it to be healthy even if it contains flushed-out toxins. While Grylls does actually drink his own pee on the show, survival experts themselves warn people of it not being a survival technique. Apart from adding toxins back to one’s system, urine could also further dehydrate the survivor because of its high salt content.
Have Anyone Suffered Malnourishment On A Survival Show?
Survival shows can be extremely rigorous and can absolutely put contestants' health in jeopardy. In the third season of History TV’s Alone, Carleigh Fairchild was declared the winner on grounds of a forced evacuation. Apparently, the only interactions that the contestants in this show have with the human world is through a weekly medical check-up to check the contestants’ BMI (Body Mass Index), which should always be above 17.
Fairchild had survived in the South American Andes for over 86 days, but, when informed that her BMI was at 16.8, she eventually broke down.
Has Any Survival Show Been Sued?
Survivor is the one show that dominates when it comes to controversy in the world of survival shows. Survivor: Borneo was even sued in February 2001 by one of its castaways.
Contestant and lawyer Stacey Stillman filed a 14-page lawsuit against the show on the claims that the producers had interfered in the contest by persuading two members of her tribe to vote her off instead of another competitor. The network CBS denied all these allegations, calling them frivolous, and it refused to grant her any compensation.
How Safe Are The Crew Behind Such Shows?
Survival show crews can often face danger, sometimes more so than the contestants. While shooting an episode of the British survival reality series, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here in 2013, one crew member suffered severe anaphylactic shock from a tick bite.
Of course, the dangers can sometimes be way bigger than a tick bite. The crew of Dual Survival had their own survival situation going on, as they were once charged by an aggressive elephant which was then calmed down by a local ranger. The show has also filmed near active volcanos, with most of the crew’s cameras malfunctioning in their proximity.
Has Any Survival Show Contestant Gone To Jail?
Survival shows and their production teams can be sued or held accountable for the dangerous circumstances in which they place contestants, but the contestants themselves can go to prison for their own misdeeds.
The winner of Survivor: Borneo, Richard Hatch, won a good amount of money with the title, but he failed to report his winning to the IRS, with his intention being to avoid taxes. Hence, he was charged and found guilty in 2006 and sentenced to 51 months in prison.
Has Any Survival Show Accidentally Aired Inappropriate Content?
Some of the content on these shows can get graphic, but, usually, survival shows are mostly aired with mild content warnings. Yet, with so many cameras on location invading contestants' privacy, it isn’t surprising if the shows accidentally feature some nudity.
In the first episode of Survivor: Gabon, a brief uncensored shot of contestant Marcus Lehman’s genitals was visible, leading the show and network to issue an apology. A similar mistake was about to be repeated in Survivor: Caramoan, but it was removed in time before CBS aired the episode.
What's The Lowest-Rated Survival Show?
Everyone knows about storied and oft-celebrated series such as Survivor, but what about the reality series which slipped through the cracks? Debuted in 2017, Hacking the Wild holds the dubious honor of being among the lowest-rated reality series of IMDb with just a 4.1 overall rating.
While the show's host, survivalist Andy Quitmeyer, seems savvy enough, the revolves entirely around survival situations that would never transpire in real life. Ever need to retrieve a rope after repelling down a cliff? Simply use a laser pointer to activate a servo that will release it—those being two things commonly found in the wild, of course.
Were Children Ever Featured On A Survival Show?
Though popular survival shows such as Survivor and Man vs. Wild are often rumored to be fake or heavily scripted, there's no denying the genuine physical and mental rigor endured by contestants. The set of a demanding reality TV series would be no place for a group of children, but CBS' 2007 outing Kid Nation went against such logic, casting a bunch of hapless kids in a show about surviving in an abandoned town.
Needless to say, the show was fraught with controversy, and it was canceled after a single season. Though there were no fatal incidents, one child was taken to the hospital after ingesting bleach, promoting an investigation by the New Mexico attorney general