Watching people survive without running water, electricity, or easy access to food makes you appreciate the things we often take for granted. Even experienced survivalists can struggle when the weather changes, food becomes scarce, or things don’t go as planned.
If you’re interested in homesteading, off-grid living, or simply enjoy watching people put their survival skills to the test, these 13 shows are worth checking out. From experienced survivalists living in the wilderness to everyday people trying to make it with limited supplies, there’s plenty to keep you watching.
Alone
Contestants are dropped into remote wilderness locations with limited equipment and must find their own food, build shelters, and deal with whatever nature throws their way. There’s no camera crew following them around, and watching experienced outdoorsmen and women struggle with hunger, isolation, and freezing temperatures makes you wonder how long you’d actually last.
Naked and Afraid
Two strangers are left in the wilderness with no clothing and very few supplies, and their goal is to survive for 21 days. Between insects, extreme temperatures, and the difficulty of finding food and clean water, it’s a reminder that even the simplest necessities become a challenge when you have almost nothing.
Survivorman
Survival expert Les Stroud heads into remote locations with limited supplies and films his experiences himself. Unlike shows with large production crews nearby, much of the appeal comes from watching him solve practical problems like finding water, building shelter, and conserving energy.
Man vs. Wild
Bear Grylls takes viewers through some of the world’s most challenging environments, demonstrating different ways to navigate difficult terrain and survive harsh conditions. Some of his methods are extreme and shouldn’t be attempted without proper training, but the show is entertaining and gives you plenty to think about when it comes to wilderness survival.
Dual Survival
This series pairs survival experts with different approaches and puts them in challenging outdoor situations. It’s interesting to see how two people with different backgrounds can disagree on something as basic as building a fire, finding shelter, or deciding which survival task comes first.
100 Days Wild
A group of strangers heads into the Alaskan wilderness with plans to build a self-sufficient community before winter arrives. They have to figure out how to gather food, build shelter, and work together, proving that living off the grid takes much more than growing vegetables and chopping firewood.
Life Below Zero
This documentary series follows people living in remote parts of Alaska, where harsh winters and limited access to supplies are part of everyday life. From hunting and preserving food to maintaining equipment in freezing temperatures, it shows how much work goes into living far from modern conveniences.
The Last Alaskans
Families living in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge rely on hunting, trapping, and generations of wilderness knowledge to maintain their way of life. The show takes a quieter approach to survival, but it makes you appreciate how much planning and experience it takes to live in such an isolated place.
Outlast
Contestants are dropped into the Alaskan wilderness and must survive as part of a team for a chance to win a cash prize. Finding food and staying warm are difficult enough, but the relationships between contestants add another challenge that can make or break their chances.
Related: 21 Essential Emergency Supplies That Every Home Should Have Stocked
The Island with Bear Grylls
A group of ordinary people is left on a remote island with limited supplies and must figure out how to survive together. Watching them struggle with food, water, shelter, and disagreements shows how different survival can be when you’re not working with experienced outdoorspeople.
Ed Stafford: First Man Out
Explorer Ed Stafford competes against other survival experts in races through remote and difficult environments. Competitors must make quick decisions about navigation, shelter, and conserving energy, showing how much judgment matters when you’re working with limited resources.
Homestead Rescue
The Raney family visits struggling homesteaders and helps them address problems involving shelter, water, food production, and livestock. For anyone interested in homesteading, this one hits particularly close to home because it shows how quickly poor planning or inadequate infrastructure can create serious problems.
The Colony
Volunteers participate in a simulated post-disaster environment where they work together to secure food, water, shelter, and other basic necessities. Although the scenarios are staged, it’s interesting to watch how people handle limited resources and the everyday problems that come with losing access to modern conveniences.
