Which of the 16 contestants can Outlast their competitors in the extreme Alaskan wild and win a share of $1 Million? An intense but watchable reality show.

Over the years, there have been a lot of survival reality shows, all of which have a competitive edge. Survivor has been running for over 20 years, and more recently, we've had Physical 100, which tested extreme strength, and now we can add Outlast to that list.

What starts out as an incredibly difficult task of simply being able to survive in the extreme Alaskan wild for more than a month turns into and epic game where strategy trumps sportsmanship.

But what is Outlast all about, and is it worth watching?

What Is Outlast About?

The premise is simple. 16 lone wolves are dropped into the Alaskan wild with nothing more than the clothes on their back. They must instantly form teams of four members. They then become Alpha team, Bravo team, Charlie team, and Delta team.

With limited supplies they must now find a place to build a shelter, start a fire and figure out how they are going to outlast the rest of their competitors over the next 45 days.

Nobody can get voted out. The only rule is that you must be part of a team. If you find yourself on your own without a team, you must leave.

The only way you can leave is if you fire your flare into the sky, a signal that you are bowing out of the game.

Using all of their survival skills, the one team left standing at the end will win a massive cash prize of a million dollars.

Over the duration of the reality tv show, life gets unbelievably tough for the contestants as Winter sets in. With no food supplies, players forage, fish and hunt their way around the island in the freezing cold, all while trying to make it to the finish line.

Outlast Official Trailer

Is Outlast Worth Watching?

Like all competitive reality shows, Outlast has plenty to keep viewers engaged. Contestants drop out for all sorts of reasons. Three get so sick they have to be medically evacuated. Others simply cannot bear it when teams begin to turn nasty, destroying camps in a bid to force players out of the game.

Much has been made of Jill and Amber – in an episode that has to be seen to be believed – when they, as part of the Alpha team, sabotage a rival team by stealing their sleeping bags, which essentially keeps them from freezing to death. It's definitely a turning point in the game!

By the time we get to the final two teams, it's all to play for, as our previous lone wolves have fully embraced team life, jumped to rival teams, played mind games, and done everything possible to survive the extreme Alaskan wild.

There's a lot to like about Outlast. The editing is excellent, and you always know how long they've been there, how cold it is, how little food they have, and when tasks pop up, such as when a fishing expedition proves successful.

The tasks are tough, and it really takes a special team to Outlast all of the others to win the game. But for season one, at least, the winning team played a great game, largely kept their integrity intact, and won by having the best survival skills, which is what it's all about.