Naked and Afraid XL Frozen: all-stars, with clothes, for just two weeks

Discovery’s Naked and Afraid franchise keeps finding ways to expand: Its next season is titled Naked and Afraid XL: Frozen, because it will take place in Montana, in the snowy Rocky Mountains.

While History Channel’s Alone has used cold-weather locations, those people are, of course, alone, while on Naked and Afraid: XL, the cast works together in groups to survive.

Perhaps this will scratch an itch of Survivor fans who hope the show will some day be filmed in a cold weather location (though it most likely never will, especially now that it’s found a permanent home in Fiji).

Discovery says this this “Frozen” spin-off is “one of the most punishing locations ever attempted” and “these elite survivalists will be tested like never before,” and “will arrive with no shoes, no clothes, no food, and no water – only primitive tools and bare minimum raw materials needed to survive in the frozen tundra.”

But photos show they will have, uh, clothes:

Specifically, they’re wearing fur ponchos that cover their upper bodies and heads. (Are those artificial? I asked Discovery Channel and have not yet received an answer.) Of course, they’re still barefoot, and not exactly wearing recommended winter outdoor gear.

Faux fur ponchos and wraps are available on Amazon, as is faux fur fabric, and I’d guess that’s what they’re wearing, unless some PAs were sent out to hunt animals, skin and dry them, and then sew crude costumes for the cast.

While I’m sure this will be a challenging survival experience, the show’s title doesn’t exactly apply in the same way to this spin-off.

The contestants, who’ve all been part of the franchise in the past, will be in the Rocky Mountains for 14 days, which is far shorter than the usual XL length of 40 days and the regular show’s 21 days.

The XL mostly seems to refer to the temperature—and the fact that, as Discovery says, “To find the scarce food in this frozen wilderness, the survivalists must compete with some of North America’s most deadly predators: mountain lions, wolves, and grizzly bears just emerging from hibernation.” 

There have been eight seasons of Naked and Afraid XL (season eight ended last week), but while this could be season 9, Discovery is instead calling it “an all-new spin-off series.”

It will premiere later this month, on July 31, airing Sundays at 8.

Naked and Afraid XL: Frozen’s cast

The cast consists of 12 people who Discovery calls “the biggest fan favorites and most beloved survivalists from the” franchise:

• Jake Nodar 
• Gabrielle Balassone 
• Waz Addy 
• Trish Bulinsky 
• Ky Furneaux 
• Wes Harper 
• Sarah Bartell
• Jermaine Jackson 
• Joe Ortlip 
• Sara Burkett 
• Rod Biggs 
• Jeremy McCaa