Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid goes international with Naked and Afraid: Global Showdown, debuting on May 17, 2026 at 8pm ET/PT. The latest addition to the N&A franchise pits 14 all-stars against each other in a brutal competition in South Africa.
Ky Furneaux and Alexa Towersey will represent Australia, while Rene Murad and Marina Fukushima will represent Brazil. Pablo Melin and Fernanda Perez will team up for Mexico.
The USA will field four teams:
• TEXAS, Jeff Zausch and Kerra Bennett
• USA EAST, Matt Wright and Gabby Balassone
• USA SOUTH, Frank Eytcheson and Teal Bulthuis
• USA WEST, Dan Link and Rachel Strohl
Discovery Channel provides this description of the new series, which offers the biggest prize in franchise history: $200,000.
“Divided into seven pairs representing their homelands, survivalists’ skills will be tested by three brutal and unpredictable ecosystems in South Africa’s Zululand. From a scorching savannah stalked by leopards and rhinos to a humid marshland ruled by hippos and crocodiles and into the violent Indian Ocean teeming with Zambezi sharks, teams must battle both the brutal elements and one another. Over the 40-day challenge, they’re given no food, no water, and no clothes as their primitive bushcraft skills, resilience, and interpersonal relationships are pushed to the extreme.
In another franchise first, the competition introduces an official scoring system where teams will earn points by completing survival tasks and excelling in head-to-head challenges. Winning teams will be safe from elimination and unlock critical tools to acquire food, water, and shelter, while the bottom two teams must face off in an elimination challenge to remain in the game. With no shared resources, no trading, and no sabotage, each team must rely solely on its own skill and will to survive.
Featuring up-and-coming international survivalists alongside franchise legends and bitter rivals, only one team will emerge victorious.
