If you were one of the millions who thrilled to last year’s Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda, in which Discovery Channel chronicled wire-walker Wallenda’s effort to walk across a portion of Grand Canyon (pictured below); and, if you’re looking forward to the network’s next live special, Everest Jump Live, coming in May, then you will be happy to learn that Discovery has announced that the live, adrenaline-fueled events such as these will continue.
At its upfront presentation this morning, Discovery Channel, among other announcements, said that Nik Wallenda will return to the network in a new live event this fall, called Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda. In this program, Wallenda hits the Windy City in an attempt to walk across the Chicago skyline, untethered.
Discovery also announced Survival Live (working title), coming “late 2014.” The network billed this as the “first ever live survival event to air on TV.” It seems to combine the popularity of survival shows like Naked and Afraid and Man vs. Wild with the thrill of a live event.
A Discovery release had this to say about Survival Live:
“Eight survivalists who think they have what it takes will compete in this 42-day live event…but they’re not surviving solely on their own. In this 24/7 real time, multi-platform viewing experience, viewers will play a large role in each survivalist’s success or failure. The survivalists struggle will be streamed live, day and night, from the moment they are abandoned into the remote wilderness with only the clothes on their back. Viewers will have the ability to check out the survivalists biometric data to see who is physically struggling, and can then elect to help them out. The survivalists will be able to build a relationship with the audience by talking to them through the cameras. That relationship could be the difference between failing to succeed on the first week or making it the full 42 days. To prosper, these survivalists will need the audience in their corner. Survival Live (WT) will include pre-recorded episodes that will detail the survivalists successes – and failures – from that week. There will also be live episodes, where the weakest survivalist of the bunch will be extracted. Extraction will be based on how well the survivalists have demonstrated their skills and how well they have maintained themselves physically. At the end of 42 days, there will be one survivalist with the right mix of knowledge, lifesaving skills and physical endurance standing.”
