‘Celebrity Survivor’ Wannabe ‘Beyond the Edge’ Strands Colton Underwood in the Woods, Will Get More Exciting

In 2003, CBS lost a lawsuit against ABC and British ITV over the American version of ITV’s hit series I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here. According to a BBC report from January of that year, a district judge ruled that ABC and ITV did not borrow any more similarities to the CBS hit show. Survivor than any other reality TV show in creating series about celebrities trying to survive in a jungle.

In other words, Survivor basically created this game — a genre of planting and filming people who every day choose to live off the grid for… fun? —and now it has to live with the consequences…and the disappointments.

Although they won the case, the ABC version of I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here short-lived. Initially it lasted a season with dancer and Jennifer Lopez’s ex-husband, Cris Judd, winning over the likes of Melissa Rivers and Caitlyn Jenner. The series returned to the US airwaves briefly in 2009 (this time on NBC), but it lasted only one season. (Lou Diamond Phillips won that year, FYI.)

Why is this show in the news? It cannot. But in an unexpected twist, CBS’s latest show is returning to the story of I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here (American version). The British repeat was a huge success, completing its 21st (!) season in December.

With CBS finally getting involved in placing celebrities in locations without Wi-FI or modern plumbing, it raises the question: How are we? Last get what is basically the equivalent of a celebrity season Survivor? And are their “fish out of (filtered) water” dangers worth watching?

On Wednesday, CBS came out Out of bounds, a reality competition where nine celebrities raise money for charity by living in the jungles of Panama for two weeks.

Hosted by Showtime Sports announcer Mauro Ranallo, the show promises celebrities like Bachelor Aluminum Colton Underwood (controversial!), The real housewives of New York stars Eboni K. Williams (happy!) and Fuller House actress Jodie Sweetin (aww!), as well as athletes like Metta World Peace, Mike Singletary, and Ray Lewis—all testing their limits in the wild. Rounding out the cast are supermodel Paulina Porizkova and country singers Lauren Alaina and Craig Morgan.

Watched the first two episodes of Out of bounds, my review is actually a meme. I can’t stop thinking about how the show didn’t follow Tyra Banks’ instructions. In a meme-ified clip from America’s top modelin 2005, Banks told a contestant to “learn something from this”.

Unfortunately, it seems Out of bounds learned a few words I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here (US version) and failed at launch. And we, Survivor’s legions of devoted fans, cheered for you. We’ve all rooted for you!

Out of bounds feel so good Survivor without official designation. This is hard to ignore as the shows not only air on the same network, but Survivor be the one to lead to Out of bounds on Wednesday nights.

Survivor went through a renaissance during the pandemic, so it’s understandable that CBS might want to take advantage of it for a return to the tropics. (So ​​many. Fighting.) However, everything about Out of bounds back to that The CBS reality show is unnamed.

Both depend on beautiful nature photos and endless amounts of mud. Both feature contestants living in bamboo groves and open coconut palms. Even Ranallo’s introduction in the first episode evokes Probst’s signature emphatic opening monologue, punctuated by drone footage of a large, lush tropical location.

The challenges are also oddly similar, with teams wearing colorful accessories. (In Out of boundsthey’re sleeves, aren’t they SurvivorBuff’s signature.) They overcome obstacles that always seem to end with a puzzle.

For all the similarities, Out of bounds remember the background of Survivor: No stakes!

Celebrities may withdraw themselves from the contest, but no one will be voted out. The show manages to maintain suspense admirably with introductory clips previewing possible injuries and the ever-present threat of who might claim to go home. But viewers better understand the change of a TV movie clip. No shares, Out of bounds feels more like a company-wide group activity at a (mud) work break than an hour of engrossed television.

Of course, this begs the question: Why not just shoot an official spin-off titled Celebrity Survivors? Out of bounds has great potential. I found myself smiling throughout the first two episodes and even in tears when one contestant shared a heartbreaking anecdote about their family in the second episode.

After decades of reality shows (including Survivor) exploits the contestants’ goodness for laughs, it’s refreshing to see that cruelty and cruelty are not included in the formula. It also keeps the cast interesting. Porizkova is a gem, at one point even catering to buddy comedy with a mule in the pilot. Sweetin and Metta offer an unexpected friendship, while Singletary is the supportive father to the cohort. And don’t get me started with Alaina. Who knew such a charismatic personality would come from J.Lo-Steven Tyler’s days American Idol, where she started.

This investment in aggressive gameplay is a noble goal and may even be indicative of the growing age of competitive reality shows. Todrick Hall pisses off his co-workers Famous brother contestants with content classified as playing a “duplicate” game, while Survivor has largely lost its polarizing players in recent seasons. The reality TV competition brings the standard, the most class, the other class, top chef, also demonstrates just how much more fun the genre could be without the cliché of villains with “love-hate” plots and bad behavior – opting for close friendships instead.

There needs to be a way to have competitive reality TV without succumbing to sensationalism and disrespect. Out of bounds is close to that formula but doesn’t complete the puzzle.