# Outlast (2023 TV series)
**Outlast** is an American reality survival competition series that premiered on Netflix on March 10, 2023, in which 16 survivalists are dropped in the Alaskan wilderness to compete for a $1 million prize under a single rule: they must be part of a team to win.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-release-date-cast-news) The series is produced by Aggregate Films and BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions, with [Jason Bateman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-bateman), Michael Costigan, Emma Ho, Grant Kahler, and Mike Odair as executive producers and Mike Odair as showrunner.[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-season-3-release-date-contestants-news?inapp=trueOs)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | March 10, 2023, all eight episodes of Season 1 on Netflix[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [4](https://latestnetflix.com/series/220115) |
| Premise | 16 survivalists in the Alaskan wilderness; the only rule is that a contestant must be part of a team to win, and the surviving team splits $1 million[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-release-date-cast-news) • [5](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/outlast-renewed-for-season-4-at-netflix-as-casting-begins-for-new-survivalists/) |
| Filming location | The banks of the Neka River, a remote stream in southeastern Alaska[6](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-location-alaska) |
| Production | Aggregate Films and BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions; executive producers Jason Bateman, Michael Costigan, Emma Ho, Grant Kahler, and Mike Odair[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-season-3-release-date-contestants-news?inapp=trueOs) |
| Seasons | Season 1 (March 2023) and Season 2 (September 4 to 11, 2024), 8 episodes each; Season 3 released as the separate title *Outlast: The Jungle* (June 2026)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [7](https://tvdocket.com/shows/outlast/) • [8](https://tvdocket.com/shows/outlast-the-jungle/) |
| Reception | Season 1: 80% Tomatometer but 17% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; IMDb rating 5.5/10 from about 5.9K users[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26690964/ratings/) |
| Rating and runtime | TV-14; episodes run about 46 minutes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [10](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/66900/outlast) |
## Spoilers
### Seasons
**Season 1** premiered on March 10, 2023, with all eight episodes released simultaneously.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [4](https://latestnetflix.com/series/220115) The season's episode titles trace the game's escalation, from the first-night team formation of "Fire. Water. Flare." through theft and betrayal episodes such as "Hunting the Thief" and "Burn It to the Ground," to "The Final Straw," in which the last two teams begin a hazardous hike to the finish line.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) Critics were largely positive: the season holds an 80% Tomatometer from five reviews, with Lucy Mangan of *The Guardian* awarding 4/5 and calling it "completely addictive, ridiculous and great," and Karl Quinn of *The Age* calling the packaging of other shows' best elements "utterly addictive, if ethically ambiguous."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) The Guardian's full review described the show as ending up in "full-on Lord of the Flies wildness."[13](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/10/outlast-review-a-brilliant-survival-show-that-ends-up-in-full-on-lord-of-the-flies-wildness) Audience response was far cooler, at 17% on the Popcornmeter from more than 250 ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) Netflix renewed the series for a second season on May 15, 2023,[10](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/66900/outlast) and an August 2023 Guardian feature on dangerous reality television noted that the show had already been commissioned for a second series.[14](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/16/dangerous-reality-shows-naked-and-afraid-survivor-alone-outlast-tv)
**Season 2** returned to Alaska and aired weekly from September 4 to September 11, 2024, in eight episodes.[7](https://tvdocket.com/shows/outlast/) Its Tomatometer rests on only two reviews, and its Popcornmeter stood at 36% from more than 50 ratings.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s02) Joel Keller of Decider wrote that "Outlast is a dead-serious reality competition, with potential for anarchy and chaos to rule the gameplay."[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s02) Reviewers and viewers noted that the cold setting produced long stretches in which contestants bundled up and conserved energy, which slowed the pacing compared with a tropical setting.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s02)
**Season 3, released as *Outlast: [The Jungle](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-jungle)***, moved the franchise out of Alaska for the first time. Netflix announced the third season in February 2025,[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-season-3-release-date-contestants-news?inapp=trueOs) and the season aired on Netflix from June 10 to June 17, 2026, in eight episodes, set in the Panamanian jungle on a remote tropical island.[8](https://tvdocket.com/shows/outlast-the-jungle/) • [16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_69hNcNJzgI) It sits on Netflix as a separate title rather than a third season under the original show.[5](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/outlast-renewed-for-season-4-at-netflix-as-casting-begins-for-new-survivalists/) The tropical setting changed the texture of the competition: teams survived on snails, coconuts, miniature crabs, and occasionally insects, and the warmer climate allowed far more movement and conflict than the cold-weather seasons.[17](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/obsessed-with-netflix-reality-show-outlast-the-jungle-feels-like-old-school-survivor) The season reached Netflix's Top 10 and drew attention for the conduct of Team Charlie, whose members faced viewer accusations of misogyny after their treatment of two women on Team Alpha.[18](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/outlast-the-jungles-team-charlie-speaks-out-following-backlash-viewers-related-misogyny)
**Season 4** was renewed at Netflix with casting underway as of August 2026; its filming location and release date had not been announced.[5](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/outlast-renewed-for-season-4-at-netflix-as-casting-begins-for-new-survivalists/)
## Format
The series begins like a familiar survival contest: contestants are divided into teams, given basic supplies, and sent to a designated area to build their own camps.[11](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/03/outlast-netflix-review/) Sixteen players start the competition divided into four groups of four. Armed with limited supplies, they have to build a camp, find food, and survive the elements.[5](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/outlast-renewed-for-season-4-at-netflix-as-casting-begins-for-new-survivalists/) Contestants can change teams at any time, but anyone who wants to win must remain part of a team, and the team that survives the longest splits the $1 million prize.[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-season-3-release-date-contestants-news?inapp=trueOs) A contestant who has had enough can fire a flare and leave the competition.[5](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/outlast-renewed-for-season-4-at-netflix-as-casting-begins-for-new-survivalists/)
**The rule-free twist.** What the format adds to the survival genre is, in the words of Andy Dehnart, a writer and teacher whose reporting and criticism has appeared on NPR and in *The Los Angeles Times* and *The Washington Post*, a subtraction: rules.[11](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/03/outlast-netflix-review/) Because the game does not prohibit sabotage, teams can steal from and raid rival camps; in the jungle season, contestants explained that teams are allowed to steal supplies and items from others, subject to ground rules set by the game.[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/how-stealing-works-outlast-the-jungle-ben-orndorff-explains) Executive producer Grant Kahler, whose previous credits include *Alone* and *Castaways*, framed the design as a test of character: "Outlast is about people's self-preservation versus their loyalty to others. It's greed and desire to win versus compassion and empathy."[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-release-date-cast-news)
## Setting and production conditions
Season 1 and Season 2 were filmed in the Alaskan wilderness. Season one begins with a camera sweeping overhead over forest-covered cliffs along the Neka River, a rough and twisted waterway in a remote corner of southeastern Alaska, where contestants reach its banks with differing levels of survival experience.[6](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-location-alaska) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-release-date-cast-news) Netflix's production notes record that hunting was virtually impossible during filming because the noise of 16 human competitors and a full production crew scared potential game away, on top of relentless weather conditions.[6](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-location-alaska)
## Reception and criticism
The series has shown a persistent split between critical and audience scores. Rotten Tomatoes rated Season 1 at 80% from critics while its audience score was 17%, and Season 2's audience score was 36%; on IMDb the series holds a 5.5/10 rating weighted from about 5.9K users, with an unweighted mean of 4.8.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s02) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26690964/ratings/) Per-episode IMDb ratings fell within Season 1 from 6.2 to 6.3 for the first three episodes to 4.7 to 4.8 for episodes five through seven, before recovering to 5.5 for the finale.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26690964/ratings/)
Much of the audience criticism targets the format rather than the setting. Reviewers noted that the rule-free design rewards sabotage and ruthless play, and that the casting favors television personalities over elite survival skill; as the Decider review of Season 1 put it, if Netflix had wanted a show in which survivalists simply waited each other out, it would have cast actual survivalists.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01) • [11](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/03/outlast-netflix-review/) Common Sense Media described it as "a gritty survival competition series produced by Jason Bateman that brings out the worst in some of its players."[19](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/outlast) A review in *Outside* found the show mean-spirited and recalled the early comparisons to *The Hunger Games*, while [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) called one of its turns one of the darkest in reality television history.[20](https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/netflix-outlast-review) • [21](https://www.tvguide.com/news/outlast-netflix-survival-competition/) Commentators have compared the series with *[Alone](https://www.edgepedia.org/alone-tv-series)* and *Survivor*, noting that it mixes pure survival with social strategy and, in its jungle season, leans harder on survival elements than the modern version of *Survivor*.[17](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/obsessed-with-netflix-reality-show-outlast-the-jungle-feels-like-old-school-survivor) • [11](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/03/outlast-netflix-review/)
## References
1. [Outlast: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s01)
2. [Who Wins Outlast? Here's Everything You Need to Know, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-release-date-cast-news)
3. [Survival Competition 'Outlast' Is Coming Back For Season 3, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-season-3-release-date-contestants-news?inapp=trueOs)
4. [Outlast (2023), Latest Netflix](https://latestnetflix.com/series/220115)
5. ['Outlast' Renewed for Season 4 at Netflix as Casting Begins, What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/outlast-renewed-for-season-4-at-netflix-as-casting-begins-for-new-survivalists/)
6. [Where is 'Outlast' Filmed? Inside Survival Competition Alaska Setting, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/outlast-location-alaska)
7. [Outlast: All Seasons, Episodes & Where to Watch, TV Docket](https://tvdocket.com/shows/outlast/)
8. [Outlast: The Jungle: All Seasons, Episodes & Where to Watch, TV Docket](https://tvdocket.com/shows/outlast-the-jungle/)
9. [Outlast (TV Series 2023– ) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26690964/ratings/)
10. [Outlast, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/66900/outlast)
11. [With no rules, Netflix's Outlast spawns brilliant, odious, predictable play, reality blurred](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/03/outlast-netflix-review/)
12. [I've Wondered How Stealing Works In Outlast: The Jungle, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/how-stealing-works-outlast-the-jungle-ben-orndorff-explains)
13. [Outlast review – a brilliant survival show that ends up in full-on Lord of the Flies wildness, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/10/outlast-review-a-brilliant-survival-show-that-ends-up-in-full-on-lord-of-the-flies-wildness)
14. ['I was going into anaphylactic shock': the inside story of TV's most dangerous reality shows, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/16/dangerous-reality-shows-naked-and-afraid-survivor-alone-outlast-tv)
15. [Outlast: Season 2, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outlast/s02)
16. [Outlast: The Jungle | Sneak Peek | Netflix, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_69hNcNJzgI)
17. [I'm Obsessed With This Netflix Reality Show That Feels Like Old-School Survivor, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/obsessed-with-netflix-reality-show-outlast-the-jungle-feels-like-old-school-survivor)
18. [Outlast: The Jungle's Team Charlie Speaks Out Following Backlash From Viewers Related To Misogyny, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/outlast-the-jungles-team-charlie-speaks-out-following-backlash-viewers-related-misogyny)
19. [Outlast – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/outlast)
20. [Netflix's New Survival Show Is 'Alone' Meets 'The Hunger Games', Outside](https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/netflix-outlast-review)
21. [Netflix's Survival Competition Outlast Features One of the Darkest Turns in Reality TV History, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/outlast-netflix-survival-competition/)
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