Watching the show Survivor hurts. It is not a fight for survival, but a farce and a fight for a ticket home

About 10,000 people signed up for the new series of the Survivor reality show, who wanted to fight for a prize of 2.5 million crowns on the Caribbean islands, and especially for the title of Survivor in 2024.

Casting lasted four months. Hundreds of selected candidates interested in participating in the show had to pass physical and psychological tests. And only those who passed this basic sieve joined the queue from which the production selected the most interesting personalities for the audience.

Among the twenty-four finalists who eventually left for the sunny beaches are familiar faces who started out in the red Titans team. And people unknown to the media, who together form the blue team of Hunters.

But let’s face it – the casting failed.

Instead of fighting for food, rewards and immunity, the contestants rather compete to see who misses their family more and who wants to go home more. They cry, they are sad and some even collapse in health.

Fashion designer Rachel, for example, went home with a bang. Most fans of the reality show know the temperamental Slovakian from the last series of Love Island, where the dreadlocked redhead could create serious drama. Apparently, the production also promised it from Survivor.

But Rachel couldn’t handle it mentally. The result was a prearranged duel for survival, which she deliberately lost. It was extremely painful.

Even seasoned moderator Ondřej Novotný couldn’t hold back and called this theater a gathering of slobs. He didn’t even want to moderate a clear fight in advance. And I’m not surprised at him.

Another voluntary renegade from the ranks of celebrities was businesswoman Ornella Koktová. It’s a wonder that she could even pass the allegedly demanding physical tests. The show hasn’t even started yet, and her husband Josef Kokta has already announced to the media that he can’t last without food anyway.

After a few days on the island, where she lived only on rice and coconut, she collapsed. Returning from the hospital to the Titan tribe, she said she was voluntarily quitting. And she justified it, among other things, by the fact that she is, after all, a mother. She probably forgot before that she had three small children at home.

And the popular actress Ivana Jirešová from the red tribe of the Titans probably wasn’t pleased with the production either. According to the tabloid media, she also ended voluntarily due to health problems. But we don’t know officially – Jirešová is still competing in the show. But her departure will also be a deliberate loss in the duel.

In addition – after the secret return, the actress went shopping and someone saw her. She explained that she lived alone and was hungry. She thus deprived the audience of a surprise.

And auditor Iva from the second tribe of Hunters would also like a ticket home. After two weeks on the island, she realized that instead of competing in Survivor, she wants to have a child with her husband, who is waiting for her at home.

And the fireman Filip from the blue tribe, who was missing his son, was equally sad. One of the last tribal councils looked like the entire blue tribe – with a few exceptions – just wanted to go home to their families instead of fighting for the title.

I consider the new series to be very weak so far and I think that the casting was not successful. The production took over in my opinion. Some of the contestants should not have been in the shortlist at all, simply because at first glance they do not meet the allegedly demanding requirements.

In the crowd of ten thousand people who were interested in participating in Survivor, there would certainly be those who would do everything to stay in the competition as long as possible. And so it should be. I would enjoy that as a viewer.

But instead of fighting for survival, I really don’t enjoy watching contestants asking for an earlier ticket home in arranged duels.

You can find more about the program and individual participants here:

https://voyo.nova.cz/survivor-2024

https://tv.nova.cz/porad/survivor