Survive the Raft (2023– ) User Reviews

Episode titles contain more drama than the show....

[NullUnit · 4/10 · 25 September 2023]

The concept is a decent one.

I honestly do not know why there's all these references to the 1973 INTERNATIONAL crew. This is a crew of Americans, clearly. And it's not 1973. The continuous references to 1973 are pretty meaningless and ill-placed. If this were a more international crew, and the goal wasn't a competition for money, then perhaps.. but that's a different show.

They may have gathered a collection of people with polarizing opinions.. but that sure is not visible in the episodes. All the episodes show is pretty much how Russell decides things need to be, and all the others are afraid to contradict him. That single casting has made the series pretty pathetic.

Merely because Russell isn't afraid to have his opinion heard.. everyone else just shuts up and lets him decide their fate. The problem with this series is the lack of a backbone by everyone other than Russell. No one wants to "make waves,"

Russell decided they'd "stick with the initial group." Russell decided to nominate himself to prevent a vote off.

Russell decided when a swap was permissible ('cuz Summer is cute).

Russell decided when it was okay to vote someone off.

Russell decided when it was okay to take a temptation.

Every contestant appears to be scared to speak up and make their voice, or opinion, known about others. With the ONLY exception being the vegan speaking up about fishing...

"Cancel culture" seems to have made it a very precarious thing to merely state you don't like someone. It inevitably leads to others casting aspersions regarding racism, or homophobia, etc., even though none of that may be at play.

I would point out NOT voting someone off due to their ethnic background is as much racism as voting them off.

To be honest the "competitions" should have forced the contestants into more team-oriented opinion-based challenges to spur on debate rather than the physical challenges that had little to do with their wide range of viewpoints.

There's VERY LITTLE in the episodes that leads to any sort of topical debate. It's not a "social experiment" as must as it is a simple game show like all others... shut up and play along to get to the money.

It's not even a raft.

[FluffydaMovieslayer · 4/10 · 20 October 2023]

YOU BROUGHT CHICKENS !!!

Yeah I may use that line for a while... and thats about all this show had for me.

I think I was really done at the dude eating all the bugs and still getting told to march along.. that was way rough.

The rest is like chringe chringe ..

No real topics talked about - but heaps of feels with no real points - nothing really experimental about this show other than how much cash this show can make.

I had such hopes for this show .. but I guess if this is how we really doing as a society .. the "raft" is leaky and is not really going anywhere.

I think I would of jumped ship and made an actual raft and found some sharks to hug and kiss.

You can "survive" not watching this show.

Good and bad points

[princesscalicat · 6/10 · 11 March 2024]

Im on episode 5 season 1 and I think Russell's a little hypocritical. Because he keeps saying that he doesn't wanna lose the original team. But he didn't mind losing the original team when it came to the gorgeous bonde girl summer that added to the group. But when there were 2 men that could come in all of a sudden, he didn't want to lose the original group. I think that he's a little insecure if more men get added to the team because it might make him not look as needed. And Jimmy needs to be voted off. He is definitely not a team player. He's all fake.i will add or edit my review at the end of season.

Skip it

[manof-29288 · 1/10 · 8 August 2023]

Very good idea and I was really excited to watch it. It started off really bad with the pick of contestants and then the whole thing at the market really annoyed me. The Liberal women had the money and only bought veg and instead of buying meats and protein (needed for survival) they had a lot of money left over that they had to hand back to the host.

Another show attacking white males while saying we don't understand prejudice. It makes no sense

I did pull through and finish the episode (1 hour 23 minutes) and it just got worse. To the end they started doing tasks but for me it was too late I will not watch another episode.

If you like white males being attacked then this is for you.

Drama Mama

[joshamccary · 1/10 · 5 August 2023]

This show puts together the most dramatic people ever. 70% of episode one is just them sitting around talking about trigger words. The show isn't really about survival, but about being sensitive. So if you want to watch a group of people talk about their feelings on a raft for an hour, this show is great for you!

Maybe if they would add more survival games and less talking it would catch the attention of more viewers but it's too controversial for a show called "Survive the Raft".

I think the idea of the show is interesting but if I want to listen to people talking about politics and their personal beliefs I'd watch the news or listen to a podcast. Give me more actual survival games and I'm in!

FAIL

[jarrodedwardcalvert · 27 November 2023]

How could the show let this happen it was supposed to be about diversity and representation but they let these money hungry meathead womanizer come on and take over total FAIL in my eyes stopped watching and won't watch another episode. I was completely invested until Jimmy and Garrid come in and turn it into a show all about the money and Jimmy completely came up short in all the bounty games he's exactly like CJ said a used car salesman, and in his introduction there's pics of him in between two women with g-strings and this is what the producers thought that's what the people wanted? Well you lost me for sure once again total FAIL.

really cool new show

[aviaryscone · 6/10 · 13 December 2023]

I was fascinated by the idea of a doing a survival show on a raft. And when I watched the series, it didn't disappoint. First of all, the setting is spectacular. Really top notch. And the cast was really interesting. It's a unique mixture of people from different walks of life. But in my opinion, the best thing is all the drama that unfolds. It's much more than a regular survival reality show. My wife didn't like it as much as I did, but I think she is biased against survival shows. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the last episode is a really awesome, so stick around until the bitter end.

Terrible !

[charliemorgan-25032 · 1/10 · 5 August 2023]

Just what everyone is tired of seeing and hearing about All the comments about racial issues the color of my skin , it's time the media stops promoting racism when the majority of our country could really care less what color skin you have . We look at people for who they are as a person and everyone's accomplishments is based on you as a individual and leaning on a crutch of Racism of any type . I am sure this program will only promote attention of and be watched by the people of this great nation that are the source of our problems Our country have.

I am a Vietnam Vet and retired law enforcement officer and I am very surprised that the host would be part of This program.

America Wake Up !

8 for now

[lockshed · 8/10 · 1 August 2023]

This show is definitely like Survivor, but it has a few nuances .

I stopped watching Survivor because of all the social issues going on. Jeff Probst doesn't even say how are you "guys" doing anymore, as "guys" is just inappropriate these days, I suppose.

With that said, this show is based around social issues and classes and religions and races etc and I am not sure why I like it haha.

So in this show, two things stand out.

First, a new, able bodied contestant will be added to the mix every week it appears. But, they will have to vote at the end of the week whether to keep them. But if they keep them, they will have to vote an existing contestant off the raft. That is something I like a lot about this show. For example, a former Miss Montana is on the show. She seems like a really sweet person, but she is vegan. Because of her, the group brought no traditional protein at the start of the show when they could load up on items. She also started crying when they were catching fish later on in the first episode. She is going to get eliminated most likely.

2nd, they give the contestants an opportunity to find cash prizes, of which they can keep and the group would never know. So far, the first cash grab was not clandestinely kept by any contestant but you know it's going to happen.

The sneak peak preview of the series shows the dynamic completely going to heck in a hand basket. With that said, I would have kept every secret cash grab I could have got my hands on. This will be a no brainer if they have future seasons of this show.

There is a male power lifter turned trans. There is a redneck who was raised by a half black parent. There is a Muslim, vegan, the black rabbi had a heart condition due to apparently heat exhaustion and he is no longer on the show after episode 1. So they have a pretty good mix.

Two of the contestants, one black, one white, have fought several times over verbiage and stuff, but off camera, they seem to get along as sometimes you see them sitting very close to each other during the show.

Any way, I give it an 8 as i am entertained enough to at least watch another episode.

Surprisingly bad, even with low expectations

[Ddkent26 · 1/10 · 1 August 2023]

This is terrible. It takes a dozen or so of the most annoying people in the world and makes them compete in a rip off of survivor. The contestants were each worse than the last, basically just a bunch of the stereotypical people you find on the deep parts of Facebook, where people stop acting like real people. I wasn't hoping any of them won or even stayed on the show for another episode, not a likable quality let alone person in the group.

The show makes clear that this isn't a game show, it's a social experiment, which is just dumb, the players compete for a cash prize in a blatant survivor rip off, that's a game show it's why I wanted to watch not for whatever social media buzz generating thing they were going for. Halfway through the episode a guy has a seizure for no reason, they bring him to the hospital then let him keep competing rather than pull him for medical reasons too, so no real stakes to this show, it's just a vessel for super annoying people to say click bait worthy things. Even in an era of low creativity and rage baiting, this is potentially the lowest effort thing I've ever seen created. To the producers and writers who actually managed to come up with a show this bad, you should really consider finding new jobs if this is the content you produce, the world would have been a better place without this show existing.

The reviews show WHY this show was made

[dday-93923 · 10/10 · 8 September 2023]

Reviews I've been reading are PRECISELY why this show was created and the experiment was made..100%. It a show that perfectly embodies us as americans..it's GREAT! There are parts that irritate me too and that is THE POINT!! Watch it and try to learn from it from every angle of world viewpoints. These reviews show just how hard and long we as Americans have to get to a point we can talk, let alone work together to complete common goals regardless of how we feel, think or look. There is a very conservative contestant on the raft that I would initially assume I wasn't going to care for or agree with ..but I find myself agreeing with him in more cases than not..again..this is the point of this experiment!..watch the whole season... not just 1 episode and make a complete judgment based on that...that's part of our issues right now..so.quick to judge with such little info to go off of.

The dumbing down of America continues

[jeff68137 · 1/10 · 13 August 2023]

Enough is enough of this survivor garbage. Intelligent people know this is crap and I would love someone to catch the ones participating going to their secret motel rooms after filming yet another worthless episode. Reality TV is cheap to make and takes NO THOUGHT at all, because it is just stupid and the most worthless garbage I have ever seen. Rates up there with The Apprentice, which was one of the dumbest shows I have ever seen. I couldn't even finish watching one episode and it's the same with this reality crap. Thanks to this crap, nothing new and good will come because the people that think up this crap are too lazy to come up with something better. I'd rather watch a Hallmark Rom Com then this.

Good for a hate watch

[terrencepatrix · 3/10 · 19 September 2023]

This show is just sort of baffling. They took an interesting concept and completely ruined it by over dramatizing every single little thing. I'm not sure how much is scripted or how much people were coached but every single person (except Summer) is completely unlikable. The cast pretends like they're all so invested in this "experiment" and how they want to reach the finish line together as a team. They say all these positive things when the reality is they're the most self-righteous and self centered people you can find. The women are the absolute worst, they constantly find any reason to be offended and resort to group bullying every single episode while pretending they're actually the victims.

And this all takes place in less than 3 weeks time, which really isn't that long of a period of time. The people are all just so ridiculously fake and shallow, the challenges are lame, the constant swapping of contestants is too frequent and takes up the bulk of the show. It's over dramatic shallow trash at the end of the day only good for a hate watch. Summer is gorgeous so I gave it an extra point.

Great concept, horrible execution

[camjgarcia · 2/10 · 19 September 2023]

I thought I would be alone in coming on here to give this show a not so positive review, but I do join the other reviews and just like the heading, say it was a great idea, but horribly produced.

I admit I have been watching the show in its entirety from start to finish and I don't mind some of the things other people are saying, because these game shows are ALL ABOUT politics and saving oneself via alliances and schemes (think back to Richard on Season 1 of Survivor, the original alliance guy). However, this show is ran by the producers, because each episode builds on how the contestants are steadfast in what they will do at the end of the episode, only to find that we as an audience have been dooped, and they were all in agreement the whole time. Like it was going to be some super clever plot twist that we didn't see coming. BUT it is in Every. Single. Episode.

Whoever Yells/Cries the Loudest Gets Their Way

[zachthole · 1/10 · 11 September 2023]

Not a survival show. Not even an experiment.

Whoever gets upset the most, gets their way. It's like the OG cast is trying to lose and not make money. Don't waste your time on this weird and frustrating show.

I'm surprised it's at 5 stars and not lower. Most of the other reviews seem to agree with me. I can't see this coming back for another season.

At this point I'm cheering for those who want to sabatoge the group because they deserve it.

It's like the producers found the worst people from each political groups and put them on the raft then bring in rational and competitive people who try to get on the raft but the OG doesn't want to win.

2 Thumbs up!

[hankypankyyy · 10/10 · 4 August 2023]

I wasn't sure I would like this when a friend told me about it, but I was pleasantly surprised. They put people from different backgrounds, different views and beliefs on a boat in the middle of nowhere and gave them challenges to where they would have to work as a team or argue. With the way the world is right now, it's very divided but to see a group of people that have to come together for the greater good, gives me hope. There are so many hateful people in this world (as you see in this comment section alone), it's nice to see that people can coexist even if they don't agree. I'm sure tempers will flare in the future episodes and maybe some opinions will be changed and maybe some will walk away from it learning nothing at all or maybe become more accepting of ALL people. I have high hopes that this show, if nothing else, is going to teach people how to be kind to one another and that you can't judge a book by it's cover. Great job!

The worst of the worst.

[sysgoddess · 2/10 · 1 August 2023]

The actor / would-be host, Nate Boyer, has assembled 9 people for an alleged social experiment in cooperation for the greater good. The premise is an old well worn one studied many times to see if the participants will pull together or if they will sdoggedly pursue their needs or desires.

Assembled are some of the most odious characters you will find in the murky backwaters of social media & Truth Social (lol).

I changed channels in the first 20 minutes when one of the cretins wanted to spend their very limited funds not on food but on ice (really!) and another wanted to spend the remainder on comfort items.

Social experiment! Wanna be survivor but more charming

[megankayolsen · 9/10 · 6 August 2023]

This show is a lot like survivor only people are way more open to share opinions! They get people from all walks of life! It's a fun watch! I honestly like it more than survivor!.The people open up and talk about life and opinions. You have a beach bum to a rabbi. It's very entertaining watching everyone's problem solving and how they handle conflict and survival. Also who is a leader and follower. The followers are often better. It's a fun watch, I recommend it! Also if you're into politics it's hilarious to watch. They bring up their views a lot in the show. Religion politics. Very interesting.

Polarising

[paulie-70246 · 1/10 · 29 August 2023]

To date, every single reviewer rated this series 1, 2, 9, or 10. You will likely think its amazing or absolute vomit material, depending on whether you think people must be judged on their hierarchy of victim-hood or privilege.

The producer has collected a bunch of extreme stereotypes, from apparent white redneck good ol' boy raised by a black family, an anorexic vegan who cries when someone catches a fish, a loud black woman who dissects every statement to see if she can be offended, the obligatory Muslim woman who thinks everyone is prejudiced against her, the obligatory trans male weightlifter, the beautiful tall athletic blonde, get the message?

The remaining normal people (once the black rabbi , honestly] is med-evacuated off) don't stand a chance because everything they say or do is judged by the others. Currently no-one trusts one of the contestants, but are afraid to vote them off because they are from a minority, and everyone else already voted off was also from a minority. For goodness sake, its hard not to vote off a minority when they are in the majority.

That was when i gave up in disgust.

Racism, redneck, blah blah blah

[wbrumbaugh · 2/10 · 15 August 2023]

I like the premise but this is just what's wrong w America. Everyone believes they're a victim of some perceived injustice. I barely got through the first episode without a dozen or more eye rolls and groans over the BS. You have to hear about how terrible white privilege is (I'm still looking for mine). Spend your evening watching another series, this will probably irritate you more than entertain you. The sights are beautiful but the cast is awful and the tasks are a ripoff of so many other reality TV shows. Each task seems to revolve around "banking " money for the team or secretly taking some for yourself. The first episode everyone worked for the commonal goal shockingly.

I wanted to like this

[Itwassoannoying · 3/10 · 25 September 2023]

But it's just so bad. It also doesn't help that they constantly reference the original experiment which sounds like it was much more interesting and would've made a better show. This show seemed like it wanted everyone at eachothers throats but they all just kinda worked together, and at worst were slightly annoyed by each other once in a while. Bringing new people on every episode and creating the vote was just straight up stupid, not gonna try to rip it apart, it was just a bad idea. They should have just been given the option to vote members off if they wanted, make it more ominous and random.

There are also no stakes at all. It's just all chill, they're clearly taken care of and don't have to do any real survival. It's like Big Brother on a boat but somehow more boring and with less conflict, honestly it's kind of amazing how much they seemed to fail at their own concept here of "difficult and different people being forced to live together."

This show needs to take its concept and mix it with The Mole, and simplify concepts a bit. There is just way too much going on, like several different shows happening at once.

Also Russ, the vegan and the little Karen ruined everything.

Interesting 🤔😐😒 But No

[hersheyk-45184 · 2/10 · 23 August 2023]

I was intrigued to was this show to see if humans could get pass trivial petty differences and come together and accept each other in order to survive when it counted the most and win a small fortune at the end.... But no they chose drama and race baiting... triggers and gang mentality..there was an uneven perspective to begin with which told me from the beginning I knew who was going be be gone 1st no matter what. And episode 4 sent me off the rails. In survival you need as many resources as possible. When they got rid of the chickens because the vegan girl cried and caused people..I was thrown. And that was the same girl that ran around and told everyone SHE DOEST FEEL SAFE because of what Lashanda said to someone else..not even talking to her..I see where this is going.

WOW

[michaelisking-66226 · 10/10 · 1 August 2023]

Man oh man, talk about a sticky situation...a very sweet, tasty, nasty, dirty and oh so rich situation. Rich with possibilites!

This got real good real fast. That is IF you like drama, conflict, conflict resolution, survival, success, failure, and a little bit of fear? A good bit of anger, misunderstandings, miscommunications, physical exhaustion, mental exhaustion... emotional breakdowns, love, respect, disrespect. And... Don't forget the Money Money Money!!!

There's some teamwork, trust, mistrust, a whole lot of nature, a whole lot of ocean, a whole lot of sun, wind, rain, and a whole lot of natural human conflict.

It's really interesting to see how people try their best to understand others, and to understand themselves. They give it the old college try, and a lot of times fall short. But they're courageous in their efforts. They've got such good intentions. They want to understand each other and themselves. This is such a good study of what it is to be human. To be "family". On overdrive that is! But hey, the planet IS ON Overdrive! Right now! Let's watch ourselves and see how we do. Lets see what we do, with all we are given.

We're pretty amazing, resourceful, highly unusual, unique and creative creatures, us humans... It's exciting! Next episode please!

The end gives hope

[krishnag-82966 · 9/10 · 27 September 2023]

People are viewing this with their own political lenses but the end where people voted to divide the bounty between themselves.

And this is after all the back biting, all the stress they were put through and the backgrounds(most of them needing it badly).

It makes me believe in the future of the world and the fact that people can rest their prejudice aside and see the best in others.

I also love the fact that they were no ugly fights that we generally associate reality TV with and that the show was kind enough to include people from all walks of life and different choices.

Truly uplifting and sorry about the people who can't appreciate it.

Poor village used as backdrop for riches

[castleuvcandy · 2/10 · 1 October 2023]

Great idea ... but pretty disgusting when a show can walk through thousands of dollars of cash right down Main Street of a seriously underdeveloped poor village and make no donation to them because the biggest thing to worry about is whose name gets crossed off a piece of paper for thousands of dollars . I enjoyed the show until I saw the ignorance for a humanitarian opportunity. To add injury to the event, this takes place on top of village CHURCH too-I mean celebrating atop a poor village's church where people gather, many likely to ask for help with their struggles, help out of poverty, better medical care, etc. And then a game show dances and celebrates on their roof like money is no big deal.