‘Castaways’ Premiere: Viewers Puzzled by Reality Show Premise

ABC’s Castaways has viewers on Twitter writing, “huh?”

The new reality series, which premiered right after the season premiere of Bachelor in Paradise, follows a group of strangers fighting to survive in a deserted island, in a part-documentary, part-social experiment.

“A group of 12 strangers torn from their everyday lives are shipwrecked on a string of islands in the South Pacific among washed up luggage, scattered resources, and abandoned structures. They are lost, stranded, and alone,” a man’s voice narrates explaining the premise of the complex series.

“Throughout the journey, we’ll flashback to their real lives. They have come here to push themselves to the limit. There are only two ways to escape the islands – survive until the rescue team arrives or quit,” the narrator adds.

“Will they choose to survive alone, or will they attempt to find the others?”

The series is described by the network as testing “the human need for companionship under extreme circumstances as each individual learns there are other castaways out there but are unaware of how many, their locations or when they will be rescued,” Deadline reported when the show was first announced in June.

Twitter users weren’t sure what to make of the show’s use of flashback, making the “shipwreck” aspect of the series lacking even more in authenticity.

The series is produced by Nomad Entertainment. Kat Kahler, who previously worked as creator and executive producer on Discovery’s Alaska: The Last Frontier and executive produced History Channel’s Alone and The Selection, serves as showrunner.

Castaways airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.