Discovery Channel
Don’t try this at home.
Some people watch reality TV to see strangers fall in love (Love Is Blind, The Bachelor) or to root for people chasing their dreams (The Voice, American Idol), but the genre can be an extreme sport at times.
Shows like Naked and Afraid and Alone push contestants to their limits as they attempt to survive in the wilderness with very few supplies. While those of Us watching from the couch might think that the contestants are never in mortal peril — after all, there’s always a camera operator nearby, right? — the survival shows can get downright dangerous.
“You have a camera man, a sound guy and a producer, but they don’t stay with you throughout the day. You’re left with a diary cam to film yourself,” Kaila Cumings, who has appeared on several seasons of Naked and Afraid, told The Guardian in 2023. “If anything happens — and hopefully you haven’t blacked out — you have to grab your walkie-talkie and call the medics. But the medics are usually anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes away.”
Plenty can go wrong when you’re by yourself in an unforgiving wilderness. Being circled by two lions in a flimsy shelter, “going into anaphylactic shock” after getting multiple ant bites and fighting off a highly venomous 15-foot black mamba snake with a bow and arrow are just some of the situations Cumings faced on the show.
Related: These ‘Naked and Afraid’ Injuries Were Outrageous and Terrifying
Discovery Channel Naked and Afraid gives its viewers exactly what it says on the tin. Each episode follows the journey of two people meeting for the first time, completely naked, and their attempt to survive in the wilderness for 21 days. Upon meeting at their designated location — whether it’s India or Mozambique— the partners […]
Given the significant risks, it can be hard to believe that shows like Naked and Afraid exist. But Ian Dunkley, a producer for Alone, which sends 10 people into the wilderness with limited equipment and tasks them with surviving for as long as possible, has said he is “not in the business of killing anybody.”
“Anybody who signed up to the series went into it with open eyes. They’re given what’s known in the business as ‘the talk of death,’ explaining the worst that could happen,” Dunkley told The Guardian. “You have this very, very thick stack of paperwork, saying you’re basically signing your life away.”
Survival shows aren’t the only example of high-risk reality TV. Keep scrolling to see the most dangerous reality shows of all time.
‘Kid Nation’
The short-lived CBS show had a seemingly wholesome premise: a group of children tasked with creating a functioning government and society on a ranch in New Mexico. However, the participants, who ranged in age from 8 to 15, had minimal adult supervision, which led to some dangerous situations.
11-year-old Divad Miles was burned when hot grease splattered onto her face while cooking on Kid Nation (the children had to cook their own meals during the social experiment). Her mother, Janis Miles, filed a complaint in 2007 requesting an investigation into child abuse, neglect and endangerment. Santa Fe authorities investigated the allegations but found no criminal activity, the New York Times reported at the time.
Several children from the show also required medical attention after accidentally drinking bleach that had been left in an unmarked soda bottle.
Although Ghen Maynard, the Executive Vice President for Alternative Programming at CBS, said in an August 2007 interview that the company felt “very comfortable” that Kid Nation was “appropriate from a legal point of view,” the show only lasted one season and has a complicated legacy. It was the subject of the second episode of the 2024 VICE docuseries Dark Side of Reality TV. During the episode, Jimmy Flynn, the youngest of the contestants, claimed that camera operators would smile encouragingly when the children became physically violent with each other, making no attempt to intervene.
‘Dancing on Ice’
Joshua Sammer/Getty Images
The British television series, which premiered on ITV in 2006 and is still airing today after a hiatus from 2014-2018, is essentially Dancing With the Stars on ice. The risks of amateurs getting paired with skating pros was demonstrated when media personality Rebekah Vardy cut her partner Andy Buchanan’s face with her skate while training for season 13 in 2021.
“The back of my heel and my blade sliced his face open,” Vardy told The Sun at the time, noting that Buchanan was “fine” despite the incident being “quite scary.”
Actress Jennifer Ellison struck her own head with her skate during season 7 in 2012 while attempting to do a scorpion kick. She finished her routine before leaving the rink to seek medical attention with blood pouring from her head.
“I felt like I’d been hit with a brick. I thought my head was going to be hanging off, honestly, that’s how strong it was,” Ellison said of the accident during a 2012 appearance on the talk show Daybreak. “The blade actually sliced through my hair. The blade is that sharp. My hair’s like somebody cut it with a knife or scissors. I’ve lost a big chunk of hair.”
Despite being “in shock,” Ellison noted that she was “absolutely fine and I’ve been glued together.”
‘Survivor’
The beloved CBS reality series might seem cushy compared to Alone or Naked and Afraid, but contestants do get hurt. In addition to the physical competitions and the social strategy, participants are living in remote locations eating mostly fruit and fish. To date, 19 castaways have been removed from the show for medical reasons.
Notable examples include season 32’s Neal Gottlieb, who was forced to leave the competition after developing multiple staph infections on his back and legs, and season 34’s Caleb Reynolds, who was medically evacuated after suffering a heat stroke.
Reynolds told People in 2016 that his body reached a temperature of 107 degrees during the heat stroke.
“I was non-responsive. I only responded one time during 20 minutes. They lifted my eyelids up and my eyes were rolled into the back of my head. It just seemed like I was only getting worse, so they pulled me from the game,” he recalled. “I was in the ICU for five days.”
‘Naked and Afraid’
Discover Channel
Perhaps it’s no surprise that a show that sends contestants into the wilderness in their birthday suits with only one survival item of their choice would produce some crazy medical crises. Season 7 of Naked and Afraid XL, a spinoff that extended the experience from 21 days to 40 days, yielded one of the most severe injuries in the Discovery Channel show’s history.
After contestant E.J. Snyder fell from a tree branch into a swamp, he suffered severe lacerations on his scrotum. The show’s medical staff advised him that if he remained in the game, he ran the risk of a potentially life-threatening infection and the loss of his genitals. Despite the warning, Snyder remained in the competition after receiving eight stitches.
Infection is a serious concern on Naked and Afraid XL, as season 3 contestant Matt Wright knows all too well. During the 2017 season, Wright was medically evacuated after his foot became infected with a flesh-eating bacteria.
‘The Jump’
ESPN
Similar to Dancing on Ice, the danger of The Jump, which aired on ITV from 2014 to 2017, came from the contestants’ lack of experience; stars trying to master winter sports including bob sledding and ski cross led to some pretty gnarly accidents.
Former Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle was airlifted to the hospital after suffering two fractured vertebrae while training on a ski jump in Austria in 2016. She required surgery on her spinal cord to fuse two vertebrae, which was successful.
Actress Tina Hobley was also injured on the show in 2016 after falling during a practice jump.
“I had three major traumas,” Hobley told Hello! of the accident in 2016. “My elbow came out of its socket and my arm was broken in two places; I tore my rotator cuff in my shoulder – a common rugby injury which has ended careers – and I had a full rupture of my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] in the knee.”
‘Alone’
A+E Networks
Season 8 Alone contestant Colter Barnes was medically evacuated after losing 86 pounds during his 67 days living off the land on the shores of Chilko Lake.
Lack of food isn’t the only threat to contestants on the History channel show. Season 7’s Callie Russell was removed from the competition due to frostbitten toes and season 2’s Kate Green had to quit after cutting her arm with an ax while chopping firewood.
Related: Survivor 46’s Randen Gets Pulled From Game After Losing Feeling in Hand
Since Survivor premiered in 2000, several players have been medically evacuated and some of their injuries have been downright scary. Michael Skupin was the first contestant to be pulled from the game during Survivor: The Australian Outback back in 2001. On day 17, the software publisher fell into the campfire, which left him with severe […]
‘Splash’
ABC
On Splash, which aired on CBS for one season in 2013, celebrity contestants performed dives from extreme heights. In just eight episodes, several participants suffered injuries due to the dangerous nature of the sport.
Pro skier Rory Bushfield ruptured his eardrum, Drake Bell suffered a black eye after hitting the water face-first and model Katherine Webb quit the show after experiencing pain from the middle of her back down to her leg.
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“For several days, she couldn’t get out of bed by herself,” Katherine’s mother, Leslie Webb, told the Ledger-Enquirer of the injury at the time.
The show’s production company, Eyeworks USA, said in a 2013 statement to Fox News that “safety” was the “No. 1 priority” for Splash.
“We work closely with top trainers and coaches, including the legendary Greg Louganis and the USA Diving organization. Diving is a serious and demanding sport, as we’ve shown on the show each week,” the statement continued. “All of the contestants have been provided the best possible medical evaluation and care. We applaud their fierce commitment to their training and the efforts they have shown in mastering the challenges of diving.”
