Discovery Series ‘Darkness’ Showcases A New Spin On The Survival Genre

Survival shows usually feature participants struggling to find food, clothing, and shelter in a myriad of survival-based situations and locations. The one thing that survivalists have never faced before is trying to survive without light. The Discovery network is known for their wide array of popular survival challenge shows such as Naked and Afraid and more recently their latest survival show, The Wheel. Darkness takes survival challenges and competition to a whole new level. Darkness will feature one of the most advanced and comprehensive tests of mental and physical endurance ever filmed: participants must do everything in total darkness.

.@LukeSoderling begins the final days of #TheWheel, but the lack of food could send him home. pic.twitter.com/WxXtoRVSVX

— The Wheel (@TheWheel) March 4, 2017

Based on extreme training scenarios conducted by the U.S. military, Department of Defense, and NASA, each episode of Darkness will follow three strangers as they struggle to push themselves to endure days of darkness while deep underground. According to USA Today, the Darkness contestants will have to learn to navigate prehistoric cave systems, ancient subterranean cities, and centuries-old abandoned mines.

“This is a series that will look and feel like nothing else on television,” said Denise Contis, executive vice president of production and development at Discovery. “It is the next iteration of the survival genre that could only belong on Discovery.”

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As anyone who has ever tried to navigate a completely dark room knows, it is easy to become disoriented. The Darkness participants will be exploring a myriad of locations, all while deprived of their ability to see even their hand in front of their face. During the Darkness challenge, one the goals of the contestants on Darkness will be to try to find each other. Even though they’ve never seen one another, once they join up, the Darkness team will need to quickly learn to work together in the dark and tight spaces while struggling to combine their unique and diverse skill sets in such a way that will help them figure out how to escape from the darkness.

Broadcasting Cable shared that exploring and mapping the darkness in order to find a way out is imperative, and focusing on that may help the Darkness participants to push past the intense mental and physiological effects of prolonged light deprivation. On top of just figuring out how to work as a team, the Darkness participants will need to search for food and water along the way as well. If the Darkness team manages to make their way out, they will finally get to see each other for the first time, but only the toughest will have what it takes to succeed at this difficult challenge conducted in complete darkness.

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“Our fear of the dark is primal and universal, and never before have we tested its incredible power for a television audience,” said Electus CEO Chris Grant. “Darkness is a new evolution in the survival space, and we honestly do not know how this will turn out, which makes it a must-watch show and makes Discovery the perfect partner.”

The Futon Critic noted that filming a project like Darkness has only recently become possible due to cutting-edge technology and the latest advances in infrared, thermal, and remote imaging. Darkness is produced using a highly-specialized team trained to shoot in extreme environments while filming the participants with the least amount of interaction or interference. In order to keep the experience as immersive as possible, the Darkness participants will be outfitted with specialized, custom-designed camera equipment that will allow them to document their own experiences without any exposure to light.

Darkness is produced for Discovery Channel by Electus. For Electus, the executive producers of Darkness are Christopher Grant, Drew Buckley, Rob Buchta, and Max Levenson. For the Discovery Channel, Joseph Boyle is executive producer, with Greg Wolf serving as the associate producer of Darkness.

Could you spend several days in complete darkness? Leave your comments, thoughts, and opinions concerning Darkness below. A premiere date for Darkness will be announced later, so check back for updates.

[Featured Image by Discovery Channel]