While Discovery has built a brand around educational programming, in recent years the cable channel has restructured to include some more entertaining reality programs to bring larger and different audiences to the network. Among these hits is Naked and Afraid, a series that follows two individuals who are dropped off in the woods in the buff and have to survive for 21 days. Now, the network has revealed it is putting together a spinoff called Naked and Afraid XL.
While Naked and Afraid is a fairly explanatory title, at first glance, adding an XL almost sounds as if the program will be a weird hybrid between a survival and weight loss challenge. In actuality, Naked and Afraid XL will be a “social challenge" that will simply take 12 former Naked and Afraid contestants and drop them off, asking them to survive. According to THR, six men and six women will be dropped off for a total of 40 days rather than 21 days. Expect lots more blurred out nudity than ever before.
Instead of being like most reality series with ensemble casts, Naked and Afraid isn’t a competition series. There will be no gimmicky challenges and no voting people off. The goal is to figure out how to survive in the wilderness, although with more people in the picture, the potential for drama and other shenanigans is certainly higher. Discovery is looking to premiere Naked and Afraid XL during the summer.
The original Naked and Afraid has already been a pretty big hit for the Discovery Channel, doing well over a million viewers each week. The series even spawned a talk program related to the series called Naked After Dark, which features interviews with recent participants. Just last year, the show received even more attention when Seth Rogen and James Franco appeared in a special episode. With three seasons under its belt, Naked and Afraid has enough former survivalists for a spinoff, as well.
Discovery has already been making some changes to its lineup following the fiasco where the Eaten Alive special didn’t actually feature a man getting eaten alive. If you aren’t excited for the Naked and Afraid summer special, the network has already announced that it will air “Summer of the Shark” rather than the more typical “Shark Week,” although “Shark Week” will still happen, beginning on July 5. With all of this shark-based programming, I’m not sure when Naked and Afraid XL will be happening, but we’ll let you know as soon as it does.
