Naked and Afraid
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''Naked and Afraid'' is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
reality series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
that airs on the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
. Each episode chronicles the lives of two survivalists who meet for the first time
naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...
and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness for 21 days. Each survivalist is allowed to bring one helpful item, such as a
machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
or a fire starter. After they meet in the assigned locale, the partners must build a shelter and find water and food. The 14th season premiered on February 27, 2022.


Synopsis

The events of each couple's quest play out in a single episode. Partners strip down and meet each other. They are provided with rough cross-body satchels containing a personal diary/camera for use when the camera crew is not there at night, and a map. They all wear identical necklaces with a center bead, which is a microphone with a wire that connects to a wireless audio transmitter hidden in the satchel. Some personal jewelry is allowed. Each survivalist is allowed to bring one helpful item, such as a hatchet or a fire starter. There is a camera crew who are not allowed to intervene except for medical emergencies when it is "absolutely necessary". Castmate Alison Teal reports that she was granted an "emergency" tampon. At the beginning of the fourth season, the survivalists were given a third "surprise" item. A team is allowed to "tap out" at any point during the 21-day challenge. If they do not tap out, they must arrive at the designated extraction point on the final day to be picked up by a helicopter, plane, automobile or boat or other vehicle suitable for the environment. Viewers are updated throughout with statistics, including how many days have passed, the time, and the temperature. ''Naked and Afraid'' computers and then updates the cast members' PSR (Primitive Survival Rating), which is based on predictions and observations of survival fitness in skill, experience, and mental strengths. Before and after weight, measurements are also revealed at the end of an episode.


Episodes


Production


Locations

The production's home base is in the United States (the Louisiana
Bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...
, Florida (
Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
and Seminole County) and
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
). Panama was used as a setting twice in the first and fifth seasons, Nicaragua was also used twice as well in the third season. Like the first season, the second season visited six countries as well, using Malaysia as a setting once again (Season 1 shot on the
Malaysian Borneo East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. Near the coast of Sabah is a small archipelago called Labuan. East Malaysia li ...
, while Season 2's survivalists were stranded in
Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...
). Season 10 took contestants to the frozen tundra of Alaska and an African Kill Zone. ;United States ;International


Casting call

On July 31, 2013, Discovery Channel posted a casting call and a dare to "survive the 21-day challenge" via their Twitter account.


''Naked After Dark''

Following the success of the
live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
''Shark After Dark'', Discovery aired ''Naked After Dark'' in season two, which aired after each new episode. Host
Josh Wolf Josh Wolf or Josh Wolfe may refer to: * Josh Wolf (journalist) (born 1982), journalist and documentary filmmaker, video blogger * Josh Wolf (comedian) (born 2020), American stand-up comedian, actor and writer * Josh Wolfe, founder of Lux Capital * ...
talked with the cast from the episode, showed behind-the-scenes and never before seen episode footage and has in-studio stunts. It aired for 1 season with 6 episodes.


Pop-Up Editions

Starting in June 2014, Discovery started airing repeat episodes of the show with "Pop-Up" text on the screen. These graphics shed light on the countries and the survivalists with interesting and often humorous factoids. These shows premiere on Wednesday nights.


Reception


Critical reception

By the time of the 2015 season premiere, Brian Moylan of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called it the "best reality show on television" as it "takes the outrageousness of other reality genres, but applies it to celebrate human strength and fortitude rather than exploiting the frailty and narcissism of those that just want to be noticed." Reviewing the premiere in 2013, Brian Lowry of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' found ''Naked and Afraid'' to be "typical of the genre, but it's still kind of a risible kick, if only for how seriously the show takes itself." Melissa Camacho of
Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
, and David Hinckley of the New York '' Daily News'', gave the show 3 out of 5 stars. Mike Hale of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' expressed skepticism that the dangers implied by the situations faced by the couples in each episode were authentic, even by the standards of reality television, observing that the couple in the series premiere appeared to be cleaner and more shaven than he would have expected. Hale also was not impressed with the interaction between the two participants, whose personalities he found uninteresting, stating that he found the snake bite suffered by the field producer shown in the beginning of the episode to be more riveting.


Ratings

Discovery Channel issued a press release which announced some
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
milestones for the series. ''Naked And Afraid'' was the "#1 Ad-Supported program in cable among men on Sunday, July 28." They also noted that the program now shares the Discovery Channel record for the highest-rated survival telecast in the network's history since June 2009. The "Surthrive" episode in season 4, featuring Bo Stuart and Debbie Harris, is the highest rated episode in the history of the show.


Controversy

There has been controversy related to how real the show is. Former contestants have said that the locations are not as isolated as portrayed. A contestant was treated with
IV fluids Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutrie ...
so she could continue, but this was not shown.
Les Stroud Les Stroud (born October 20, 1961) is a Canadian survival expert, filmmaker and musician best known as the creator, writer, producer, director, cameraman and host of the television series ''Survivorman''. Stroud was named Chief Scout by Sc ...
, of the survival show ''
Survivorman ''Survivorman'' is a Canadian-produced television program, broadcast in Canada on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), and internationally on Discovery Channel and Science Channel. The title refers to the host of the show, Canadian filmmaker and su ...
'', has been very vocal with his criticism.


See also

* List of ''Naked and Afraid'' episodes * ''
Naked and Afraid XL ''Naked and Afraid XL'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel in 2015. This series is a spin-off of ''Naked and Afraid''. A group of people are given the task of surviving in the wilderness for an extend ...
'' * '' Marooned with Ed Stafford'' * '' Ed Stafford: Into The Unknown'' * ''
Walking the Amazon Walking the Amazon was an expedition conceived and successfully completed by British explorer Ed Stafford. It was the first time anyone had journeyed the entire length of the Amazon River from source to sea on foot and was recognised as an official ...
'' *
Robinsonade Robinsonade () is a literary genre that takes its name from the 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' by Daniel Defoe. The success of this novel spawned so many imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply a ...


International versions


References


External links

* *
Naked and Afraid
on
TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...
* Llewellyn Toulmin of ''The Montgomery Sentinel'', "Vegetarian survivalist Dani Beau beats the odds in the Colombian jungle," (interview), at http://www.themosttraveled.com/new_land.html {{Discovery Channel programming 2010s American reality television series 2013 American television series debuts Adventure reality television series American adventure television series Discovery Channel original programming English-language television shows Works about survival skills Television shows set in Africa Television shows set in Asia Television shows set in Europe Television shows set in North America Television shows set in Oceania Television shows set in South America Nudity in television