Don’t try this at home. Some people watch reality TV to see strangers fall in love ( Love Is Blind , The Bachelor ) or to root for people chasing their dreams ( The Voice , American Idol ), but the genre can be an extreme sport at times. Shows like Naked and Afraid and Alone push contestants to their limits as they attempt to survive in the wilderness with very few supplies.
While those of Us watching from the couch might think that the contestants are never in mortal peril — after all, there’s always a camera operator nearby, right? — the survival shows can get downright dangerous. “You have a camera man, a sound guy and a producer, but they don’t stay with you throughout the day. You’re left with a diary cam to film yourself,” Kaila Cumings , who has appeared on several seasons of Naked and Afraid , told The Guardian in 2023.
“If anything happens — and hopefully you haven’t blacked out — you have to grab your walkie-talkie and call the medics. But the medics are usually anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes away.” Plenty can go wrong when you’re by yourself in an unforgiving wilderness.
Being circled by two lions in a flimsy shelter, “going into anaphylactic shock” after getting multiple ant bites and fighting off a highly venomous 15-foot black mamba snake with a bow and arrow are just some of the situations Cumings faced on the show. Given the significant risks, it can be hard to believe that shows like Naked and Afraid exist. But Ian Dunkley , a .
