Even if eating rice and beans is not your idea of a good time, the epic challenges on Australian Survivor sure do make it look exciting to be a part of.
Not only do the producers have to make them challenging, but they also need to serve a purpose — to ensure a winner/s gets immunity and to send the other team to Tribal Council.
But after 10 seasons of the show and a new test every episode to put the Survivors through their paces, it’s amazing that the show’s production team continues to deliver. So, how do they do it?
According to Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia and executive producer David Forster, a “challenge team” — made up of producers and assistants — works hard every year to develop different concepts.
While some are made from scratch, others are pulled straight from the US.
“A lot of our challenges we’ve done straight from the US show, like the classic Survivor challenges,” Forster told entertainment outlet Pedestrian TV during a recent interview.
“But then we’ve taken them and modified them for our game as well. We’ve also invented challenges that they’ve taken as well. There’s a bit of an exchange of ideas between all [Survivor] franchises.”
40 Challenges are created per Australian Survivor season
According to Forster, there are around “40 challenges” per season.
“So we come up with a range of different things that fit every type of skill, so it’s not just all puzzles.”
“There are times when we will test them, and they don’t quite play out the way we anticipate,” LaPaglia added, admitting that some are too difficult or not quite hard enough.
Of course, everyone has different abilities when coming into the show, so producers ensure that the “game is calibrated so that everyone faces the same problem”.
And if you’re wondering if JLP tests them out himself? He does and so does Forster.
“When you actually do them, you get a real understanding of what [the contestants] are going through, so you can identify with it,” Forster said.
Other reality TV shows share content ideas
This is not a new concept as several other series producers do the same with iterations overseas.
In fact, during an interview with Mediaweek, executive producer Tara McWilliams said she and EP John Walsh do just that for Married at First Sight UK and the US.
When asked how she feels being industry leaders for the hit show, she said:
“I think we’re excited. We’re proud. I think of how many years we’ve been doing this, and we still don’t fail to get a bit of a kick out of the fact that we do calls with other countries,” she said before adding that the pair take on a consultancy role across the globe.
“We’re very proud that we created something that everyone responds to and loves and enjoys.”
Australian Survivor airs at 7.30pm, Sunday to Wednesday, on Channel 10 and 10Play.
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