Discovery+ has a hit on its hands with Survive the Raft, a new reality series that puts nine people from different walks of life on a raft for 21 days.
There, they must live and work in close contact as they come against adverse weather, differing opinions, and much more.
It’s the perfect social experiment with some strategy thrown in for good measure. TV Fanatic got the chance to speak with host Nate Boyer about being a part of the project.
The project enticed him on the concept alone.
“The idea of these very diverse people being thrust into this environment where they’re forced to get to know one another, and they’re forced to have not only conversations, but experience things that are challenging, and understand that just because somebody thinks and feels and believes something different than them, it doesn’t mean they can’t work together.”
“It doesn’t mean we can’t become great friends or close. And just because somebody doesn’t have the same opinions as me and feels the same way doesn’t mean we are meant to always see eye to eye,” the Mayans M.C. alum added.
“We’re unique and different too. So I think that that it’s a great lesson. It was a great lesson for me. I got to learn a ton from watching this, and I got to grow a bit myself, but I think it’s a great lesson for the world to be able to experience that and open our eyes up.”
Nate says that we live in a time when it’s easy only to surround ourselves with comfortable things.
“We live in a time where there are a lot of echo chambers, and it’s very easy to silo ourselves and just put ourselves around what’s comfortable and who’s comfortable.”
“‘Oh, these people think like me; I’m just going to only hang out with them,” he used as an example, adding that he doesn’t think that’s the best way forward.
Nate added that the experiment was constantly evolving and noted that the contestants had a lot of autonomy over how things played out.
“We let them make a lot of the rules and kind of create this experience and environment for themselves,” he dished, saying that some of the contestants were a little bit taken aback by it.
Many unscripted series come with rules, so it’s refreshing that the show went in this direction.
Nate believes eliminating many rules allows viewers to pay attention to the dynamics between the contestants.
“You get to see this journey of growth for these people throughout, and it’s up to them whether they’re willing to change and grow or stay the same person they were before they boarded that raft.”
Boyer says that the contestants sometimes clash, but that doesn’t mean they don’t admire each other.
“We get close with anybody, even with people that we love more than anything, our own families. We can certainly get into it.”
Boyer was shocked at how quickly everyone opened up to each other on Sunday’s series premiere.
He appreciated that they were “willing to go there and be open.”
Nate said that it does get more difficult because of the added element of the limited supplies, being out in the elements of the Pacific Ocean, and knowing that they have to rely on each other for survival.
“A lot of that stuff gets put aside, and they’re like, ‘What’s the most important thing here?’ And they’re understanding quickly. Like, ‘I’ve got to work together with this team. I can’t do this alone.'”
“If we’re all put in a situation like that as human beings, we’re willing to bend a bit and kind of change our outlook on things, or at least I hope, and not everybody is.”
“You’ll see that with the show that not everybody is all the time. It’s hard to give up and be willing to sacrifice that and let yourself be open to other ideas and opinions.”
“When you’ve got these strong personalities and these people that are born leaders. You can’t all lead at once; sometimes, you have to be a follower.”
“And so watching that dynamic unfold was really cool. It surprised me every day.”
“I had my own preconceived notions and expectations, and I had my people when I first met this crew; I was immediately like assessing everybody and making a snap judgment about who I think will be successful and who won’t.”
“And I was wrong so many times,” he said with a laugh.
Survive the Raft continues Sundays at 9 p.m. on Discovery.
It’s genuinely one of the most unique social experiments in recent memory.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.