NBC Launching Survivor Rival ‘Million Dollar Island’

NBC gets into the island reality genre.

It’s been 22-years since Survivor debuted on CBS, becoming a cultural phenomenon and changing the face of television; now, NBC is entering the battlefield with an island competition series of its own.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the network is developing an adventure competition series titled Million Dollar Island, produced by Studio Lambert and Talpa. It will feature a staggering 100 contestants competing on a remote island for $1 million. Unlike Survivor, which traditionally spanned 39-days (now 26), the new NBC series will last for 50 days.

The press release for the upcoming show makes no secret of its Survivor-inspiration. “Contestants must forge friendships and build alliances as they plot to stay on a remote desert island for up to 50 days and compete to win their share of the ultimate $1 million prize,” reads the description.

There are some format differences, however. Each contestant will start the season with a bracelet worth $10,000. These bracelets can be gained and lost through various challenges, and when a player quits, they must will their portion of the money to a contestant still in the game. There doesn’t appear to be a voting aspect.

“We’re excited to partner with a powerhouse team to bring this fresh and bold social experiment to NBC,” said Jenny Groom (via THR), Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming and Development, NBC. “This series is sure to entertain with ever-evolving alliances, trust, deceit and the ultimate will to survive.”

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The show is based on an original Dutch format by Wim van Dam, Jourik Vandervorst, and John de Mol (founder and chairman of Talpa).

“I’ve enjoyed great success with NBC on The Voice, so I’m delighted that they’ll provide the perfect U.S home for this exciting new show,” stated de Mol.

There are also versions in the works in Australia and the United Kingdom. The original Dutch version recently completed filming in the Philippines and will premiere in the Netherlands on SBS6 on Sunday, March 6.

Stay tuned to Inside Survivor for further details in the coming weeks.


Written by

Martin Holmes

Martin is a freelance writer from England. He’s represented by Berlin Associates for comedy writing and writes about TV and entertainment, currently for TV Insider and Vulture, previously Digital Spy, ET Canada, and Yahoo. A finalist for the Shortlist Sitcom Search in 2012 for “Siblings,” Martin received his BA in English with Creative Writing from The University of Hull. Martin is the owner and editor-in-chief of Insider Survivor.


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