With its high peaks and wide swaths of wilderness, Colorado draws the outdoorsy type. So where better than this state to hunt down contestants for a survival reality TV show? Denver dispensary owner Jim Rice is a Survivor alum, Matt Wright of Elbert appeared on several seasons of Naked and Afraid, and soon, a local family will be in the limelight — with one member stranded in the Canadian wilderness.
Premiering on Fox on February 10, Extracted follows twelve amateur survivalists as they navigate the backcountry of Whistler, British Columbia. Meanwhile, two of each contestant’s family members are stationed at a separate headquarters, monitoring their loved ones and other participants through a 24/7 livestream. Strategic alliances form in an effort to secure limited resources for the stranded relatives, who were left with no more than twelve ounces of fresh water, a daypack and the clothes on their backs.
The families at HQ serve another key function: They decide when their loved ones have had enough. But by pushing the red “extract” button and sending them back to civilization, they forgo the $250,000 grand prize.
Premiering on Fox on February 10, Extracted follows twelve amateur survivalists as they navigate the backcountry of Whistler, British Columbia. Meanwhile, two of each contestant’s family members are stationed at a separate headquarters, monitoring their loved ones and other participants through a 24/7 livestream. Strategic alliances form in an effort to secure limited resources for the stranded relatives, who were left with no more than twelve ounces of fresh water, a daypack and the clothes on their backs.
The families at HQ serve another key function: They decide when their loved ones have had enough. But by pushing the red “extract” button and sending them back to civilization, they forgo the $250,000 grand prize.
After an application for Survivor stalled, Rose Hyak came across an Extracted casting call on Instagram last year. She forwarded the post to her cousin, Kelsey Nichols, who runs a hiking-centric Instagram, @kelseyoutdoors, who got the ball rolling.
However, the duo needed a third participant. Initially, one of Nichols’ two sisters was to fill the gap; when she bowed out because of personal demands, the Denver cousins enlisted Nichols’ mom, Laura Foster, during a midnight call to her home in Austin. Worried it was an emergency, Foster picked up the phone and heard their unexpected request; drowsy, she agreed with little question. “I wasn't really thinking about it. I had no more information than that,” Foster says.
“Because this has never been done before, we all thought it was going to be more like Survivor in a way. But this show is so different,” adds Foster.
Even the cousins admit they didn’t quite understand what they were getting into. Hyak knew that she would be playing a physical game, so she made weight-lifting a big part of her workouts; hiking, rock climbing and playing in the Denver Gay & Lesbian Flag Football League were already part of her routine. She also practiced archery and fire-starting techniques ahead of the September filming. “Kelsey and I were going to take a REI navigation course, but we just didn’t have the time beforehand,” Hyak adds. (Extracted viewers will soon find out if that was a crucial misstep.)
When she agreed to participate, Hyak didn’t realize that she would be on her own in the rugged Canadian wilderness. “I'm a very social person. I rarely spend time alone,” she says. “I think the scariest part was doing this without my support system near me.” Knowing trusted family members were watching out gave her some sense of peace, however.
However, the duo needed a third participant. Initially, one of Nichols’ two sisters was to fill the gap; when she bowed out because of personal demands, the Denver cousins enlisted Nichols’ mom, Laura Foster, during a midnight call to her home in Austin. Worried it was an emergency, Foster picked up the phone and heard their unexpected request; drowsy, she agreed with little question. “I wasn't really thinking about it. I had no more information than that,” Foster says.
“Because this has never been done before, we all thought it was going to be more like Survivor in a way. But this show is so different,” adds Foster.
Even the cousins admit they didn’t quite understand what they were getting into. Hyak knew that she would be playing a physical game, so she made weight-lifting a big part of her workouts; hiking, rock climbing and playing in the Denver Gay & Lesbian Flag Football League were already part of her routine. She also practiced archery and fire-starting techniques ahead of the September filming. “Kelsey and I were going to take a REI navigation course, but we just didn’t have the time beforehand,” Hyak adds. (Extracted viewers will soon find out if that was a crucial misstep.)
When she agreed to participate, Hyak didn’t realize that she would be on her own in the rugged Canadian wilderness. “I'm a very social person. I rarely spend time alone,” she says. “I think the scariest part was doing this without my support system near me.” Knowing trusted family members were watching out gave her some sense of peace, however.
But according to Foster, life at HQ wasn’t so easygoing, either. “We were able to not only see Rose, but all of the survivalists. There were some days where it was extremely emotional because you're taking on the stress of everybody out there. You want to be supportive but also, it's a competition," she says, adding, “I still have dreams, or nightmares, about being on the show.”
Still, Foster says she would sign up again — and her daughter and niece agree.
“This was the most amazing experience — even though in all of the commercials I am, like, ugly crying,” jokes Nichols. “I took away a lot in terms of the mental side of things. But I really wish that I got to do more of the physical side, because that is so important to me.” She’s now seeking out opportunities to flex her strength and grow her accomplishments in that area.
Hyak also has goals to further prove her physical abilities, but is still processing her experience on Extracted. “I didn't know the impact that being alone would have on me. It brought to light a lot of things from my past,” she says, noting that she's now in therapy. “I've been able to really work on some things from my childhood and stuff that I just didn't know was there, so I'm very grateful for this show.”
Foster concludes with another key takeaway from Extracted (one that perhaps not all contestants can say after being pushed to the extreme): “We were already a very close family, but it definitely made our group closer.”
Hyak also has goals to further prove her physical abilities, but is still processing her experience on Extracted. “I didn't know the impact that being alone would have on me. It brought to light a lot of things from my past,” she says, noting that she's now in therapy. “I've been able to really work on some things from my childhood and stuff that I just didn't know was there, so I'm very grateful for this show.”
Foster concludes with another key takeaway from Extracted (one that perhaps not all contestants can say after being pushed to the extreme): “We were already a very close family, but it definitely made our group closer.”
Extracted premieres at 6 p.m. MST on Monday, February 10, on Fox. Learn more here.
