The fans of 7 vs. Wild are currently concerned about their favorite series, which is starting to seem more and more like a jungle camp.
7 vs. Wild was supposed to be the opposite of the RTL show “I’m a Celebrity”, even though there are certainly overlaps. Once stranded, the participants are on their own. “No camera crews, no contact with the outside world, complete isolation,” was stated back in Season 2 of the series.
In Season 3, not only did the theme of isolation change due to the team edition, but the sale of the series to a production company caused quite a stir.
Already after the end of the third season, I was worried, 7 vs. Wild could drift further away from real survival and closer to trash TV. A new video series on Instagram now confirms my suspicion.
One of the participants of 7 vs. Wild is LetsHugo, you can learn more about his success here:
Interviews with participants cause stomach aches
New interviews with the participants have now been released on TikTok. In these, the seven participants are seen in individual interviews. However, the way these interviews are structured directly evokes a connection for many viewers to trash TV series like Jungle Camp and Big Brother.
In the interview, the participants are supposed to create a ranking of how a hierarchy in a possible group might look. So, who calls the shots and who follows the orders.
Another question addresses the concerns of the participants. They are asked where they absolutely do not want to be stranded. The video then shows answers from participants who are worried about the cold.
In the last seasons, there was almost as much hype around the preparation videos as around the season itself. The participants consulted with former candidates, fans, and spent a long time figuring out what equipment and clothing to take with them.
They also met partially beforehand to get to know each other and to practice. For the sake of secrecy, the decision to produce these interviews as a substitute or addition feels like a step towards a jungle camp. Especially when it comes to creating a ranking of individuals, controversy is almost guaranteed.
The community reacts cynically
The fans on Reddit are also worried about the interviews. Users like Yallcantspellkawhi express themselves on Reddit rather soberly: “So far, I haven’t shared these Big Brother fears, but I unfortunately have to say that this video now also gives me reality TV vibes. Several participants are already describing possible conflict potential and everyone seems to be thinking in certain hierarchies already.”
Others like MolassesAdmirable747 react cynically to the interviews on Reddit: “This is going to be a great show. I’m looking forward to the games and challenges where they can win their food rations for the day. It would also be very important to have permanently installed cameras in the camp so that the participants don’t delete half of the footage out of boredom again.”
Fritz Meinecke is not about stress
In the announcement for the game mode, Fritz Meinecke talks about not wanting to cause any stress through the group stints. It is not supposed to be about trash TV and the survival simulation is only to be disturbed when a participant wants to leave the show, but in the past season, this promise was also broken multiple times.
Be it through participants who interacted with organization members when picking up the SD cards or drones that produced cutaway shots for the show while the participants were stranded. The topic of isolation seems to have been deliberately downplayed.
To what extent the group dynamics ultimately ensure that it is more about interpersonal relationships than about survival will only be revealed when the groups are aired. However, the signs already point to 7 vs. Wild ultimately becoming a jungle camp with the new season. Already after the end of the last season, we had warned of this scenario: If 7 vs. Wild continues like this, in 3 years it will be the jungle camp for YouTube – time to change something
