Warning! The following contains spoilers for the series premiere of Extracted, "Survive The Night." Stream it with a Hulu subscription and read at your own risk!
Fox has another reality show on the 2025 TV schedule, and as a longtime fan of the genre, I'm here to say Extracted is worth checking out. As someone who frequently has trouble getting invested in a new game and its competitors early on, this show has cracked the code on how to have me locked in from the season premiere.
I originally thought Special Forces: World's Toughest Test (which recently completed Season 3) was the most brutal reality show on television, but Extracted gives it a run for its money. Twelve untrained competitors are left to fend for themselves in the wilderness for $250,000, and back at HQ are their friends and family who can help them and send them home if things get too rough. The series premiere was great, and it's that unique dynamic between competitors and their loved ones that has me so psyched for more episodes.
Extracted Featuring Family Members And Friends Gives Viewers A Better Idea Of Competitors
I'm a Big Brother superfan who absolutely loved the latest season, but even it suffers from kicking off a season full of contestants I'm not the slightest bit invested in. In the premiere, they're all just generic people, and it's only through watching them on live feeds with a Paramount+ subscription and tuning into episodes that I begin to grow attached. This problem isn't unique to Big Brother, of course; it happens with all shows, except maybe the ones that bring in celebrities like The Traitors.
Extracted has found a way to remedy this by pairing each contestant with two people who know them better than anyone else. While the people in the wilderness are loaded with gusto and confidence about how they'll win, their friends and family back at HQ are not afraid at all to expose how drastically unprepared they are for all of this. The loved ones play a big part in telling the audience exactly who these competitors are, and in turn, it makes the show much more exciting to watch.
The Season Premiere Already Had So Much Drama, I Can't Wait To See Where It Goes
Extracted already had drama in the series premiere, and it's surprisingly more entertaining than seeing a ton of celebrities injure themselves whilst training with Special Forces. I was particularly invested in Anthony, who realized after a night in the wilderness that he was no longer interested in $250,000. He demanded that his parents press the button so he could go home, and they remained firm and refused to do so. I'd love to see how things went for them after this show, especially if he sticks around for some more episodes.
Also I was in stitches laughing at Woody, whose son and nephew were all but banging their heads against the table watching the 50-year-old try to survive in the elements. After being unsuccessful in trying to build a fire, the retired law enforcement officer decided to start chugging lake water, and praying that he'd somehow avoid getting sick. As his son Blake pointed out, the chances of that happening were slim to nil, and he almost pressed the button before his dad started vomiting all over the place.
The only thing I would love to see added to Extracted at this point is a way for the families to communicate to their competitors while they play the game. I don't think I'd want there to be constant communication, but maybe just a timer with a total of 60 seconds every day. Hey, the season just started, so maybe there's a chance we'll get that! In any case, I'm ready to see where the rest of the season goes.
Catch new episodes of Extracted on Fox on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Reality fans, this show is off to a great start, so make sure to get on board before next week's episode.
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