The CW and the Roku Channel have teamed up to announce their collaboration on “Fight to Survive,” an eight-episode survivalist competition.
Hosted by “American Ninja Warrior” alum Akbar Gbajabiamila, the social experiment pits 17 competitors— including former “Survivor,” “Alone,” “Naked and Afraid” and “American Ninja Warrior” contestants —against each other in an attempt to survive 25 days on a remote tropical island while facing brutal conditions to win $250,000. In one of the most intense survival of the fittest competitions ever televised, the competitors battle one another for essential tools and resources in the fight to survive. The first season cast includes Yuda Abitbol, Nathaniel Allenby, Amal Alyassiri,(“Naked and Afraid” Season 9), Dani Beau (“Naked and Afraid” Seasons 4 and 14, “Naked and Afraid XL” Season 1), Missy Byrd (“Survivor” Season 39), Robby Canton, Matthew Clarke, Sarah Danser (“Naked and Afraid” Season 8, “Naked and Afraid: Lost at Sea,” “Naked and Afraid XL” Season 4, “Naked and Ghosted” Season 11), Afften DeShazer (“Naked and Afraid” Season 4), Stephanie Gonzalez (“Survivor” Season 36), Keali’i “K” Ka’apana (“Called to the Wild”), Zane Kraetsch (“Alone: The Beast”), Christina McQueen, (“Naked and Afraid” Season 4, “Naked and Afraid XL” Season 5), Jonathan Monroe (“Naked and Afraid” Season 7), Makani Nalu (“Stranded With a Million Dollars,” “Naked and Afraid” Season 10, “Naked and Afraid XL” Season 6), J Ruiz(“American Ninja Warrior” Seasons 6, 7 and 8; “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge”), and Libby Vincek (“Survivor” Season 36).
“By bringing together the best of The CW and the best of The Roku Channel, ‘Fight to Survive’ will be able to reach the largest audience possible across both broadcast and streaming,” commented Brad Schwartz, The CW’s President of Entertainment, and Brian Tannenbaum, Roku’s Head of Originals. “By working together in all aspects of distribution, marketing, press and advertising, we will expose this edge-of-your-seat series to millions of fans in brand new ways.”
“With its dynamic cast of reality personalities and an original unscripted format that ratchets up the intensity of the traditional competition series, ‘Fight to Survive’ is an addicting summer series that we are thrilled to bring to The CW,” said Heather Olander, Head of Unscripted Content, The CW Network, and Sean Boyle, Head of Adventure and Exploration Programming, Roku. “We cannot wait for viewers to join the fight!”
The unscripted series will premiere Thursday, August 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW with all episodes scheduled to be available for streaming on The Roku Channel and The CW App on September 29, the day after the broadcast finale.
The series is executive produced and created by Kevin Lee for Tollbooth Television.
