Naked and Afraid XL is an American reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel in 2015.
This series is a spin-off of Naked and Afraid. A group of people are given the task of surviving in the wilderness for an extended period into a 40-day challenge, nineteen more days than the original series' 21-day challenge. The XL title plays as a visual pun for the title, as it also represents the Roman numeral for 40. Each survivalist is only allowed to bring one or two helpful items of their choosing. They are not given any other items, clothing, food, or water. The camera crews are not allowed to intervene, except for medical emergencies. Any member of the cast is allowed to withdraw at any time, meaning he or she decides not to continue with the task and goes home. The contestants hunt, trap, and gather their food in the wild and build shelters with their own hands and the available material found in the nature. At the end of the period, the remaining survivalist(s) must arrive at the designated extraction point. The success of this last task indicates their ability to survive in a harsh environment for a long period of time. No cash prize has been announced for successful XL participants.
The first season takes place in Colombia.
All of twelve contestants were separated into four teams of three in the first day of the 40-day challenge. During the challenge period, Dani, Hakim and Shane tapped out before they could complete, resulting with sickness (injuries, nausea, heat exhaustion) or quit for personal reasons, and Honora threw her teammates' survival tools into the river before tapping out. Midway through the challenge, the remaining eight people formed two teams.
The second season takes place in South Africa.
Angel Rodriguez, Carrie Booze, Clarence Gilmer II, Jake Nodar, Kim Kelly, Phaedra Brothers, Ryan Holt and Tawny Lynn, all tapped out due to medical issues or personal choice. On day 39, the four remaining survivors now have fishing hooks and are able to harvest a considerable amount of fish. Clarence Gilmer II had fish hooks and caught fish, which he shared with his teammates before he tapped out due to medical condition. Clarence did not have a fishing pole or atlatl. Steven Lee Hall Jr. did have an atlatl which he used in an attempt to hunt wild boars, however, he was unsuccessful. He then decided to combine his atlatl with Clarence's fish hooks to form proper fishing poles.
The third season takes place in EcuadorâÂÂs Amazon basin and was shot in October and November 2016.
The series premiered on Sunday, April 23, 2017.
Matt Wright, Russell Sage, Charlie Frattini, Lacey Jones, and Matt Alexander all tapped out because of medical issues or personal choice. On Day 20, Chance Davis joined the group from his Naked and Afraid challenge, and he stayed with the XL group until they finished on Day 40.
Season 4 was filmed in the basin of Selati River in South Africa in October and November 2017. It first aired on April 29, 2018. The season's theme is All Stars.
The survivalists are divided into 4 teams of 3, along with one survivalist who wants to complete the challenge alone, broken up into 5 locations:
Lacey Jones, Clarence Gilmer II, Dustin Campbell, Melanie Rauscher and Jeremy McCaa all tapped out because of medical issues or personal choice. Matt Wright completed his solo quest, reuniting with the other survivalists on Day 24.
On May 14, 2019, it was announced that the fifth season would premiere on June 2, 2019.
This season's all-star cast faced the challenges of remote areas in the island of Palawan of the Philippines. Four teams of three arrived by boat and were dropped into the South China Sea, forcing them to swim through shark-infested waters to make camp on deserted islands. Some of the survivalists were seeking redemption for obstacles faced in prior seasons.
In addition, two all-stars (Jeff and Laura) embarked early on an unprecedented 60-day challenge in jungles of the Philippines, then joined the others for the remaining 40 days. Jeff and Laura's early journey premiered on Discovery's Naked and Afraid: Savage on May 19, 2019.
In a season billed as "Valley of the Banished", survivalists are encouraged to banish the weak. Pairs of survivalists who succeeded in previous challenges are grouped with one who failed a prior attempt.
The survivalists start grouped into 4 teams of 3, in 4 locations:
Northwest: Gwen, Wes, and Josh.<br /> Southeast: Dawn, Suzänne, and Seth.<br /> Northeast: Makani, Bulent, and Kate.<br /> Southwest: Jon, Sarah, and Ryan.
Of the twelve participants, only five completed the challenge: Sarah, Gwen, Suzänne and Jon who formed a single team and Bulent alone.
With no food, water, or clothes a group of the best survival experts in the world take on the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest wetland and swamp on the country, located in south-central Louisiana. The location is full of murky waters and has predators lurking all over its 7,000 acres vast land. The first Naked and Afraid XL challenge where all survivalists attempt 60 days and 60 nights in order to become XL Legends.
The survivalists are divided into 4 teams of 3, in 4 locations:
North: Matt, Riley, and Ryan.<br /> South: Steven, Lacey, and Jeff.<br /> West: Max, Amber, and Gary.<br /> East: EJ, Sarah, and Suzänne.
On Day 30, Gary and Max set off for a new area and joined EJ in the East.<br /> On Day 35, Jeff and Steven set off for a new area and joined Matt, Riley, and Ryan in the North as Neighbors, not teammates. On Day 51, the remaining survivalists met up on their trek toward the extraction point and joined forces.
On April 8, 2022, it was announced that the eighth season would premiere on May 1, 2022. Season 8 is set in a Peruvian rainforest and is named Naked and Afraid XL: Next Level. During this season, four Naked and Afraid XL veterans attempted an epic 60-day challenge while leading a new generation of survivalists embarking on their first 40 days.
The survivalists are divided into 4 teams of 3, in 4 locations:
<ul><li>Jamie, Dan, Kaila</li><li>Steven, Tim, Lisa</li><li>Gary, Waz, Rod</li><li>Amber, Jen, Trish</li></ul> On Day 12, Dan and Waz meet and move to Dan's camp area.<br /> On Day 21, three Legends return and join each of the three remaining groups. Jeff joins Amber, Trish and Jen. Matt joins Dan and Waz. EJ joins Steven.<br /> On Day 28, EJ and Steven move to the previous campsite left by Waz.<br /> On Day 30, Amber sets off on her own, leaving Jen and Trish. She joins Steven and EJ.<br /> On Day 44, the remaining 6 survivalists join forces to complete the challenge.
On July 6, 2022, it was announced that the ninth season would premiere on July 31, 2022. Season 9 is set in the frozen Rocky Mountains of Montana, USA and is named Naked and Afraid XL: Frozen. Filming location is set in the valley below Emigrant Peak near Merriman Montana. Because of the extreme cold, participants are given animal hides to use/wear and the length of the challenge is 14 days instead of 40.
A fresh crop of survivalists takes on their first XL challenge in Colombia's Badlands, an area teeming with disease-carrying insects, venomous snakes, stalking jaguars and six-foot caimans. For the first time, survivalists must trek 40 miles in 40 days.
The 2024 season kicked off on May 12, 2024 with an episode entitled, Enter the Proving Grounds. The tagline is "The ultimate survival challenge just got harder. 40 miles. 40 days. 40 nights. No food, water or clothes."
Contestants start as four groups of three people.
The survivalists are divided into 4 teams of 3, in 4 locations
<ul><li>Kaiela, Cole and Andrew </li><li>Christopher, Malorie and Shell </li><li>Nathan, Terra and Lynsey</li> <li>Heather, Adam and Sam</li> </ul>
Episode 1: The groups start off the longest journey in Naked and Afraid XL History: 40 Miles in 40 Days. Andrew tapped due to a hand injury and Cole tapped the same day due to mental exhaustion and loss of spirit. <br /> Episode 2: Chris tapped due to an unknown debilitating sickness. <br /> Episode 3: Sam tapped<br /> Episode 4: No taps. Now alone Kaiela finds and joins Malorie and Shell. <br /> Episode 5: No taps.<br /> Episode 6: Heather and Adam find and join Lynsey, Terra and Nathan. <br /> Episode 7: The tribe of five find and join Malorie, Kaiela and Shell. <br /> Episode 8: All participants, now in one tribe, head to extraction.
In Australia, the series premiered on September 10, 2015 on Discovery Channel. In India this show is running on Discovery channel, Discovery channel HD and available on Amazon Prime Video.