Premiering This Sunday At 7.30pm.
On TEN And WIN Network.
The countdown is on to the premiere of the highly anticipated and spectacular family entertainment series Australian Survivor on Sunday 21 August, at 7.30pm on Network Ten.
Kicking off in just six days, Australian Survivor will see 24 fit and formidable Aussies marooned on the stunning and rugged tropical island of Samoa with nothing but the clothes on their back and the drive to be the sole survivor.
A firefighter, an ex-professional cricketer, a criminal lawyer, a firefighter and a high school teacher are just some of the contestants who will push their bodies to the limit as they compete in epic and physically demanding challenges, while mentally navigating their way through cunning and strategic game play.
Law student Conner, 23, from Canberra considers himself a super fan. He says: āI have been a huge fan of Survivor for as long as I can remember. Iāve watched almost every season and every episode. I know the game inside out. I love being thrown in the deep end and I love a challenge and what better rite of passage to manhood than a challenge as big as this.ā
Army corporal El, 33, from Queensland is ready for the challenge. She says: āOn Survivor I will be in my element. Iām third generation Army. Itās the core of who I am. Being in the army, you are surrounded by heroes and by people that are always stepping out of their comfort zones.ā
The Survivor motto is outwit, outplay, outlast, and former professional cricketer Lee, 40, from Queensland wants to do it all with a conscience. He says: āItās important to play a fair game because itās how I was brought up. Thereās the notion out there that you have to lie, that you have to cheat, that you have to back stab, and Iām of the belief that you donāt have to do that to win the game.ā
Watch the first six minutes of the first episode of Australian Survivor.
Ten are putting a heap into advertising for this. Apparently at Flinders St station this morning they are handing out Australian Survivor buffs.
They interviewed the host on Hamish and Andy and he mentioned that there are medical evacuations (not surprising given its 55 daysā¦) and at least one tribal council where 2 Idols come into play. So I would assume that means there are Hidden Immunity Idols and it does sound like they are trying to replicate the current US game which is more strategic than survival focused.
The main disadvantage of 24 contestants though is that they are extending the pre-merge of the season, when things usually only get really exciting at the merge. So the first half of the season is at risk of dragging on a lot. I hope thatās not a big mistake as the production quality is looking good but that only gets you so far.
What are peoples ratings predictions? I never thought an Aussie version here would do well again but with all the advertising I think it could launch to 900k-1mill but will probably drop off from there.
I wouldnāt be surprised to see it tip the 1 million mark for the premiere and I think Ten would be expecting a million viewers plus for the opener. I canāt imagine it is a cheap show to produce either so it probably needs to pull in consistent figures of that markā¦ weāll see I guess if Ten can have a show doing 800k-1mil Sun/Mon and with Bachelor pulling good figure Wed/Thur they should have a solid end to the year.
They had bucketloads of advertising at a site next to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last night before the footy started, there was digitial billboards, Samoan dancers, photo booth & social media challenge to win $1000 cash to name a few.
Also the obligatory digitial billboards all around Brisbane at the moment. Hope it does well for them!
Mumbrella can reveal Hungry jacks, Medibankās AHM Health Insurance and Holden have all bought into the show as tier one sponsors, with Hungry Jacks poised to make Survivor a significant part of its image over coming weeks.
The highlight of the show has always been the Tribal Council eliminations. A few short minutes at the end of every episode where the tensions of the preceding days are distilled into fiery confrontations urged on by the manipulative questioning of the showās US host and executive producer, Jeff Probst. The filming often lasted hours in order to drive contestants to the edge and get the perfect result.
On a side noteā¦
I have very low expectations of this show. Reviving old formats has not proven to be successful recently, so I canāt imagine how creating Australian spin-off versions of US shows that are well past their prime would fare any better. The ratings of the US Survivor on GO! also donāt seem to suggest many Australians have a interest in the show at all.
Personally, I think that Australian Survivor has the potential to rate moderately well (ie, good enough numbers to ensure a 2nd season in 2017) but I donāt see it being a smash hit for Ten.
