Survive Executive producer Grant Kahler spoke about a particularly “intense moment” with contestants Jill Ashock and Amber Asay that sparked a huge reaction online.
The series, which was filmed in 2021 but premiered on Netflix on March 10, follows 16 players who are dropped into the Alaskan wilderness and must survive each other in a battle to win $1 million.
There is only one rule Surviveand that means players need to be part of a team to win, meaning they need to build society and work together with their fellow survivors to succeed.
There is no elimination process for contestants and they only exit the competition by eliminating themselves, although some players are also eliminated for medical reasons.
In the episodes that Survive Players push their bodies and minds to the limit. As the competition intensifies, instances of sabotage even occur as contestants realize they are capable of forcing their co-stars’ hand by destroying or stealing their supplies, or preventing them from joining their team.
In one particularly dramatic episode, Javier Colon, who had been left as the only member of his team due to the others self-eliminating, attempted to team up with another group.
However, while he was away from his camp, Ashock and Asay, who were in a team together, looted his lair and destroyed his raft.
While discussing the tense ensuing moment, in which Colon and Asay scuffle over the remains of the aforementioned raft and Asay calls her co-star a “weak motherf****r,” Kahler revealed what it was like to witness the to his dispute behind the scenes.
“It was definitely an intense moment and, you know, that was one of those moments where we kind of let it play out,” he said news week at an interview the day before Survive Premiering on Netflix.
Kahler continued, “We didn’t know how it was going to end because it was back [was] no rule saying Jill and Amber couldn’t do what they were doing, but at the same time we should have shut it down if it ever got to a point where we thought it was going to hurt anyone.”
The moment between Ashock, Asay and Colon passed Survive Viewers at home were extremely shocked at how far the women were willing to go to advance in the competition, prompting a huge reaction on social media.
After watching the series, one fan wrote on Twitter: “#Outlastnetflix…Jill and Amber can’t be real can they? It has to be a script, right? They are pure evil.”
While another wrote: “My least favorite part of this show was watching Amber and Jill destroy the integrity of the game. Happy they lost. #Outlastnetflix.”
“Jill and Amber are trash people #Outlastnetflix,” added another outraged viewer.
Kahler added during the pre-premier chat news week that if Survive returning for a second season, they may need to reconsider the “no rules” policy after seeing how far the season’s contestants have come.
“I think one thing that we need to watch out for in future seasons is, after watching that first season, I want to make sure people don’t get a little too out of control, just for safety, you know, because they’ll see that and see that you can take matters into your own hands,” he explained.
“So I just wouldn’t want someone from a camp just beating someone up,” Kahler added.
At the beginning of the season Survive The line-up initially split into four teams, but over the weeks in the Alaskan wilderness, various alliances were formed – and broken – and teams changed as a number of candidates withdrew from the race, unable to cope with the harsh conditions were.
Andrea Hilderbrand, Angie Kenai, Brian Kahrs, Corey Johnson, Dawn Nelson, Joel Hungate, Jordan Williams, Justin Court, Lee Ettinger, Nick Radner, Paul Preece, Seth Lueker and Timothy Spears as well as Ashock, Asay and Colon head to Die Survive pour.
Kahler, who is executive producing the show along with fellow EPs Jason Bateman, Mike Odair, Michael Costigan and Emma Ho, has hinted that the cast could reunite for a special episode after the show is released.
Kahler said that a reunion show “would be spectacular,” Kahler explained, “We talk about it all the time, you know, with first-season shows, it’s difficult with stuff like that, you know, because you never know how it’s going will be or how it will be received.”
Revealing the high tensions between the contestants, who struggled during filming, Kahler said, “They still hate each other! Til today. I keep in touch with everyone.”
The first season of Survive is now available to stream on Netflix.
