An executive producer of Netflix’s hit new survivalist competition Outlast has hinted there could be some changes on the cards if the show returns for a second season.
The eight-episode series launched on Netflix on March 10 and has sparked much discussion among fans due to the show’s “no rule” format, and the actions from contestants that were sparked by that unique twist.
Outlast, which is executive produced by Grant Kahler, Kason Bateman, Mike Odair, Michael Costigan and Emma Ho, follows 16 players after they have been dropped in the Alaskan wilderness. They must outlast each other in a battle to win $1 million.
There are no rules as to how the game can be played, and no end date given for players either, with the only stipulation being that contestants have to be part of a team to win. Contestants have to self-eliminate (or be pulled on medical grounds) to leave.
Outlast has caught the attention of Netflix viewers due to the underlying theme of morality, and one instance in particular – which saw contestants Jill Ashock and Amber Asay ransacking their co-star Javier Colon’s camp and destroying his raft after he was left without any teammates – has left some viewers outraged.
Speaking ahead of the show’s premiere, Kahler, who has worked on other survivalist shows like alone other Castaways in the past, revealed that Outlast could be set to return for many more seasons in the future.
Netflix has yet to officially announce a second season, but Kahler is confident Outlast could run for a long time.
“It’s certainly a format that [could run for a while] because it’s such an interpersonal game. It’s always going to be fun to see new personalities [and] new types of people react interacting with each other,” he told Newsweek.
Kahler continued: “You saw how some of these big, big personalities behaved on this season, it would be so interesting to see another group of 16. It’s really an examination of human nature. I think that’s one of the strengths of this format is that every time you do a new group of people, it can be wildly different.”
When questioned on what the Outlast team would perhaps change when working on a new installation, Kahler initially said that there was nothing that needed adjusted.
“I feel like our location was good, our cast was good, the storylines they provided were great,” he said.
Kahler continued: “In the edit we ended up really going, obviously like you saw, kind of focusing on this interpersonal strategy rather than just sole survival. I think going into it, we all thought there’d be a little more hunting, fishing fires, all of that.
“But at the end of the day, like that’s what happened out there and we didn’t wanna hold these people back or handcuff them, as far as how they won. So we let it play out.”
Kahler then added that the one thing that could be set to change for future Outlast Episodes is the blanket “no rule” thinking, to prevent potentially dangerous situations occurring as the players have their eyes on the $1 million prize.
The producer explained: “I think one thing we would have to be mindful of in future seasons is, after seeing this first season, I would wanna make sure people, just from a safety perspective, didn’t get a little too out of hand , you know.
“Because they’re going to see this and see that you can take matters into your own hands. So I just wouldn’t want to see someone from a camp just going to beat the s*** out of someone.”
At the beginning of the season the Outlast cast initially split into four teams but throughout the weeks in the wilderness, different alliances are made—and broken—and the teams switch around as a number of contestants take themselves out of the running, unable to handle the harsh conditions.
Outlast contestants Ashock and Asay have faced backlash on social media from some fans of the show for their tactics, which got them all the way to the final, while others have argued that they were simply playing the game.
Fans have taken umbrage with the women’s treatment of Colon, as well as an episode that saw their teammate Justin Court steal sleeping bags from a rival team, made up of Dawn Nelson and Joel Hungate.
The first season of Outlast is available to stream on Netflix now.
An executive producer of Netflix’s hit new survivalist competition Outlast has hinted there could be some changes on the cards if the show returns for a second season.
