The term “reality TV” is a bit of an oxymoron—while it claims to capture real people in relatable situations, humans instantly start behaving differently when they’re placed in front of a camera. So when Outlast first hit Netflix in 2023, weird editing and too many coincidences had fans thinking the show wasn’t as real as it was marketed to be.
The premise for Outlast is that 16 lone wolf experts are dropped in the Alaskan wilderness and must outlast each other in a battle for a million-dollar payout, but they must be part of a team to win. In season 1, audiences were convinced the show was scripted. “Paul and Jill ‘coincidentally’ run into each other on a deer hunt. The amount of coordination from both sides to meet in the middle of the wilderness divided by a river at the exact same time is pretty ridiculous,” wrote one on Reddit.
“There’s absolutely no question that at least some portion of it is contrived,” wrote another. “One of the more obvious ones IMO was when they try to fire an arrow across the river, the arrow is flying in a relatively flat path and would land close to parallel with the ground if it made it across. When they show it landing though, and when they show the other team finding it, it’s almost straight up and down.” Now that it’s back for a second season, we’re all wondering…
Is Outlast real?
Lol, don’t ask season 1 Team Charlie winners Seth Lueker, Paul Preece, and Nick Radner because you might get hit. “Every day, we were getting more and more starved out,” Nick told Tudum after the finale. “If anyone watches the show and says it isn’t real, I’m going to go to their house and punch them in the face. It was real.” Paul also responded to the question during an interview with Screenrant, saying if the show was fake, he would’ve “demanded a Snickers bar.”
Outlast executive producer Grant Kahler also told Tudum that the Alaskan wilderness was even more brutal than the cameras showed. “The show doesn’t do it justice, how awful it is,” he explained. “The first week, it was 35 degrees and raining every day — truly the most awful environment to try and be in. You can’t get dry. Your feet stay wet for weeks. You can’t light a fire… and of course, there’s the bears.”
It may not be enough to convince viewers, however, because the speculation that the show is scripted was rife. “Every other show I’ve watched on Alaskan survival they never eat or clean fish in their shelters due to the danger of bears,” wrote one on Reddit.
“When I watched Alone they even gave them bags to put their food in the trees. In the same episode ‘omg look at that massive bear track in the mud” and “cleans fish inside the shelter’. It makes me think it’s fake or the crew some how chased all the bear away. Anyone else have a problem with this? [sic]”
Another speculated: “I think they were all given food off camera. I think it was less than what you need to survive so they still go ‘hungry’ but there’s no way they’re catching all the stuff they’re eating. The folks on alone are true survivalists and they struggle to move around in such caloric deficits. I don’t buy it in this show between the challenges and groups? [sic]”
