Channel 4 has announced an “ambitious” new survival programme that will see ordinary people sent into an abandoned town to fight for their lives following an apocalyptic event.
The eight-part series, called Apocalypse, will see its competitors use their survival skills to face “extraordinary but completely credible challenges” following a global disaster.
Contestants will have to survive for 28 days without running water, heating or electricity. They will also have to scavenge for food and find useful supplies that they can attempt to reuse or repurpose.
Apocalypse will test the limits of the group of strangers as they venture into the “alien yet familiar world”. Some participants may band together to form a team, while others entirely fall apart.
The series will urge viewers to consider potential worst-case disaster scenarios that could affect the global population today.
The programme suggests that if an apocalyptic event occurred, the scramble to survive would take place in familiar towns and cities, rather than forests, deserts or jungles, as many Hollywood films have depicted.
Nicola Brown, creative director at production company The Garden, said: “Apocalypse is a hugely ambitious new take on the beloved survival genre. We're dropping our cast in an incredible urban landscape, filled with the debris of modern life.
“In this alien yet familiar world, they'll start again from scratch and discover what's really important to them. We can't wait to chart the highs and lows as our cast face a series of tough choices, battling the environment and perhaps even each other.”
Ian Dunkley, commissioning editor at Channel 4, added: “Apocalypse will be the real deal – ordinary people in an authentic urban setting facing extraordinary but completely credible challenges.
“We’ve all wondered how we would cope if disaster struck close to home, and this series promises to give us a very good idea.”
Apocalypse joins Channel 4’s healthy offering of survival shows, which has previously included the castaway series The Island with Bear Grylls and the military training programme SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The announcement comes after former Watford striker Troy Deeney, X Factor star Lucy Spraggan and Peru Two member Michaella McCollum raced to victory on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins last week.
Deeney broke down in tears as the trio won the celebrity edition of the programme, later announcing he’d given up alcohol and begun therapy for his anger after the reality competition changed his “whole life”.
A release date for Apocalypse is yet to be announced.
