Naked and Afraid is returning for its 17th season on the Discovery and Max. What’s it about?
Naked and Afraid has a simple premise: two people who have never met, often a man paired with a woman, are left stranded in a remote wilderness location with no food, water, or clothing. Their task: survive for 21 days using only their skills, resourcefulness, and the environment around them.
Key aspects of Naked and Afraid include nudity (of course!). Part of the gig is that contestants are completely naked throughout the duration of their survival challenge. This is the part that trips me out the most from the standpoint of whyyyyy? Meanwhile, they have to do all the stuff that’s part and parcel to other survival shows of its ilk, like finding water, foraging for food, building shelters – participants are allowed to bring “one personal item” with them onto the show – and not getting eaten, poked, prodded, or maimed by being completely naked in the middle of the wilderness.
And, ah yes, there’s a $500,000 prize up for grabs as well. It’s not the $1 million that Survivor offers, but not bad!
What’s given the show longevity, beyond the core premise, surely must be the casting – always a key element for success in reality television – and moving the action to different natural environments: jungles, deserts, swamps, mountains. Oh, what fun!
Naked and Afraid: why should I watch?
This clip from the upcoming Season 17 says it all with, “It’s crazy dangerous.”
Oh, and: “We’re on the menu!”
And: “I guess we’re gonna eat leaches later.”
If that’s not enough for you, we see what looks like a mountain lion or cougar, a crocodile, and a huge hippo. Not to mention lots and lots of dirty naked people with the their naughty bits obfuscated to rein it into the parameters of basic cable TV standards.
Let’s do it!
Naked and Afraid: when and where is it on?
The 17th season premiere of Naked and Afraid will air Sunday, February 18th, 2024 at 8/7c.
Okay, I’m lost in the wilderness and I somehow happen to be naked and alone. Beyond trying to survive and get back to civilization and stuff, what songs should I sing to myself to give myself hope?
Sure, food, water, shelter, human companionship and not getting devoured by enormous, terrifying creatures with retractable razor sharp claws and talons and stuff is all super important, no doubt.
But music is the thing that truly gives us sustenance, yes?
Here are some song selections to sing to yourself to help you get through if you’re ever in such a dire predicament (particularly outside the bounds of a reality television production):
- “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles
- “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers
- “Break on Through” by The Doors
- “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
- “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey (bonus! Think about all of your favorite Sopranos episodes and or your Best 100 TV Shows ever!)
- “Brave” by Sara Bareilles
- “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
- “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman
- “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong (just wrote about this one as part of the Good Morning, Vietnam soundtrack piece for the best 1,000 albums ever project)
- “Beautiful Day” by U2
- “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell