Step aside, Survivor. Amazing Race? More like a… la poubelle. SAS Australia? Fuggedaboudit. If it’s a real challenge you’re after, look no further than SBS’s Alone Australia (which is currently in the process of casting for season 3).
The hit reality franchise’s antipodean spin-off, which filmed its debut season on the harsh terrains of Tasmania, has once again issued a callout for 10 Aussies who are keen to be challenged by the “merciless forces of nature, hunger, and perhaps the toughest challenge of all: loneliness.”
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Placed in remote wilderness, spread out away from each other, and equipped with just 10 items from an approved list, whoever manages to rawdog nature the longest will take home a life-changing prize of $250,000.
It’s a noticeable reduction from the US$500,000 offered by the original series, sure, but a tidy sum nonetheless (especially in this economy). The inaugural instalment crowned rewilding facilitator Gina Chick as its first winner, who happily pocketed the quarter million.
For the uninitiated, there won’t even be a camera crew to step in when s**t gets dire. The battle-hardened operators stranded in the middle of nowhere will also be tasked with documenting their own journey, hence the name of the series. And as you’ll discover, this game is equal parts mental and physical with virtually zero safety nets. So best come prepared.
The questions you have to ask yourself, according to the same casting call, are as follows:
- Are you a survivor capable and confident that you can subsist alone in the wild, relying on your skills, instincts, and mental resilience?
- Is self-reliance a way of life or a passion for you?
- Do you consider yourself a skilled survivalist?
- Are you a storyteller?
- Does the idea making of your own self-shot documentary excite you?
- And most importantly — do you have the experience, the grit, or the stamina to sustain yourself for weeks on end, in a harsh environment on your own, with zero contact from the outside world?
SBS Head of Documentaries Joseph Maxwell has previously noted how First Nations knowledge may prove useful.
“We’re always on First Nations land. And I think one of the things Alone has done quite usefully with some of the First Nations Canadian stories is effortlessly thread in that acknowledgment of the lands we’re on,” Joseph Maxwell told The Guardian, later stressing the importance of a diverse cast.
“There might be certain customs or traditions that we’re able to inform people about.”
RELATED: That Time We Survived Nines Days On A Real Deserted Island
“No matter which traditions your knowledge, methods, and skills derive from. If you have what it takes to keep yourself alive with only basic tools and equipment; and if you’re confident and charged to push yourself further than you’ve ever been before in the survival challenge of a lifetime… we want to hear from you!” reads the latest casting call.
Applications are currently open for Alone Australia season 3 to local residents aged 18 years and above (deadline: midnight on March 3rd) — set aside 30 minutes to an hour for it and answer honestly.
Alone Australia season 2, on the other hand, is scheduled to air on SBS sometime in the coming months (stay tuned for a confirmed release date). And for some reason, it takes place in New Zealand.
