Australian Survivor EP on why the franchise is still a serious contender in reality TV
The tenth season of Australian Survivor, the eighth to appear on Ten, will air tonight (Monday), back on Samoa and ready for a fight against Nine’s Married at First Sight and Seven’s Australian Idol.
Australian Survivor: Heroes versus Villains will see the franchise return to the island nation after two years in the Australian outback due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Executive producer Tim Ali tells Mumbrella that returning to Samoa is a big part of the series’ appeal for both players and viewers.
“In terms of the brand, it is really important that we are back on an island and back on a beach.
“Two years in the outback was a tough gig for everyone… returning to Samoa, it is the heart of the show, it is the birthplace of the show, it has an aura of where this show is supposed to be,” he says. “It’s beautiful, but it is hard as well.”
This season sees a combination of 11 returning and 13 new contestants battling it out for the $500,000 cash prize.
Australian Survivor contestants
The prize is highest of any of shows in this genre on Australian TV, well ahead of the $100,000 for the winners of Hunted, and the $200,000 prize money for the winners of The Challenge both on Ten, and double what SBS’s new program Alone Australia is looking to award the winner.
“I think it is well earned,” explains Ali. “The prize money matches what this show is, and the identity of the show… and where it sits in reality TV in Australia.
“Forty seven days, 44 people, living it really tough. Some of our returning players who were in the outback learnt very quickly that it is just as tough as playing in the outback.”
Although he concedes that the ground in Samoa is a “little bit softer”.
Ali says along with being in Samoa, the theme of this Australian Survivor is going to do a lot in getting viewers hooked.
“Most players who play this game will play a heroic game or a villainous game,” he explains. “But you can’t win this one solely by playing heroic or villainous.
“If you are playing villainous from the start and being a snake in the grass, playing a back-stabbing game from the beginning. At some point you have to be trustworthy to align with your people to move forward.
Throughout the 24 episode season Ali says there are players who hit the “hero or villain” brief coming in, “but the nuance of it is who is going to turn hero and who is going to turn villain – it makes for amazing game-play”.
While traditionally this theme would see a full returning cast, this year the decision was made to bring in some new talent.
“The new players are absolutely giving it everything they have got,” shares Ali. “While the returnees are giving everything they have got, every ounce of experience to stay ahead and move forward in the game.
Host Jonathan LaPaglia
And it’s not just competitors who are returning for the latest instalment. According to Tamar Hovagimian, partnership director of effect, Paramount ANZ clients are also returning. “Clients have seen the impact of previous years and the benefit of being a sponsor of Australian Survivor – nothing speaks more highly of a show than brands coming back for a second, third or fourth year,” she says. “This year, three of our major partners are all returning, including Isuzu, KFC and Set For Life, plus more.”
Paramount executives, and its integration partners and advertisers will be looking for the show to bring in strong viewer numbers.
Last year’s season of the franchise, Blood v Water, opened to an audience of 608,000 metro viewers, but managed to attract 631,000 metro viewers for the announcement of the winner.
The year prior, the launch of Australian Survivor Brains v Brawn brought in 752,000 metro viewers, while the 2020 premiere aired to 624,000 metro viewers.
For his part, Ali is optimistic that this season is going to prove a hit with audiences, those new to the loyal fans.
“The strategy throughout this series is some of the best, myself, and probably a lot of the producers have ever seen. A lot of the moves and a lot of the strategy was surprising us a lot of the time.
“There are surprises for everyone throughout the series.”
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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