Celebrity Bear Hunt won’t be heading back into the jungle. Netflix has pulled the plug on the survival reality format fronted by Holly Willoughby, opting not to move forward with a second season despite early internal movement on renewal.
The decision comes down to economics. While the streamer was initially eyeing a follow-up to the high-concept competition series, sources, according to The Sun, say ballooning production costs—including international travel, specialist crew, insurance, and marquee talent—ultimately sank its chances. Even proposals to relocate the shoot closer to home failed to bring the budget into a viable range.
Produced in partnership with Bear Grylls, the series dropped celebrity contestants—including Mel B, Joe Thomas, Big Zuu, Steph McGovern, and Boris Becker—into the Costa Rican jungle with one mission: survive and evade Grylls. Each episode played out as a “hunt,” with players eliminated upon capture.
Despite decent engagement on-platform and the ongoing popularity of celebrity adventure formats, insiders suggest the cost-to-return ratio just didn’t land in the right zone for Netflix, which has been tightening the belt on unscripted originals that require high spend without guaranteed global traction.
The first—and now only—season of Celebrity Bear Hunt remains available to stream.
