The 20 best survival shows streaming right now

100 Days Wild (2020)

Live off the grid, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Well, if going off the grid is anything like 100 Days Wild, you can keep it. In this series, seven strangers, all with different backgrounds — we’re talking hippies and ex-military officers living together — volunteer to leave their lives behind and build a community in the Alaskan wilderness. The catch? They have 100 days to get proper shelter and enough food before the bitter Alaskan winter arrives.

Surprising no one who watches reality television, the bigger challenge here isn’t braving the elements, but the clash of personalities.

Where to watch 100 Days Wild: Discovery+

Alone (2015–present)

If you’re looking for authenticity in your survival competitions, History Channel’s Alone is a must. For 13 seasons, the series has dropped contestants into harsh, remote locales, including northern Canada, Patagonia, Argentina, and in the latest season, the Arctic Circle. Sure, participants are competing for half a million dollars — but they still have to last out in the wilderness longer than anyone else. There’s only one challenge: Stay alive.

With contestants left to film themselves, they truly are alone out there (aside from periodic medical checks) and left to their own devices for as long as they can hack it.

Where to watch Alone: Hulu

The Colony (2009–2010)

If you’ve had your fill of people trying to survive Alaskan terrain — or any real-world landscape, for that matter — how about survival with a post-apocalyptic flavor? In The Colony, 10 contestants are put into a simulation of an environment after the collapse of civilization. They have to band together to find food and water, build shelter, and even try to recreate some life-saving technology — like, say, electricity.

If it doesn’t hit too close to home, the series is an interesting watch just to see the psychological effects of living in such an environment, even when the participants know it’s fake.

Where to watch The Colony: Discovery+

Dual Survival (2010–2016)

While surviving out in the wild on your own seems to be the most daunting of scenarios, don’t sleep on having to survive alongside a partner. In Dual Survival, which ran for nine seasons, two survivalists join forces to survive and find rescue in some of the world’s harshest terrains.

But what happens when you don’t always agree with the person you’re trying to survive with? How do you work problems out when survivalists have different schools of thought about getting through various scenarios? Turns out, in the wilderness, doubling up isn’t necessarily double the fun.

Where to watch Dual Survival: HBO Max

Dude, You’re Screwed! (2013–2014)

What’s a little life-or-death wager amongst friends? Okay, no one is actually getting hurt in the competition series Dude, You’re Screwed! Still, reputations are on the line when survival expert buddies take turns dropping one another in different locations out in the wilderness and giving them 100 hours to find civilization.

While the survival aspects are cool — we’re in places like Iceland, Tanzania, and Transylvania — it’s watching these friends rib each other throughout the process that’s the really fun part.

Where to stream Dude, You’re Screwed!: HBO Max

Ed Stafford: First Man Out (2019–2022)

English survivalist Ed Stafford has a robust survival show résumé — he was Marooned in remote locations with 10 days to find rescue, he went Into the Unknown to investigate Earth’s mysteries — but First Man Out is his first competition series. Every episode finds Stafford in a new challenging terrain racing against another survival expert to see who can find their way to the finish line first.

Two professionals going head-to-head doing what they do best in some of the most extreme parts of the world? What’s not to like?

Where to stream Ed Stafford: First Man Out: HBO Max

Life Below Zero (2013–2025)

The Emmy Award-winning docuseries from NatGeo follows a number of subsistence hunters living off the land in remote areas of Alaska. Some live by themselves, some are couples roughing it together, and some are families that teach their children survival skills from day one.

The series was recently canceled, but there are 23 seasons to catch up on. Prepare to get attached to these Alaskans as they simply try to get by in the middle of some truly unforgiving terrain.

Where to watch Life Below Zero: Hulu

Life Below Zero: First Alaskans (2022–2024)

Life Below Zero spawned several spinoffs, but First Alaskans is the only one specifically following the lives of the Alaska Natives living off the land. Across three seasons, the series introduces us to Indigenous Alaskans looking to preserve their heritage and homes, and honor their ancestors — all while trying to survive in the harsh conditions in which their families have thrived. Here, understanding of one’s history becomes just as important as any survival skill.

Where to watch Life Below Zero: First Alaskans: Disney+

Man vs. Wild (2006–2011)

Today, Bear Grylls is synonymous with survivalism, but Man vs. Wild was the series that made him a household name in the first place. Over seven seasons, Grylls gave us his special brand of surviving worst-case wilderness scenarios. Each episode finds him and his camera crew in a new location — the Florida Everglades, the jungles of Ecuador, or the Siberian tundra, just to name a few — and Grylls leads the way out, using his own skills and whatever supplies he can get his hands on.

Where to watch Man vs. Wild: HBO Max

Mountain Men (2012–present)

If you prefer documentaries to competitions or gimmicks, revel in 14 (and counting) seasons of Mountain Men. This series follows several different men and their families living off the grid (or close to it) across the country. A rancher in Wyoming, a game hunter in New Mexico, and a survival skills instructor in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina are just a small sample of who you’ll meet if you take the plunge.

While many survival shows indulge the pure sport of it, this one hits on a different level, offering a glimpse into the personalities of those who make survival a way of life.

Where to watch Mountain Men: Hulu

Naked and Afraid (2013–present)

The funny thing about Naked and Afraid is it only takes a few minutes into each episode to completely forget you’re watching two naked people wander around the wilderness. It becomes normal so quickly! Perhaps because, like those getting both naked and afraid, there’s so much more to worry about.

Will the two strangers tossed together in a harrowing location get along… or will one be dead weight as they try to make it to the extraction point? Will those naked strangers be able to build proper shelter? Find enough food? Most importantly: What are they going to do about all the bugs?! Being naked is the least of their problems.

Where to watch Naked and Afraid: Discovery+

Race Across the World (2019–present)

At first glance, this UK series seems like just another version of The Amazing Race, but Race Across the World is less about challenges or games and more about the countries and landscapes the contestants find themselves in.

The show’s stricter rules make the difference: The teams of two can only travel by land or sea (no planes!) and they can’t use any credit cards or phones (though they do have a GPS). They’re given a set amount of money to use on food and transportation and can work to make more money if needed. The first team to reach the final destination wins £20,000.

Where to watch Race Across the World: BritBox

Race to Survive: Alaska (2023)

Eight teams of two, made up of athletes, adventurers, and survivalists, race across the Alaskan wilderness for almost 50 days in an attempt to win $500,000. The rules? They are given no food, no shelter — just what they can carry in their backpacks. Each of the six legs of the race provides new extreme terrain to get through — hiking mountains, climbing through caves, navigating whitewater rapids.

While the physical aspect of the series is challenging, it’s the mental endurance needed that really puts the teams to the test.

Where to watch Race to Survive: Alaska: Fandango At Home

Running Wild With Bear Grylls (2014–2021)

Some reality show viewers can’t get enough of watching celebs get a little dirty. Apparently Bear Grylls, of Man vs. Wild fame, had the right idea. After traipsing around in the wilderness solo, Grylls invites celebrities to join him and tackle all sorts of survival scenarios. He has parachuted into the Appalachian woods with Zac Efron, climbed Italian mountains with Kate Hudson, and even ventured through Kenya with the Julia Roberts.

As you can tell, Grylls pulls in some pretty big names. The joy is in watching them all get really uncomfortable with their surroundings, really fast. 

Where to watch Running Wild With Bear Grylls: Disney+

Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge (2022–present)

When simply surviving in tough conditions alongside a celeb wasn’t enough, Bear Grylls took it one step further. In Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge, he spends part of the adventure teaching the celebrity of the week important, location-specific survival skills. Then he challenges the star to use those skills to get them both to the extraction point.

He’s truly putting them to the test. So if you ever wanted to watch Florence Pugh repel out of a helicopter into the Costa Rican rainforest or Benedict Cumberbatch scale the coastline of the Isle of Skye, this is your chance.

Where to watch Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge: Disney+

Snowflake Mountain (2022)

Have you ever looked at a spoiled, high-maintenance family member and thought they would never make it out in the wild? Well, for a few families, Netflix actually went ahead and did it. Here, 10 inane young adults get tricked into heading into the English wilderness with military vets and survivalists Matt Tate and Joel Graves to maybe, perhaps, help them grow a little. (Oh, and win $50,000.)

The series only lasted one season, but if you’re looking to watch a lot of people complain and cry while sweating it out in nature, this is the show for you.

Where to watch Snowflake Mountain: Netflix

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (2023–present)

Hey, why don’t we let celebs do the hard work for once? Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test puts celebrities like The Bachelorette’s Hannah Brown and Tyler Cameron, Olympians Gus Kenworthy and Bode Miller, and the Spice Girls’ Mel B through training meant to mimic the extreme training those in the U.S. Special Forces go through during recruitment.

Contestants’ physical and mental strength is tested and yes, oh yes, there are lots of tears. The celebs can self-eliminate or be medically eliminated, so it really is a battle of wills. In the most recent season, celebrities like Ruby Rose, LeSean McCoy, and Candace Cameron Bure put themselves to the test. (Not to mention, uh… George Santos? Yes, really.)

Where to watch Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test: Hulu

Survivor (2000–present)

There’s a reason Survivor has been a juggernaut since 2000, with 50 seasons and counting. The show knows what it’s doing. It has spawned countless more survival shows, but nothing beats the original. A group of people are put on a deserted island and go through a series of challenges in hopes of being the last person standing. What sets the show apart, of course, is that eliminations have more to do with alliances (or grudges) among contestants.

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The physicality of the show is tough, but the most strenuous gameplay is the mental side. If you’ve never watched, congrats: You have over 700 episodes to catch up on.

Where to watch Survivor: Paramount+

Survivorman (2005–2015)

Do a cursory search for expert survivalists and Les Stroud, the titular Survivorman, will pop up again and again. He’s the real deal. Stroud’s docuseries, which premiered in 2005 and ran for seven seasons, saw him dropped into a different remote location every episode, where he could demonstrate survival tactics for various scenarios.

From getting shipwrecked in the Cook Islands to a hiking mishap in the Colorado Rockies, Stroud covered it all. His deep well of knowledge of each environment, his trademark calm demeanor in high-stress situations, and his one-man band camera set-up all added up to great TV.

Where to watch Survivorman: Peacock

World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji (2020)

A reboot of the Eco Challenge series that premiered in 1995, World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji takes 66 teams (!!) of four, from 30 different countries, and sends them on a race through Fiji to tackle unimaginably tough terrain. Ocean, jungles, the highlands, oh my!

There’s no modern tech allowed, which is scary enough, but the most frightening part might be this: There’s almost zero time to rest because of the strict deadlines required to reach checkpoints over the 11-day race. Is $100,000 worth all that? If your answer is “Yes, of course!,” this might be the show for you.

Where to watch World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji: Amazon Prime Video