When SBS announced a local version of US survival series Alone last month, it triggered a flurry of excitement through social media.
But Chris Irvine Acting Director of Television and Online Content at SBS was none too surprised.
“Alone is an absolute juggernaut for SBS,” he tells TV Tonight.
“SBS on Demand currently houses seven seasons of the US A+E format. Season eight is coming this year. There are also local adaptations from Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It is quite simply the most successful factual ever on our platform. It’s second only to The Handmaid’s Tale in terms of its overall consumption. There’s a really great reason for that… it’s amazing TV.”
ITV Studios Australia will produce the series, but uniquely, there is no crew, no producers, just 10 individuals dropped off, alone into separate parts of a remote wilderness location. The goal is to survive alone for as long as possible with a limited amount of survival equipment but can leave or ‘tap out’ at any time they wish. The survivalist who lasts the longest wins a “life changing prize.”
“Mid-last year, I sat down with my young family to watch the first season,” says Irvine. “Over the next few months, we ended up watching every episode of every season back to back. It’s a tremendously complicated show to make but the format’s pretty simple. You drop 10 people with survival training in a remote wilderness with a minimal case of supplies and you ask them to defend themselves for as long as they can,” he continues.
“There are 10 people but they are isolated from each other and they are all, in real time, trying to survive. Having to feed themselves, having to shelter themselves. Instinct to survive is such a fundamental part of humanity that it applies to every one of us. So that gets you immediately invested in that struggle.
“It’s not about dealing with predators or even the extremes of the environment. The show’s about what happens to social creatures like human beings, when they’re isolated. Maybe that’s why it was such compelling viewing during the COVID lockdowns last year.”
David Mott of ITV Studios Australia added, “We are well and truly into pre production on the Australian version of Alone. The casting call announced two weeks ago has seen an unprecedented level of interest I’ve not seen in many years for a show. We will soon be announcing our location for what will be an incredible must see series of this brilliant global brand.”
The casting called for people who have survival skills, such as adventurists, bush crafters, expert hunters, foragers and more. Applicants must be aged 18+ and the call-out includes First Nations, LGBTIA+, people with a disability, and those traditionally under-represented on screen.
It will screen in 2023.
If you’re up to the task you can apply here.