Reality TV has officially entered its wilderness-meets-overbearing-family phase. FOX’s new series Extracted throws 12 average Joes and Janes into the unforgiving Canadian wilderness with minimal gear and even less survival expertise. What sets this apart from every other Bear Grylls wannabe show? Their families are watching. All the time.
From a remote location, loved ones have a live, 24/7 feed of their kin stumbling through the boreal forest, battling black flies, and constructing shelters seemingly out of desperation and duct tape. This, of course, presents infinite opportunities for hand-wringing and armchair quarterbacking from the peanut gallery, otherwise known as the contestants’ nearest and dearest.
But Extracted goes beyond mere voyeurism. Families actually wield some control over the competition. Worried your husband’s attempt at fire-starting looks more like a pagan ritual gone wrong? You can “extract” him (and yourself) from the contest, presumably to the sweet relief of both parties.
The real kicker? The $250,000 prize. This makes the family’s role even more fraught. Do they urge their loved one to persevere, potentially endangering their well-being? Or do they yank them out for a warm bed and a hug, foregoing any chance at the cash?
Oh, and families can also airdrop supplies, adding a layer of inter-family politics to the mix. Expect alliances, betrayals, and enough passive-aggressive package-dropping to fuel a season’s worth of suburban HOA meetings. The premiere, “Survive the Night,” likely focuses on shelter-building, though whether the shelters are more robust than the contestants’ family relationships remains a question.
Extracted airs Mondays at 8:00 PM on FOX.
