Airs: First season premieres Tuesday on ABC
The premise: “Castaways” is a reality series that follows 12 people as they’re dropped alone throughout various islets in Indonesia. They are challenged to survive among washed-up luggage, scattered resources and abandoned structures. The only way to leave the islands is to persevere long enough to be rescued or to quit. During episodes, the series flashes back to each participant’s real lives in documentary style.
Highs: If you’ve seen the trailers for “Castaways,” you might think it’s ABC’s answer to “Survivor.” Both reality shows leave people stranded on an island where they have to fend for themselves. But that’s where any similarities end.
The most obvious difference is in the people on-screen. You won’t see 20-somethings in board shorts or bikinis in “Castaways.” People on this show aren’t built like supermodels. There’s no host, no challenges and no one gets voted off. The 12 participants are diverse, with ages ranging from 20 to 62 and a mix of race and gender, so they’re more representative of society. The content and feel of the show also diverge significantly from “Survivor.”
“Castaways” is a serious program, its participants dealing with life-altering issues. Angel, 20, is an immigrant from Honduras, now living with his mother in California. He’s trying to get his brother into the U.S. — if his brother lives long enough to get here. Krichelle, 24, is suffocated by her family, who live off the grid in Hawaii. She wants to experience life on her own. Terry, 62, cares for her aging parents, including her mother, who has dementia.
Every castaway is dealing with significant problems, which is emphasized through cut-scenes taped before they’re stranded. Their issues are best illustrated by what we learn about Kenzi, 24, and Robbie, 42, the focus of most of the premiere. They are the first two to find each other, but they couldn’t be more different.
Kenzi is a musician from Nashville who seems unable to trust people. Robbie weighs 390 pounds, has abandonment issues and was told by his daughter in a flashback, “You have really bad mental skills.” After two days together, Kenzi is ready to break off on her own, and Robbie is afraid she’ll leave. Yikes!
While that sounds harsh, “Castaways” makes for interesting TV. It has an honesty and openness uncommon for a reality show.
Lows: The premiere jumps right into telling the viewer about the participants, but it also leaves you with a lot of questions. Why did these people join this social experiment? How will fighting to survive on an island help with their troubles back home? It’s unclear what the end game is for those who volunteered.
More troubling is that the premiere is dour. The lovely scenery belies the show’s serious content because all the participants seem to be going through something stressful. If a program is going to share people’s struggles, viewers need to know there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. That wasn’t visible after one episode.
Grade: (B-): Watching the pilot of “Castaways,” I was reminded of the saying, “You never know what people are going through.” The people on this series seem like regular folks you meet every day, which makes watching them go through this experience intriguing.
Gazette TV critic Terry Terrones is a member of the Television Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. You can follow him on Twitter at @terryterrones.
Your Privacy Choices