What’s Worth Watching: Survivalists Endure Intense Isolation On Alone

Alone, “And So It Begins” (Thursday, June 18, 10/9c, History)

You’d be forgiven for thinking History’s new reality competition is the same show as NBC’s The Island, currently airing Monday nights. On the surface, they’re quite similar—a group of men is dropped into a remote area and left to survive. But in execution, the shows couldn’t be more different.

Whereas The Island creates a Lord of the Flies type situation where 14 men band together to create a little society on an island, the concept of Alone is far more terrifying. As the title suggests, the cast members of this show spend the entirety of their time in complete isolation. As experienced survivalists (rather than average Joes), they’re capable of battling the brutal elements of Canada’s rainy Vancouver Island all by their lonesome. They don’t even have cameramen—they’ve all got to film their own stories. So why would they put themselves through that? Because unlike on The Island, whoever lasts the longest will take home a life-changing $500,000. Ka-ching.