Naked and Afraid: 4 things that you don't know

Discovery Channel's survival show, Naked And Afraid, returned with its 17th season this year, premiering on Sunday, February 18, 2024. Following a format similar to previous seasons, the series follows participants who are willing to live in a jungle without clothes and basic resources such as food and water, in order to secure the grand prize of $500,000.

Contestants have to encounter wild animals and harsh conditions after being divided into male-female pairs. For 21 days, each pair has to work as a team, hunt for food, build a shelter, and find clean water to survive, just like nomads.

According to the official Discovery website, Naked and Afraid is described as follows:

"What happens when you put two strangers - sans clothes - in some of the most extreme environments on Earth? Each male-female duo is left with no food, no water, no clothes, and only one survival item each as they attempt to survive on their own."

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What you should know about Naked And Afraid

Feminine hygiene products are provided

On August 19, 2022, Stacey Lee Osorio, one of the women on Naked and Afraid XL told People Magazine that they are provided with pads and tampons by the crew when they are menstruating.

She revealed that free bleeding is a "safety hazard" in the wild:

"Everyone wants to know what we do when we're on our period! The show does allow us to have tampons. It's not only a sanitary hazard, but it's a safety hazard because you don't want to attract predators."

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Participants are given a stipend

During a conversation with Channel Guide Magazine in 2015, Kristi Russel, the casting director of Naked and Afraid disclosed that all participants on the show are provided with a weekly stipend, as they take leaves from their jobs to compete in the competition.

She stated that it is important to give them a compensation to make up for their loss:

“We’re taking them away from their job, and we realize that and so we give them a weekly stipend to compensate for their lost wages.”

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The crew doesn't give food

On Naked and Afraid, all contestants have to hunt for food and water on their own, as the behind-the-scenes crew doesn't assist them. During an April 22, 2021 interview with Reality Blurred, supervising producer Mathilde Bittner said:

"We don’t give them sandwiches at the end of the day. They will ask for things–they ask for Snickers bars and cake and spray and whatever–but it’s very much what you see."

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Contestants don't get intimate

In a July 17, 2016, interview with People magazine, Steven Lee Hall revealed that being romantic with their teammate or finding a love interest on the show is almost impossible when they are deprived of the basic necessities.

Another participant on Naked and Afraid, Jake Nodar, joked how the show has not helped him in finding a potential partner at all. He explained that in the wild, the first main priority and concern is to be safe from any danger. According to Jake, protecting yourself without clothes is "very vulnerable."

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To stay updated with what happens on Naked And Afraid season 17, fans can stream the newly released episodes on the Discovery Channel and streaming platforms such as Discovery Plus, Hulu, Fubo TV, and DirecTV stream. Do not forget to watch the upcoming episode 5, titled Runaway Bride, which will be released on Sunday, March 17, 2024, at 8 PM ET exclusively on Discovery channel.