Let’s be real: contestants on “I Survived Bear Grylls” couldn’t have been too surprised at the unusual culinary fare on which they feasted during their time on the TBS competition series.
“A lot of bull testicles, fish eyeballs, cow lips, turkey penises — all the usual,” Grylls told the Post about “I Survived Bear Grylls,” premiering May 18 (9 p.m.)
“I Survived” is a mashup of the survival and game-show genres. Hosted by Grylls and comedian Jordan Conley, it features eight standalone episodes with new players facing specially designed games amping up Grylls’ adventures documented in his other shows, including the celeb-focused “Into The Wild With Bear Grylls,” and “Running Wild With Bear Grylls.”
“I always have the same focus … to empower other people and show how the wild can build us,” said Grylls, 48. “‘Running Wild’ continues [to do that] and ‘Into The Wild’ is introducing stars to the magic of the outdoors.
“For this series, I wanted to bring the outdoors to regular people, not celebrities, and show that the wild can challenge you in ways it’s hard to find in everyday life.
“This is an adventure survival game show where we’re creating scenarios in a controlled environment and asking armchair survivalists to show what they’re really made of,” he said. “There are so many armchair survivalists … so let’s educate some of the people and re-create really interesting survivalist disaster environment — and see who’s all mouth and who’s all trousers.”
Grylls said the challenges faced by the contestants were no walk in the park — and stretched the boundaries of their tolerance and endurance.
“We did so many challenges and it was really fun to come up with all these things, which I’ve been through in the wild many times over,” he said. “In one challenge they had to simulate a broken leg and splint it; get zapped by 50,000 volts of electricity; negotiate a mud pit with a live alligator [in it]; try to retrieve a broken cellphone … this is all happening while they’re getting blasted with water and they’re in pain.
“We always have a huge survival team there with a lot of medics,” he said. “We took people to the edge physically and mentally and emotionally — people were getting hypothermia and had close calls with other things … bows and arrows, axes,” he said.
“It tickles the edge of the risk-survivor profile.”
Grylls said that the contestants who make it through are, more than anything else, proud of their accomplishments in overcoming their initial fears.
“A lot of people talk a good game … and, honestly, if they put their heads down and lead with their heart and are efficient, they tend to grow,” he said. “It’s an interesting scenario at the end of each episode where we see inspirational figures showing great courage and often surprising themselves.
“And I love that,” he said. “People really want to prove themselves and show me and their families and loves ones that they’ve got what it takes.
“You never know who the heroes are in real life.”
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