''Alone'' is an American survival competition series on

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, formerly the History Channel. It follows the self-documented daily struggles of 10 individuals (seven paired teams in season 4) as they survive alone in the

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

for as long as possible using a limited amount of survival equipment. With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. They may withdraw from the competition ("tap out") at any time, or be removed due to failing a medical check-in. The contestant who remains the longest wins a grand prize of $500,000 (USD) (increased to $1 million for season 7). The seasons have been filmed across a range of remote locations, usually on

first nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

-controlled lands, including northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentina,

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, Northern

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada (after Great Bear Lake), List of lakes by depth, the deepest lake in North America at , and the List of lakes by area, tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, and Chilko Lake in interior

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The series premiered on June 18, 2015. On August 19, before the finale of season 1, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which began production in the fall of 2015 on Vancouver Island, Canada. Season 2 premiered on April 21, 2016. Season 3 was filmed in the second quarter of 2016 in Patagonia, Argentina, and premiered on December 8. One day before the season 3 premiere, History announced that casting had begun for season 4. Season 4 was set in Northern Vancouver Island with a team dynamic and premiered on June 8, 2017. Season 5 was set in Northern Mongolia and allowed losers from previous seasons to return and compete. It premiered on June 14, 2018. Season 6 premiered on June 6, 2019 and featured ten all-new contestants between the ages of 31 and 55. It was set just south of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

on a lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The seventh season premiered on June 11, 2020. Participants attempted to survive for 100 days in the Arctic in order to win a $1 million prize. Season 8 was set on Chilko Lake, in

in the Coast Mountains in the Pacific Coast Range of western North America. Season 9 then took the show across the country to northern

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

. The tenth season premiered on June 8, 2023. The eleventh season was set in the Arctic circle, in

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories, third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Re ...

. This was followed by the twelfth season set in the Karoo Desert in South Africa, the hottest location for the series. Spin-offs and international versions of the series have also since been made.

Format and rules

General rules in all seasons

Contestants are dropped off in a remote wilderness area, far enough apart to ensure that they will not come in contact with one another. The process begins in mid- to late autumn; this adds time pressure to the survival experience as the approaching winter causes temperatures to drop and food to become scarce. Although terrains may differ in each contestant's location, the drop-off zones are assessed in advance to ensure a similar distribution of local resources is available to each contestant. Contestants each select 10 items of survival gear from a pre-approved list of 40, and are issued a kit of standard equipment, clothing and first aid/emergency supplies. They are also given a set of cameras to document their daily experiences and emotions. Attempting to live in the wild for as long as possible, the contestants must find food, build shelters, and endure deep isolation, physical deprivation and psychological stress. Contestants who wish to withdraw from the competition for any reason (referred to as "tapping out") may signal a rescue crew using a provided satellite telephone. In addition, medical professionals conduct periodic health checks on the contestants and may, at their discretion, disqualify and evacuate anyone they feel is unable to continue participating safely. The last remaining contestant wins a $500,000 (USD) cash prize. Contestants are warned that the show might last for up to a year.

Pairs format (Season 4)

Season 4 was also filmed in Northern Vancouver Island but included a team dynamic. Fourteen contestants, consisting of seven family-member pairs, were individually dropped off in remote areas of Northern Vancouver Island. The two members of each team chose 10 items of survival gear to be equally divided between them. The team chose one member to be taken to a campsite; the other began approximately away and was required to hike to the site, using only a

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

and bearing to find the way. If either member tapped out or was medically evacuated, his/her partner was disqualified as well. The last remaining team won the $500,000 (USD) prize.

Season 5

Season 5 contestants were selected from non-winning contestants from Seasons 1 through 4. The rules were otherwise similar to Seasons 1 through 3.

Season 7

For Season 7, the contestants attempted to survive for 100 days in order to win a grand prize of $1 million. In an "Alone: Tales from the Arctic" segment at the end of each episode, host Colby Donaldson spoke post-season to the contestants featured in that episode about what occurred, accompanied by "never before seen footage."

Season 8

Season 8 was filmed in fall 2020 on the shores of Chilko Lake,

, a high-altitude glacial-fed lake on the dry eastern side of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

. The season reverts to the original format of the show, with the last person standing (regardless of time frame) declared the winner and awarded $500,000 (USD).

Season 9

Season 9 was filmed in fall 2021 and set in the harsh weather conditions of Northeastern Labrador. The season featured two new digital content series: "The Ride Back", which focused on the emotions of the participants ahead of tapping out, and "Shelter From the Storm", an in-depth look at the ingenious shelters the participants build. Also, for the first time, the participants have to deal with a prey-stalking predator, the

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

Season 10

Season 10 is filmed in Reindeer Lake, Saskatchewan, near the Manitoba border.

Season 11

Season 11 is filmed the farthest north the show has ever been, 125 miles into the

on the coast of the Arctic Ocean.

Series overview

Reception

The series received positive reviews in its first season and outstanding reviews for its third season, and earned 2.5 million total viewers, placing it in the top three new nonfictional cable series of 2015.

Spin-offs

The first spin-off series of ''Alone'' is called ''Alone: The Beast'', which premiered on January 30, 2020 and is broken up into 6 episodes. In this series, three people (per episode) attempt to survive in the wild for 30 days, with no tools or supplies except for their own clothing and a freshly killed animal. The first three episodes take place somewhere in the North American Arctic Circle, and each trio is provided either a 1,000-pound bull

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

or musk ox. The last three episodes take place in the swamps of Louisiana, where they are given an

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

, respectively. There are no prizes given for the winners other than honor/bragging rights. In 2022, two new spin-off series were ordered. ''Alone: Frozen'' drops six former contestants on Labrador's east coast in the dead of winter, where they must survive for a set 50 days. The person or people who lasted that long split a cash prize of $500,000 (USD). ''Alone: The Skills Challenge'', brings back three former contestants who put their bushcraft skills to the test in head-to-head building competitions. Contestants are provided basic tools and can only use the natural resources around them. Both shows aired at the beginning of August after Season 9.

International versions

Legend: : Currently airing franchise : Franchise with an upcoming season : Franchise no longer aired : Status unknown

References

External links

* * {{History shows History (American TV channel) original programming Works about survival skills 2015 American television series debuts American English-language television shows 2010s American reality television series 2020s American reality television series Television shows filmed in British Columbia Television shows filmed in Argentina Television shows filmed in Mongolia Television shows filmed in the Northwest Territories Television shows filmed in Newfoundland and Labrador Television series by ITV Studios Reality competition television series Adventure reality television series