Survivor (British TV series)
Survivor | |
---|---|
Reality competition | |
Created by | Charlie Parsons |
Based on | Expedition Robinson/Survivor by Charlie Parsons |
Presented by | |
Starring | John Leslie |
Theme music composer | Russ Landau (2001–2002) Jeremy Birchall (2023-) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 3 |
No. of episodes | 42 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Nigel Lythgoe (2001–2002)
|
Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
Production companies | Planet 24 (2001–2002) Remarkable Entertainment (2023–) |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 21 May 2001 29 May 2002 | –
Network | BBC One |
Release | 28 October 2023 present | –
Related | |
International versions |
Survivor (also known as Survivor UK outside of the UK) is a British
The series aired for two seasons on the ITV network in 2001 and 2002, but the series was considered a ratings failure despite the programme having a higher viewership than other reality series at the time, including Big Brother. ITV cancelled Survivor after two seasons because it had failed to garner a loyal viewership. The network admitted fault for not supporting the series enough in its launch phase, highlighting the key issue with their approach to the scheduling of the series.
In September 2022, a revival of the series was announced by the BBC to be broadcast in 2023 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.[1]
Format
The show follows the same general format as the other editions of Survivor. To begin, the players are split into two tribes and are taken to a remote, isolated location and are forced to live off the land with meagre supplies for a period of several weeks. Frequent physical and mental challenges are used to pit the tribes against each other for rewards, such as food or luxuries, or for immunity, forcing the other tribe to attend Tribal Council, where they must vote one of their tribemates out of the game by secret ballot.
About halfway through the game, the tribes are merged into a single tribe, and challenges are on an individual basis; winning immunity prevents that player from being voted out. Most players that are voted out during this stage become members of the Tribal Council Jury. When only two or three players remain, the Final Tribal Council is held. The finalists plead their case to the Jury as to why they should win the game. The jurors then have the opportunity to interrogate the finalists before casting their vote for which finalist should be considered the "Sole Survivor" and be awarded the grand prize. The prize on the 2001–2002 ITV iteration was £1,000,000[2] and is £100,000 on the 2023 BBC iteration.[3]
Like other editions of the show, the British edition has introduced numerous modifications or twists on the core rules to prevent players from over-relying on strategies that succeeded in prior seasons or other editions of the show. Most notably, the Hidden Immunity Idols (small trinkets hidden on the island) were introduced part way through the third season. Players can use these hidden idols to save themselves or another player at the Tribal Council from being voted off. Also introduced was The Outpost, which exiles players for a predetermined amount of time while offering dilemmas and decisions that may help or hinder their game.
History
Original run
The first series,
Despite being low in ratings by ITV's expectations, Survivor was the most watched reality television series in the UK at its time of airing, such as
I'm a Celebrity ... lawsuit
After Survivor was axed by ITV, the network began broadcasting I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, the format of which had many similarities to Survivor, and which received massive ratings in August 2002. The show's similarity in content to Survivor led many viewers to believe that the shows had some licensing agreement, however this was not the case. Legal action was sought by CBS to prevent broadcast in the US, however the court ruled against, stating that "Celebrity is different enough from Survivor that CBS would have difficulty prevailing in its underlying copyright infringement suit."[14]
2023 revival
Following the
Reports began circulating again in 2022 that the series would be revived, this time with BBC One said to be the potential new home of the series. Broadcast reported that the revival deal for Survivor is "on the brink", and that if the deal is finalised, the third series of the programme will be filmed in 2023 with thirteen episodes.[16] Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly put forward his hopes for a revival of the programme. He felt that the key reasons for the series' initial failure lay with having a pre-recorded format which meant that viewers had no say into the events of the series. However, Kilkelly opined that the success of The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off, both of which use pre-recorded formats, suggested that the British audience would now be ready to support a Survivor format.[4] In September 2022, it was confirmed that Remarkable Entertainment (a subsidiary of Banijay) would produce a new series and would air on BBC One in 2023 consisting of 16 episodes.[17] Contestant applications opened on 24 November. With the announcement of the application process, the prize of £100,000 was revealed.[3][18] On 17 February 2023, Joel Dommett was confirmed as host of the revival.[19]
Series overview
No. | Game Information | Results | Host | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Start date | Finish date | Days | Castaways | Original tribes | Winner | Runner(s) up | Final vote | |||
ITV iteration (2001–2002) | |||||||||||
1
|
Pulau Tiga, Sabah, Malaysia | 21 May 2001 | 25 July 2001 | 40 | 16 | Two tribes of eight new players | Charlotte Hobrough | Jackie Carey | 7–0 | Mark Austin[a] | |
2
|
Bocas del Toro, Panama | 13 March 2002 | 29 May 2002 | 37 | 12 | Two tribes of six new players | Jonny Gibb | Susannah Moffat | 7–0[b] | Mark Nicholas | |
BBC iteration (2023–present) | |||||||||||
3
|
Playa Caleton, Dominican Republic[3] | 28 October 2023 | 16 December 2023 | 34 | 18 | Two tribes of nine new players | Matthew Haywood | Christopher Haul & Leilani Sen |
6–1–1 | Joel Dommett |
- Notes
- ^ John Leslie hosted a live studio-based companion show, conducting exit interviews with the players and presenting additional footage of events from the game.
- ^ On Survivor: Panama, the British public cast a Jury Vote by televoting, alongside six eliminated players. The British public voted for Jonny Gibb with 89% of the vote.
Production
Locations
Continent | Locations | Season number(s) | |
---|---|---|---|
Asia | Malaysia | Pulau Tiga, Sabah | 1
|
Central America | Panama | Bocas del Toro | 2
|
North America | Dominican Republic | Playa Caleton | 3
|
International broadcast
The series airs on the following channels outside of the UK:
- In Australia, the BBC iteration of the series is available to stream on the 10 Play on the day after each episode has aired on BBC One. This is a companion to Australian Survivor aired by Network 10.[20]
- In New Zealand, the BBC iteration is available to stream on TVNZ+.[21]
See also
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References
- ^ "Survivor will land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2023". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ a b "How to survive Survivor". BBC News. 17 May 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Ravindran, Manori (24 November 2022). "'Survivor' U.K. Opens Casting for Historic BBC Edition". Variety.
- ^ a b c "Why Survivor deserves a second chance on UK television". Digital Spy. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Survivor makes disappointing debut". Digital Spy. 22 May 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor to be cut back?". Digital Spy. 6 June 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "ITV confirms Survivor shift". Digital Spy. 6 June 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor fails to gather pace". Digital Spy. 6 June 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor final draws 8m". Digital Spy. 26 July 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor proves a TV dinosaur". BBC. 25 July 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor 2 decision awaited". Digital Spy. 28 August 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor returns with new look". BBC News. 13 March 2002. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor 2: ITV releases scheduling details". Digital Spy. 6 March 2002. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "CBS loses lawsuit; ABC's "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" to air in February". Reality TV World. 14 January 2003. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
- ^ "Banijay Acquire Castaway Productions, Could Survivor UK Return?". 20 July 2017.
- ^ "BBC on brink of Survivor reboot". Broadcast. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Survivor will land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2023". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ Shaw, Neil (24 November 2022). "You can apply to be on Survivor as reality TV show makes comeback". HullLive.
- ^ "The tribe has spoken and Joel Dommett is confirmed to host Survivor, lighting a torch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer". www.bbc.co.uk. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Survivor UK 2023: Meet The Contestants". 10 play. 25 October 2023.
- ^ https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/survivor-uk
External links
- Survivor at BBC Online
- Survivor at IMDb
- Survivor at UKGameshows.com