06 Dec 2023, 00:00

The stars of Naked and Afraid Castaways will be putting their lives on the line in the wilderness but do the contestants get paid to appear?

Buckle up for jaw-dropping challenges and creepy crawlies as nine contestants take on a survival mission completely nude.

Naked And Afraid is returning to screens with an all-new spinoff titled Castaways. Premiering on Sunday, July 30, the series will see alumni return for the most brutal adventure yet as they kick things off in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Their mental and physical abilities will be put to the test as they encounter swarms of bugs, snakes, and armadillos with no tools to defend themselves. With so much at stake, does the cast receive a prize or cash in return?

Do contestants on Naked And Afraid Castaways get paid?

Naked And Afraid contestants are paid but it is by no means too generous. Cast members join the survival series purely to test their limits, but casting director Kristi Russell reassures that they are paid a “weekly stipend to compensate for their lost wages.”

“We’re taking them away from their job, and we realize that,” she continued.

The production team reportedly cover flights, two nights in a hotel, and $5000 in cash to compensate for lost wages.

Naked And Afraid XL contestants must survive a whopping 40 days outdoors – double the original length – so it’s only fitting that they reportedly received $24,000 for the extra commitment.

Stars aren’t sent out into the wilderness without training either; they are educated on the three basic survival tools: creating fire, building shelter, and obtaining clean water.

Castaways features nine adventurers who have already experienced Naked And Afraid at least once so they are already familiar with the procedures. The new spinoff guarantees more difficult conditions as contestants aren’t allowed one personal item, as seen in the original series e.g. fire starter or hatchet.

Instead, they’ll be fashioning items from wreckage and debris found on the way. The Discovery synopsis hints at a shipwreck, an abandoned military jeep, and a crashed airplane.

Is there a prize on Naked And Afraid Castaways?

If it’s anything like the original series, Castaways will have no monetary prize. Similar competition shows, such as Survivor, offer up to $1 million for their life-threatening troubles, but Naked And Afraid winners walk away with boasting rights only.

In the UK’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! stars are paid up to £500,000 ($644,000) to live in a jungle camp for up to three weeks. They participate in gruesome eating challenges and are occasionally smothered in Australia’s nastiest wildlife, but it is still no match for Naked And Afraid.

Six-time Naked And Afraid star, Jeff Zausch, revealed his passionate reasoning for signing up despite no cash reward: “This is who we are,” he admitted. “This is what we are made of. Some people were made to be race car drivers. Some people were, you know, made to be CEOs of companies. We were made to push the limits of what’s humanly possible.”

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