Channel 4 Axes UK Version Of U.S. Survival Format ‘Alone’ After One Season

Max Goldbart
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4 has axed its splashy version of U.S. survival format Alone after one season.

The series from Squid Game: The Challenge producer The Garden, which has aired in the U.S. for a decade, has been one of a handful under consideration for a second series recommission over the past few months, we understand. Producers had been preparing for a second season.

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In Alone, 11 contestants are dropped into the remote Canadian Wilderness, where each must survive entirely on their own. Eventual winner Tom Williams took home the £100,000 ($124,000) in September 2023 after battling the elements, wild animals and an extreme test of mental strength. The show had been unveiled by Channel 4 in August 2022 alongside The Traitors-esque format Rise and Fall.

Alone began quietly over the summer with an audience of around 700,000 per episode but this figure nearly doubled when consolidated viewing was taken into account, and the show performed well on Channel 4’s VoD player last year.

In the U.S., Alone, which is sold by A+E Networks, has been a huge hit for History, running for 10 seasons and more than 100 episodes. There are several active versions around the world including in Germany, Denmark and Australia.

Deadline is told that Alone was one of a number being considered for recommission alongside other recent launches such as Scared of the Dark, Tempting Fortune and Don’t Look Down. Studio Lambert’s Rise and Fall was axed several weeks ago following months of industry speculation.

If budget constraints played into the decision to axe Alone, the state of Channel 4’s finances and commissioning will once again be placed under the microscope. The network has struggled over the past year and is in the process of enacting 250 layoffs. Entertainment and premium fact-ent commissioning in particular has been fairly sparse. A new Head of Reality and Entertainment, Steven Handley, has recently been appointed, along with a new Head of Documentaries and Factual Entertainment, Alisa Pomeroy.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman, however, said the the decision was “editorial not financial.”

“Reality is a key focus for us as we deliver our Fast Forward strategy and transition to a public service streamer,” said the spokeswoman. “We are currently seeking bold and innovative new formats in the reality entertainment space that support this strategy.”

An A+E spokeswoman said: “A+E Networks is thrilled at the steadfast global success of the Alone format, which is a top series in all the territories in which it currently airs including in Australia, where SBS just enjoyed a strong second series premiere, in Germany on RTL+, and all across the Nordics. We’ve had more territories come on board in the past month alone, and look forward to its continued upward trajectory.”

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