Naked and Afraid XL is an American reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel in 2015.Discovery Channel, "Naked and Afraid XL", Discovery Channel, 2015People Magazine
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.
Episodes Series overview
Season 1 (2015) The first season takes place in Colombia.
Participants Survivalist Prior Challenge(s) InitialPSR Primitive Survival Rating Notes Alana Barfield S2 - Fiji Danielle Beau S4 - Colombia Honora Bowen S3 - Brazil Tapped out because she was exiled - Day 10 Chris Fischer S3 - Dominica Hakim Isler S3 - India Tapped out due to severe cramps - Day 4 Dani Julien S3 - Bahamas Tapped out due to team issues - Day 34 Shane Lewis S1 - Costa Rica Tapped out due to fatigue - Day 30 Luke McLaughlin S3 - Namibia Eva Rupert S2 - Madagascar EJ Snyder S1 - TanzaniaS2 - Amazon/Peru Jeff Zausch S2 - Madagascar Laura Zerra S1 - PanamaS2 - Amazon/Peru
Episodes
Results 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.
Season 2 (2016) The second season takes place in South Africa.
Participants Survivalist Prior Challenge(s) InitialPSR Notes Alyssa Ballestero S4 - Yucatán Carrie Booze S3 - Cambodia Tapped out due to bad headspace Phaedra Brothers S3 - India Medically evacuated due to food poisoning by consuming bad fruit Clarence Gilmer II S6 - Honduras Medically evacuated due to dehydration and heat exhaustion Steven Lee Hall Jr S6 - Alabama Ryan Holt S4 - Florida Everglades Medically evacuated due to food poisoning by consuming bad fruit Kim Kelly S5 - Panama Medically evacuated due to food poisoning by consuming bad fruit Tawny Lynn S6 - Florida Seminole Forest Medically evacuated due to falling, dehydration and heat exhaustion Jake Nodar S6 - Amazon/Colombia Medically evacuated due to food poisoning by consuming bad fruit Stacey Osorio S6 - Croatia Darrin Reay S4 - Thailand Angel Rodriguez S6 - Nicaragua Tapped out because he missed his kids
Episodes
Results 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.
Season 3 (2017)
The third season takes place in Ecuador’s Amazon basin and was shot in October and November 2016.
The series premiered on Sunday, April 23, 2017.
Participants Survivalist Prior Challenge(s) InitialPSR Notes Matt Alexander S6 - Philippines Tapped out voluntarily due to mental weakness, day 4 episode 1. Fernando Calderon S2 - Malaysia Chance Davis S7 - Ecuador Joined the cast on Day 21 episode 5, after completing his 21-day challenge on season 7 of Naked and Afraid. Charlie Frattini S4 - Colombia Medically tapped out due to torn tendons, day 1 episode 1. Amber Hargrove S4 - Florida EvergladesS6 - Namibia 7.4 Giovanna Horning S7 - Ecuador 6.2 Lacey Jones S7 - Belize 8.2 Medically tapped out due to injured knee, day 9 episode 3. Shannon Kulpa S7 - Trinidad 8.0 Russell Sage S1 - Panama 7.2 Tapped out voluntarily, early morning of day 33 episode 7. Matt Wright S6 - Thailand 8.7 Medically tapped out due to flesh-eating bacteria in his foot, day 20 episode 4.
Episodes
Results 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 (2018)
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.
Participants Survivalist Prior Challenge(s) InitialPSR Notes Dustin "Duck" Campbell S8 - Belize 7.1 Tapped out due to personal choice - Misses his kids. Episode 3 - Day 7 Kaila Cummings S7 - Colombia7.4 Sarah Danser S8 - Bahamas 8.3 Clarence Gilmer II S6 - HondurasXL2 - South Africa7.9 Tapped out due to the sting of scorpion bite and high blood pressure. Episode 2 - Day 6 Gary Golding S9 - Brazil7.0 Lacey Jones S7 - BelizeXL3 - Ecuador8.2 Tapped out due to burned hand and bad headspace. Episode 6 - Day 25 Lindsey Leitelt S3 - Namibia7.1 Shane Lewis S1 - Costa RicaXL1 - Colombia8.4 Jeremy McCaa S5 - PhilippinesS7 - Louisiana8.2 Tapped out due to illness. Episode 3 - Day 8 Melissa Miller S7 - Ecuador 7.7 Trent Nielsen S5 - Belize8.2 Melanie Rauscher S7 - Louisiana 8.2 Tapped out due to bad sunburn and depletion. Episode 5 - Day 13 Matt Wright S6 - ThailandXL3 - Ecuador8.7
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: Shosho Ravine: Jeremy, Gary, and Trent. Noja Cliffs: Melissa, Kaila and Lindsey. Makubu Gorge: Lacey, Shane and Clarence. Pitsi Flats: Sarah, Duck and Melanie. Kolobe Plains: Matt.
Episodes
Results 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.
Season 5 (2019)
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.
Participants
Survivalist Prior Challenge(s) InitialPSR Notes Gabrielle Balassone S7 - 14 days in South AfricaS9 - 21 days in Mississippi8.3 Duke Brady S9 - 21 days in Florida 7.6 Dustin "Duck" Campbell S8 - 21 days in BelizeXL47.1 Tapped out of XL Season 4.Did not complete XL Season 5: Tapped out (personal choice) - commitment to leave with Charlie. Episode 8 - Day 25. Max Djenohan S9 - 14 days in PanamaS10 - 21 days in Panama6.7 Charlie Frattini S4 - 21 days in ColombiaXL37.5 Did not complete XL Season 3 Medically evacuated due to torn tendon. Episode 1 - Day 1Did not complete XL Season 5: Medically evacuated due to abnormal heartbeat. Episode 8 - Day 25 Angela Hammer S9 - Panama S9 - 21 days in South Africa 7.1 James Lewis S9 - 21 days in Nicaragua8.5 Christina McQueen S4 - 21 days in Quintana Roo6.7 Did not complete XL Season 5: Medically evacuated due to a severe urinary tract infection. Episode 4 - Day 11. Rylie Parlett S9 - 21 days in Honduras 7.1 Russell Sage S1 - 21 days in PanamaXL37.9 Tapped out of XL Season 3.Did not complete XL Season 5: Medically evacuated due to bite of an unidentifiable snake. Nicole Terry S6 - 21 days in Nicaragua 6.1 Manu Toigo S1 - 21 days in Panama 8.0 Did not complete XL Season 5: Tapped out (personal choice) - concern over her sick brother. Episode 3 - Day 7. Jeff Zausch S2 - 21 days in MadagascarXL1 - 40 days in ColombiaSavage 29.1 With Laura, accomplished 60-day XL challenge. Laura Zerra S1 - 21 days in PanamaS2 - 21 days in PeruXL1 - 40 days in ColombiaS10 - 14 days in AlaskaSavage 29.5 With Jeff, accomplished 60-day XL challenge.
Episodes
Season 6 (2020)
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.
Participants
Survivalist Prior Challenge(s) InitialPSR Notes Sarah Bartell S10 - Ecuador 8.1 Joshua Bell S3 - Nicaragua 4.3 Banished by Gwen and Wes, immediately tapped out rather than continue. Episode 1, Day 3. Jon Bonessi S11 - Philippines 8.2 Dawn Dussault S7 - Montserrat 4.4 Tapped out due to fear. Episode 1, Day 2. Ryan Eacret S11- Africa 5.7 Medically evacuated due to mental issues. Episode 10, Day 31. Bulent Gurcan S10 - ColombiaS11 - Mexico 7.4 Abandoned by Kate, then Makani, then banished by Sarah, Jon, Gwen, and Suzanne. Spent the majority of the challenge alone. Gwen Grimes S10 - Mexico 8.4 Wes Harper S10 - Brazil 7.4 Medically tapped due to bowel obstruction. Episode 9, Day 28. Makani Nalu S10 - Ecuador 6.0Self-banished from Bulent. Tapped out voluntarily after being narrowly resuscitated from heatstroke by medics. Episode 5, Day 14. Seth Reece S10 - Panama 4.0 Abandoned by Suzanne. Rejected by Bulent. Sustained heatstroke and tapped out voluntarily before medics could evaluate him. Episode 8, Day 24. Kate Wentworth S10 - Panama 5.0 Self-banished from Bulent and Makani. Tapped out voluntarily. Episode 4, Day 10. Suzänne Zeta S9 - Brazil 8.7 Self-banished from Seth.
The survivalists start grouped into 4 teams of 3, in 4 locations:
Northwest: Gwen, Wes, and Josh. Southeast: Dawn, Suzänne, and Seth. Northeast: Makani, Bulent, and Kate. Southwest: Jon, Sarah, and Ryan.
Episodes
Results
Of the twelve participants, only five completed the challenge: Sarah, Gwen, Suzänne and Jon who formed a single team and Bulent alone.
Season 7 (2021)
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.
Participants