Alone (TV series)

Alone
Genre	Reality Survival
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	85 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Russ McCarroll Zachary Behr Gretchen Palek Shawn Witt Zachary Green Ryan Pender David George Kiran Malhotra Brent Montgomery
Running time	60–90 minutes
Production companies	Leftfield Pictures
Distributor	History
Release
Original network	History
Original release	June 18, 2015 (2015-06-18) – present
External links
Website
Production website

Alone is an American reality television series on History. It follows the self-documented daily struggles of 10 individuals (seven paired teams in season 4) as they survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible using a limited amount of survival equipment. With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. They may "tap out" at any time, or be removed due to failing a medical check-in. The contestant who remains the longest wins a grand prize of $500,000. The seasons have been filmed across a range of remote locations, usually on Indigenous-controlled lands, including northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentinian Patagonia, northern Mongolia, Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, and Chilko Lake in interior British Columbia.

The series premiered on June 18, 2015. On August 19, before the finale of season 1, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which would begin production in the fall of 2015 on Vancouver Island, Canada.^[1] Season 2 premiered on April 21, 2016. Season 3 was filmed in the second quarter of 2016 in Patagonia, Argentina and premiered on December 8.^[2] One day before the season 3 premiere, History announced that casting had begun for season 4. Season 4 was set in Northern Vancouver Island with a team dynamic and premiered on June 8, 2017. Season 5 was set in Northern Mongolia and allowed losers from previous seasons to return and compete. It premiered on June 14, 2018. Season 6 began in June 2019 and featured ten all-new contestants between the ages of 31 and 55. It was set just south of the Arctic Circle on a lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

The sixth season premiered on June 6, 2019.^[3]

The seventh season premiered on June 11, 2020. Participants attempted to survive for 100 days in the Arctic in order to win a $1 million prize.

A spin-off series, Alone: The Beast, premiered on January 30, 2020. In this series, three people attempt to survive in the wild for 30 days, with no tools or supplies except for their own clothing and a freshly killed animal. One group, in the Arctic, was provided with a 1,000-pound bull moose; two other groups were sent separately to the swamps of Louisiana and given an alligator and wild boar, respectively.

In January 2017, a Danish version of the series premiered with the title Alone in the Wilderness (Danish: Alene i vildmarken) on DR3. It featured ten contestants and was filmed in northern Norway in the fall of 2016. Participants chose 12 items from a list of 18.^[4] The winner of the Danish version gets nothing but the honor. Since 2017, four more seasons with Alone in the Wilderness have been produced.

In the fall of 2017, a Norwegian version aired with 10 contestants spread around a lake with fish. It was near the tree line, so the few, small, mostly birch trees left few land resources.

Format and rules[]

General rules - all seasons[]

Contestants are dropped off in a remote wilderness area, far enough apart to ensure that they will not come in contact with one another.^[5] The process begins in mid to late autumn; this adds time pressure to the survival experience as the approaching winter causes temperatures to drop and food to become scarce. Although terrains may differ in each contestant's location, the drop-off zones are assessed in advance to ensure a similar distribution of local resources is available to each contestant.

Contestants each select 10 items of survival gear from a pre-approved list of 40, and are issued a kit of standard equipment, clothing and first aid/emergency supplies.^[6] They are also given a set of cameras to document their daily experiences and emotions. Attempting to live in the wild for as long as possible, the contestants must find food, build shelters, and endure deep isolation, physical deprivation and psychological stress.

Contestants who wish to withdraw from the competition for any reason (referred to as "tapping out") may signal a rescue crew using a provided satellite telephone. In addition, medical professionals conduct periodic health checks on the contestants and may, at their discretion, disqualify and evacuate anyone they feel is unable to continue participating safely. The last remaining contestant wins a $500,000 cash prize.^[5] Contestants are warned that the show might last for up to a year.^[7]

Pairs format (Season 4)[]

Season 4 was also filmed in Northern Vancouver Island but included a team dynamic. Fourteen contestants, consisting of seven family-member pairs, were individually dropped off in remote areas of Northern Vancouver Island. The two members of each team chose 10 items of survival gear to be equally divided between them. The team chose one member to be taken to a campsite; the other began approximately 10 mi (16.09 km) away and was required to hike to the site, using only a compass and bearing to find the way. If either member tapped out or was medically evacuated, his/her partner was disqualified as well. The last remaining team won the $500,000 prize.

Season 5[]

Season 5 contestants were selected from non-winning contestants from Seasons 1 through 4. The rules were otherwise similar to Seasons 1 through 3.

Season 7[]

For Season 7, the contestants attempted to survive for 100 days in order to win a grand prize of $1 million. In an "Alone: Tales from the Arctic" segment at the end of each episode, host Colby Donaldson spoke post-season to the contestants featured in that episode about what occurred, accompanied by "never before seen footage."

Season 8[]

Season 8 was filmed in the fall of 2020 on the shores of Chilko Lake, British Columbia, a high-altitude glacial-fed lake on the dry eastern side of the Coast Mountains. The season reverts to the original format of the show, with the last person standing (regardless of time frame) declared the winner and awarded $500,000.^[8]

Reception[]

The series received positive reviews in its first season and outstanding reviews for its third season, and earned a respectable 2.5 million total viewers, placing it in the top three new nonfictional cable series of 2015.^{[9][irrelevant citation]}

Episodes[]

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	10		June 18, 2015 (2015-06-18)	August 27, 2015 (2015-08-27)
	2	13		April 21, 2016 (2016-04-21)	July 14, 2016 (2016-07-14)
	3	10		December 8, 2016 (2016-12-08)	February 9, 2017 (2017-02-09)
	4	10		June 15, 2017 (2017-06-15)	August 17, 2017 (2017-08-17)
	5	10		June 14, 2018 (2018-06-14)	August 16, 2018 (2018-08-16)
	6	11		June 6, 2019 (2019-06-06)	August 22, 2019 (2019-08-22)
	7	11		June 11, 2020 (2020-06-11)	August 20, 2020 (2020-08-20)
	8	11		June 3, 2021 (2021-06-03)	August 19, 2021 (2021-08-19)
	Specials	7		April 14, 2016 (2016-04-14)	August 23, 2018 (2018-08-23)

Series overview[]

Season 1 (2015)[]

The first season premiered on June 18, 2015. It was won by Alan Kay, who lost over 60 pounds during the course of the season. His staple foods were limpets and seaweed. He also consumed mussels, crab, fish and slugs.^[10] Lucas Miller enjoyed his time on the show and was selected based on his work as a wilderness therapist. His most difficult experience with the show was making honest confessions to the camera.^[11] Sam Larson described his time on the show as "playing in the woods". He set a goal for himself to last 50 days. After he reached his goal, a large storm hit the island, which Larson described as being larger than any he had seen and prompting his decision to leave the island. Larson said that the loneliness and solitude took the most time to adjust to, and that his preparation for the show mostly consisted of mental preparation.^[12]

Location[]

The season was shot in Quatsino Territory, located near Port Hardy, British Columbia.

Quatsino is a small hamlet of 91 people located on Quatsino Sound in Northern Vancouver Island, Canada, only accessible by boat or float plane. Its nearest neighbour is Coal Harbour, to the east, about 20 minutes away by boat, and Port Alice, to the south, about 40 minutes away by boat. The largest town in the region, Port Hardy, is located about an hour northeast by boat and vehicle.

Contestants[]

Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
Alan Kay	40	Male	Blairsville, Georgia	United States	Winner - 56 days	Victor	[13]
Sam Larson	22	Male	Lincoln, Nebraska		55 days	Lost the mind game	[14]
Mitch Mitchell	34	Male	Bellingham, Massachusetts		43 days	Realized he should actually be around for his mother's cancer	[15]
Lucas Miller	32	Male	Quasqueton, Iowa		39 days	Felt content with what he had done	[16]
Dustin Feher	37	Male	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania		8 days	Fear of storm
Brant McGee	44	Male	Albemarle, North Carolina		6 days	Consuming salt water	[17]
Wayne Russell	46	Male	Saint John, New Brunswick	Canada	4 days	Fear of bears	[18]
Joe Robinet	24	Male	Windsor, Ontario			Loss of ferro rod	[18]
Chris Weatherman	41	Male	Umatilla, Florida	United States	36 Hours	Fear of wolves	[19]
Josh Chavez	31	Male	Jackson, Ohio		12 hours	Fear of bears	[20]

Season 2 (2016)[]

Season 2 began on April 21, 2016.^[5] The season had 13 one-hour episodes, including the reunion episode and the first "Episode 0", which shows how the 10 contestants (pared down from 20) are chosen based on survival skills (i.e. ability to make a fire without a starter, basic animal prep, shelter), on-camera personality, and how readily they learn the camera equipment.^[21] This was the first season to include women as well as men. The winner, David McIntyre, lost around 20 pounds in the first weeks alone. Mike Lowe made his time on Alone innovative and made a sink, boat, football game, and many more objects.

Location[]

The second season was also set on Vancouver Island, in Quatsino Territory, located near Port Hardy, British Columbia.

Contestants[]

Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
David McIntyre	50	Male	Kentwood, Michigan	United States	Winner - 66 days	Victor	[22]
Larry Roberts	44	Male	Rush City, Minnesota		64 days	Hunger and mental breakdown	[22]
Jose Martinez Amoedo	45	Male	Santa Pola, Valencia	Spain/Canada	59 days	Fell off kayak into river	[22]
	45	Female	Portland, Oregon	United States	57 days	Missed her kids	[22]
Justin Vititoe	35	Male	Augusta, Georgia		35 days	Had nothing left to accomplish	[22]
Randy Champagne	28	Male	Boulder, Utah		21 days	Didn't like being alone	[22]
Mike Lowe	55	Male	Lewis, Colorado			Missed his wife	[22]
Tracy Wilson	44	Female	Aiken, South Carolina		8 days	Didn't want to hurt a bear/cub	[22]
Mary Kate Green	36	Female	Homer, Alaska		7 days (medically evacuated)	Split tendon with axe	[22]
Desmond White	37	Male	Coolidge, Arizona		6 hours	Bear scare	[22]

Season 3 (2016–17)[]

The third season premiered on December 8, 2016.^[23] The winner, Zachary Fowler, had lost 70 lbs (a third of his starting body weight) before the end of his stay. Season 3 marked the first time a contestant was pulled for medical reasons; the first was fourth place, Dave Nessia, who was pulled out when, due to inadequate caloric intake, his systolic pressure barely exceeded his diastolic pressure (80/60 mmHg), putting him in danger of death due to inadequate perfusion of the internal organs. He had been in starvation mode for so long, even though he left with 33 halves of dried fish still ready to eat, he was surviving with the thought of only eating half a fish every other day. The second, and the person who stayed the second-longest, Carleigh Fairchild, was pulled out because, at 101 lbs/45.8 kg, she had lost nearly 30% of her starting body weight and had a BMI of 16.8. Participants are automatically "pulled" at a BMI of 17 or less.

Location[]

The third season was set in Patagonia, Argentina, in South America. The contestants were spread across multiple lakes in the foothills of the Andes mountain range. Unlike in seasons 1 and 2, which were located on the Pacific Ocean, season 3's food resources were mostly limited to brook and rainbow trout, forage, small birds, and the possibility of wild boar. Contestants also were at a disadvantage because they had no access to the flotsam and jetsam that washes up on the Pacific Coast. They also had no salt source.

The weather in Patagonia is comparable to that of Vancouver Island, with rainfall averaging 78 inches a year. However, unlike Vancouver Island, snowfall is extremely common in the winter.

Predators in Patagonia include wild boar and puma.

Contestants[]

Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
Zachary Fowler	36	Male	Appleton, Maine	United States	Winner - 87 days	Victor	[25]
Carleigh Fairchild	28	Female	Edna Bay, Alaska		86 days (medically evacuated)	BMI too low	[25]
Megan Hanacek	41	Female	Port McNeill, British Columbia	Canada	78 days	2 broken teeth(molars), jaw pain	[25]
Dave Nessia	49	Male	Salt Lake City, Utah	United States	73 days (medically evacuated)	Systolic pressure too low	[25]
Callie North	27	Female	Lopez Island, Washington		72 days	Felt like journey was complete	[25]
Greg Ovens	53	Male	Canal Flats, British Columbia	Canada	51 days	Hypothermia	[25]
Dan Wowak	34	Male	Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania	United States		Missed family	[25]
Britt Ahart	40	Male	Mantua, Ohio		35 days	Missed family	[25]
Zachary Gault	22	Male	Caledon, Ontario	Canada	8 days (medically evacuated)	Cut arm with ax	[25]
Jim Shields	37	Male	Langhorne, Pennsylvania	United States	2 days	Regretted leaving family	[25]

Season 4 (2017)[]

Officially titled "Alone: Lost & Found", the fourth season premiered on June 8, 2017.^[26] For this season, for the first time participants were in pairs (2) of family members (brother/brother, husband/wife, father/son), with seven teams scattered throughout the island. The prize was still $500,000, which would be split between the two. One member was dropped in the traditional manner, along a beach head with the idea that they'd stay in the relative area for their duration, while the second member was dropped about 10 miles out with only a compass and bearing and needed to hike their way to base camp. Supply items were still limited to 10 chosen survival tools total, that were split between team members until reconnecting. If one member decided to tap out an any time, the partner was also eliminated. Three teams never met up before tapping out, and it took eight days for the first team to come together. Pete Brockdorff experienced a medical emergency during his and his son's standard tap-out. It was severe chest pains brought on by the acid reflux he developed as a result of the lack of food. Jim and Ted Baird won the season after lasting 75 days.

Location[]

The fourth season was again set on Vancouver Island, in Quatsino Territory, located near Port Hardy, British Columbia. Teams were set further apart than normal this season, due to the 10 mile radius hike required to meet up at their rendezvous point.

Contestants[]

Team	Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
Baird (brothers)	Jim Baird*	35	Male	Toronto, Ontario	Canada	Linked up - day 10 Winners - 75 days	Victor	[27]
	Ted Baird	32	Male
Brockdorff (father/son)	Pete Brockdorff†ẞ	61	Male	Poolesville, Maryland	United States	Linked up - day 9 Tap out - 74 days	Jointly decided the cost of the game wasn't worth it	[27]
	Sam Brockdorff*†	26	Male
Whipple (husband/wife)	Brooke Whipple†	45	Female	Fox, Alaska		Linked up - day 9 Tap out - 49 days	Felt too exhausted and drained to go on	[27]
	Dave Whipple*	40	Male
Wilkes (brothers)	Chris Wilkes†	44	Male	Hattiesburg, Mississippi		Linked up - day 8 Tap out - 14 days	Missed family and felt guilty for having left them behind	[27]
	Brody Wilkes*	33	Male	Kentwood, Louisiana
Bosdell (brothers)	Shannon Bosdell†	44	Male	Wrangell, Alaska		5 days (medically evacuated)	Lower back injury	[27]
	Jesse Bosdell*	31	Male	Skowhegan, Maine
Ribar (father/son)	Alex Ribar*	48	Male	Montville, Maine		2 days	Were not mentally prepared	[27]
	Logan Ribar†	19	Male	Liberty, Maine
Richardson (brothers)	Brad Richardson*	23	Male	Fox Lake, Illinois		1 day (medically evacuated)	Injured ankle	[27]
	Josh Richardson†	19	Male

* Hiking team member (other team member sets up camp)

† Team member(s) who tapped out

ẞ During evacuation Pete experienced a medical emergency, and the standard extraction turned into a medical emergency.

Season 5 (2018)[]

Officially titled "Alone: Redemption", Season 5 premiered on June 14, 2018. The 10 contestants are non-winners selected from the previous 4 seasons of Alone.

Location[]

The fifth season was set in Northern Mongolia in Asia. The series was filmed in Khonin Nuga near the city of Züünkharaa, Selenge aimag.^[28] "Khonin Nuga" is a valley located close to the Khentii Mountains of Northern Mongolia, one of the country's unique and still largely untouched places.^[29]

Contestants[]

Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Original season	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
Sam Larson	24	Male	Lincoln, Nebraska	United States	1	Winner - 60 days	Victor	[30]
Britt Ahart	41	Male	Mantua, Ohio		3	56 days	Missed his family	[30]
Larry Roberts	46	Male	Rush City, Minnesota		2	41 days	Missed his family	[30]
Dave Nessia	50	Male	Salt Lake City, Utah		3	36 days	Just felt "right"	[30]
Randy Champagne	31	Male	Boulder, Utah		2	35 days	Lonely	[30]
Brooke Whipple	45	Female	Fox, Alaska		4	28 days	Lonely	[30]
Jesse Bosdell	32	Male	Skowhegan, Maine			24 days (medically evacuated)	Constipation, possible fecal impaction	[30]
Nicole Apelian	47	Female	Raymond, Washington		2	9 days (medically evacuated)	MS attack	[30]
Brad Richardson	24	Male	Fox Lake, Illinois		4	7 days	Had no food the whole time	[30]
Carleigh Fairchild	30	Female	Anchorage, Alaska		3	5 days (medically evacuated)	Fish hook in hand	[30]

Season 6 (2019)[]

Officially titled "Alone: The Arctic", Season 6 premiered on June 6, 2019.

Location[]

Although subtitled "The Arctic", the sixth season is actually set along the shore of the east arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, about 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle and about 120 km (75 mi) south of the arctic tree line.

Contestants[]

Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
Jordan Jonas	35	Male	Lynchburg, Virginia	United States	Winner - 77 days	Victor	[31]
Woniya Thibeault	42	Female	Grass Valley, California		73 days	Starvation	[31]
Nathan Donnelly	39	Male	Lopez Island, Washington		72 days	Shelter fire	[31]
Barry Karcher	39	Male	Fort Collins, Colorado		69 days (medically evacuated)	Lost too much weight	[31]
Nikki van Schyndel	44	Female	Echo Bay, British Columbia	Canada	52 days (medically evacuated)	Low BMI, lost too much weight	[31]
Michelle Wohlberg	31	Female	Mullingar, Saskatchewan		48 days (medically evacuated)	Constipation, possible impacted bowel	[31]
Brady Nicholls	36	Male	San Antonio, Texas	United States	32 days	Missed his family	[31]
Ray Livingston	43	Male	Vancouver, Washington		19 days	Nothing left to give	[31]
Donny Dust	38	Male	Monument, Colorado		8 days (medically evacuated)	Food poisoning	[31]
Tim Backus	55	Male	Lubbock, Texas		4 days (medically evacuated)	Broken ankle	[31]

Season 7 (2020)[]

Officially titled "Alone: Million Dollar Challenge", Season 7 premiered on June 11, 2020. Unlike the previous seasons, instead of trying to outlast all of their competitors, the ultimate goal for the participants was to survive for 100 days on their own, which meant that there was a possibility of multiple winners—or conversely, no winners at all. At the end of each episode host Colby Donaldson lets the contestants comment on the episode which is accompanied by "never before seen footage."

Location[]

The seventh season is again set along the shore of the east arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Drop off (Day 1) was on September 18, 2019.^[32]

Contestants[]

Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
Roland Welker	47	Male	Red Devil, Alaska	United States	Winner - 100 days	Victor	[33]
Callie Russell	31	Female	Flathead Valley, Montana		89 days (medically evacuated)	Frostbite of the toes	[33]
Kielyn Marrone	33	Female	Espanola, Ontario	Canada	80 days	Starvation	[33]
Amós Rodriguez	40	Male	Indianapolis, Indiana	United States	58 days	Starvation	[33]
Mark D'Ambrosio	33	Male	Vancouver, Washington		44 days	effects of trichinosis infection	[33]
Joe Nicholas	31	Male	Redding, California			Starvation	[33]
Joel Van Der Loon	34	Male	Sisters, Oregon		40 days	Starvation	[33]
Keith Syers	45	Male	Sturgis, Kentucky		22 days (medically evacuated)	Food poisoning, infection	[33]
Correy Hawk	30	Male	Plattsmouth, Nebraska		12 days (medically evacuated)	Torn Meniscus, partially torn MCL	[33]
Shawn Helton	43	Male	Henry, Tennessee		10 days	Lost fire starter	[33]

Season 8 (2021)[]

Officially titled "Alone: Grizzly Mountain", Season 8 premiered on June 3, 2021. The season reverts to the original format of the show, with the last person standing declared the winner and awarded a half mil ($500,000). At the end of most episodes in which a contestant taps out, Season 6 contestant and fifth-place finisher Nikki van Schyndel (a survival expert and first responder) conducts a short exit interview at base camp a few days after the tap out.

Location[]

The eighth season is set along the shores of high-elevation Chilko Lake (Tŝilhqox Biny), British Columbia, a 40-mile long remote glacial lake on the dry eastern side of the Coast Mountains. The lake's surface is at over 3800 ft above sea level, making Season 8 the first Alpine season of Alone, being over 1000 ft higher in elevation than the next-highest season, Season 3, in Patagonia. Drop off (Day 1) was on September 18, 2020.

Contestants[]

Name	Age	Gender	Hometown	Country	Status	Reason they tapped out	Ref.
Clay Hayes	40	Male	Kendrick, Idaho	United States	74 days	Victor	[34]
Biko Wright	29	Male	Otis, Oregon		73 days	Starvation, heart palpitations	[34]
Theresa Emmerich Kamper	40	Female	Exeter, England	United Kingdom	69 days (medically evacuated)	Low BMI, lost too much weight	[34]
Colter Barnes	36	Male	Inian Islands, Alaska	United States	67 days (medically evacuated)	Low BMI, lost too much weight	[34]
Rose Anna Moore	43	Female	Wellsboro, Pennsylvania		37 days (medically evacuated)	Frostbite, malnutrition	[34]
Nate Weber	47	Male	East Jordan, Michigan		24 days	Food poisoning	[34]
Matt Corradino	42	Male	St. Croix	U.S. Virgin Islands	22 days	Missed his family, starvation	[34]
Michelle Finn	46	Female	Cherryfield, Maine	United States	21 days	Starvation	[34]
Jordon Bell	43	Male	Oak Ridge, Tennessee		19 days	Missed his family	[34]
Tim Madsen	48	Male	Laramie, Wyoming		6 days (medically evacuated)	Anxiety attack, chest pains	[34]

See also[]

• Wilderness survival

References[]

External links[]

• Official website