The Summit is an Australian reality television series which first premiered on 14 May 2023. The premise being that a group of contestants have to reach the top of a mountain, undertaking various tasks along the way. Each contestant has a backpack with a portion of the grand prize of A$1,000,000.
The series is produced by Nine Network and Endemol Shine Australia. Auditions for a second season opened in August 2023, with filming to take place over three weeks between November and December 2023. Season two premiered on Sunday, 12 May 2024. In October 2024, the series was not renewed and did not return for 2025.
Contestants must all inevitably work together to complete several tasks, within only fourteen days. They are initially strangers to each other. Where a contestant stops competing, the prize pot significantly reduces; similarly all the prize pot will disappear if the syndicate does not reach the summit in the allocated time.
The host of the series is Australian actor Jai Courtney.
The Mountain's Keeper will make appearances throughout the series; she keeps track of the trekkers' movements, is fully aware of the procedures necessary to reach the summit, and will be keeping an eye on the group at all times. The Keeper will occasionally instruct the gang to get rid of someone in order to advance.
The team may stay in a sizeable campground and get a variety of amenities, including food, when the trekkers reach a checkpoint. The team must, however, vote one of its own team members off the mountain at the majority of checkpoints, with the evictee's money still in the game.
Should the remaining team members make it to the summit, then the prize fund will be divided among the successful team members by the eliminated players. This was alluded to on the show with the saying âÂÂBe careful with who you meet on the way up, because you don't know who you'll see on the way downâ as said by Jai on the start of their journey.
The series was filmed in the Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand starting near Glenorchy at the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu. During the second episode a clear view of Mount Alfred can be seen during the climb up to the ridge overlooking the Rees River. The destination summit is Mount Head with several episodes were shot on Rees Valley and The Branches high-country stations in the province of Otago, north of Glenorchy. Lake scenes were shot at Lochnagar, headwaters of the Shotover River. Both locations are on private or leasehold land. The series places emphasis on the sociological aspects of competition and reward, as the group works together to complete the arduous task of climbing the mountain, while also having to work against each other out of self-preservation.
An American version aired on CBS from September to December 2024 with New Zealand actor Manu Bennett as host. However, it was cancelled on April 22, 2025, after one season.
In July 2024, it was reported that a British version had been commissioned by ITV. In November, Ben Shephard was confirmed as host of the series with filming taking place in New Zealand's South Island; it was initially expected to be aired in 2025, but was delayed until early 2026.
A Finnish version, The Summit Suomi, started airing on MTV3 in January 2025. It features 14 contestants climbing Stetinden in Norway for the maximum prize of â¬150,000. A Norwegian version, Vokteren, was commissioned by TV 2 that featured 14 contestants climbing Stetinden. A Swedish version, Berget, was commissioned by TV4; however, production was cancelled after a contestant died. A German edition was greenlit by Prime Video to be filmed in New Zealand, however will feature German celebrities.