Naked and Afraid

Cafe Society
21

Naked and Afraid XL is a season-long challenge, where a dozen people start out in groups of three and try to survive 40 days.

The main show is a different challenge every episode where two people try to survive 21 days. If you’re interesting enough for a TV show in your 21-day stint there’s a good chance they’ll invite you to a 40-day XL season.

Last two XLs have actually been increased to 60 days. I kind of feel like that’s a response to Alone, which generally goes 70 days or more.

22

Though “interesting” doesn’t always mean “good.” A lot of XL participants are invited back specifically because they were nutjobs.

23

Exactly. At first I wrote if you finished the 21-day challenge, but of course that’s not a requirement. So then I wrote if you’re good on your 21-day challenge, but then I realized that’s not a requirement either. If it were, Nathan* would have been a staple of every XL since his 21 day episode.

So then I realized what the reality was and changed it to 'if you’re good for TV. ’

*He’s the guy who dug a pit and put a roof over it so that his partner could get away from the bugs. Worked like a charm, she got in and there were no bugs at all. But then about an hour later she got out and said it was too claustrophobic. Thousands of calories wasted. Sorry Nathan!

24

Thanks. If it streams, I might check out an XL version someday.

25

Discovery+, but they don’t yet have the rights to stream XL seasons live as they air. I think it might be Hulu, but only if you have their expensive “Live TV” package.

So right now on Discovery+ you could stream all XL seasons except the current one, which probably ends this coming Sunday. After Sunday you could stream that one as well.

If you wanted to just check it out to see what’s what, you might start with season 2 instead of 1. A little less off-putting drama*, plus it has Jake, who is TV gold.

*There are two types of drama on XL (group) shows, both of which I find cringey but for different reasons. First is food-sharing drama, which is just inexcusable. (Hi Jeff!) The second is high school mean girls drama, which is unwatchable.

26

I watched it when it first came out because the title is audacious and the show was just so ridiculous . Also, because the formula was:

  • Man who had served in the armed forces and thought he was amazing.
  • Woman who lives off the land somewhere.
  • He does something incredibly stupid
  • She builds a working steam engine out of the palm fronds and coconut husks she foraged while he was posturing around trying to kill something with an unsharpened stick.
  • He gets sick and drops out (usually from the something stupid - eating poison, drinking bacteria) or because he whines himself out
  • She keeps on - surviving off of her fish traps, several species of local flora that she’s harvesting, and the shelter and wardrobe she’s constructed for herself. Eventually she makes her way back to the check in point.
  • His survival rating drops. Hers rises - but still, not quite as high as his for some reason

Now, I’ll put it on in the background if I’m doing something else. It’s not like you have to pay close attention to it so it works perfectly as background tv.

27

That guy is a professional reality TV contestant. I’ve seen him on at least two other shows that were not N&A. That said, great guy. Kind, empathetic, even-keeled, strong but not “I need 10,000 calories a day” strong, generally good survival judgment (though I was yelling at my TV when they were all gorging on that weird fruit that made them all sick). I could watch that guy all day!

28

Can’t wait to watch him on the new Naked and Frozen XL season starting at the end of this month.

29

I’ve noticed the people from Maryland almost always do well. I’m sure people from other states have good records as well, but I only really notice their hometown if it’s in Maryland, and the Maryland people almost always make it to the end. The females, at least, always make it to the end.

30

Not the one person from Rhode Island I know of. I think she only made it through two days. Being a bartender from RI is sometimes a tough job, but it involves a different type of survival skill that doesn’t translate to a jungle well.

31

I never really notice home states, and typically XL contestants are referred to by their 21-day season as opposed to their home state.

Is there a term for Australia and New Zealand collectively? Down under? Because the only place I can think of off the top of my head is Australia (Kai in particular, and also Waz on the current season) as well as the kiwi twins. Those kiwi twins especially were next level.

32

Call all of them Kiwis or all of them Aussies. They love that.

33

Heh. I had to go check to make sure I hadn’t misidentified any of them because I know they do all hate that.

Is the term oceanic? No, that’s its own word with a different meaning. The collective region is known as Oceania. So, Oceanians, like Georgians?

34

Antipodean is acceptable