Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Vacuous reality contest boasts exclusion, has cursing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Surviving Paradise
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
SURVIVING PARADISE is a reality competition in which a group of strangers must find ways to move from the forest and into a luxury villa for a chance to win a cash prize. Hosted by Jessimae Peluso, the series features 12 contestants expecting to enjoy a stay in a posh house while participating in challenges that will earn money. Instead, they learn they must all live in the surrounding forest with few resources. Throughout the game, contestants are given opportunities to earn villa or "insider" spots, which requires folks to vote on who gets to fill them (or not). Some people are eliminated, others will be added to the game, but in the end, only one person wins $200K.
Is It Any Good?
The inane unscripted series features contestants vying for a chance to win money while simultaneously looking for ways to settle into a posh house that has equal parts running water and champagne. The Surviving Paradise cast is an ensemble of expected two-dimensional reality TV characters (including a shirtless man referring to himself as "flirtatious" and two strong women fighting throughout), all of whom engage in lots of vacuous conversations. Meanwhile, how one wins the cash prize isn't always clear, but the alliances that are formed and the strategies employed up until that point are simply exclusionary practices that invite insults and ridicule. Overall, this feels like a cheap reality competition knockoff in which all attempts to appear original fail miserably.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what it means when we expect characters to behave a certain way on a reality series. How does this relate to reinforcing media stereotypes?
Why are some contestants on Surviving Paradise consistently chosen to live in the villa over others? Were decisions based on money-winning strategies? Personal reasons? Or just to create more drama?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 20, 2023
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : November 6, 2023
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