Alan Ritchson becomes host of a Netflix survival competition series
According to the CinemaDrame news agency, exclusive: Alan Ritchson is heading into the wilderness for a new unscripted series.
The star of Netflix’s “War Machine” and Amazon’s “Reacher” will lead a survival-based competition program for the platform.
This marks the first time Ritchson will host an unscripted series—more than two decades after his appearance on Season 3 of American Idol, where he performed Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.”
In the currently untitled series, Ritchson—an outdoor and survival enthusiast—guides a group of well-known and headline-making personalities as they attempt to answer the question of whether they can endure when all modern comforts are stripped away, or whether they will break under pressure. According to the synopsis, rivalries, alliances, and clashes of ego emerge along the way, as contestants put their public reputations on the line while testing self-reliance, problem-solving, and endurance.
Netflix has previously found success in the survival genre, including “Outlast,” executive produced by Jason Bateman and set in the Alaskan wilderness, which has been renewed for a third season. The platform also features “Alone,” originally from the History Channel, which has built a large audience on Netflix and recently launched its eleventh season.
The series is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions, known for MTV’s The Challenge, Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa, and Lifetime’s Chrisleys: Back to Reality. The company previously also produced the survival series I Survived Bear Grylls, which ran for one season on TBS.
In addition to hosting, Ritchson will serve as an executive producer alongside Julie Pizzi, Rupert Dobson, Guyanese Wanigaratne, and J.B. Smoove, who also serves as showrunner. John Frattesi is attached as co-executive producer.
Ritchson is currently approaching the fourth season of Reacher, on which he also serves as executive producer, and recently appeared in the feature film War Machine. He will also star in The Runner, directed by Scott Waugh, alongside Owen Wilson, and in the family comedy Man with a Bag opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. His recent credits include the action-thriller Motor City with Shailene Woodley and Ben Foster, and the action comedy Playdate alongside Kevin James.
