Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Do you have what it takes to survive in a post-apocalyptic world?
It’s the kind of question you might find yourself discussing with friends after a few drinks at the pub.
Could you tough it out in a Walking Dead/Last Of Us-type scenario? Or Would you fold at the first hurdle?
It’s the million-dollar question.
“There’s something about the concept of ‘the end of the world’ that is appealing to a lot of people,” says ex-Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia (affectionately known as JLP), who is speaking with PLAY ahead of the launch of his new show, which sees contestants attempting to do just that.
Apocalypse is a fascinating new reality-series-come-social-experiment, which sees 14 ordinary Australians and Brits split from all walks of life, into two mixed groups and dropped into a real life, abandoned town.
They’re tasked with surviving for 28 days without power, running water, food, or any form of communication — it’s a terrific concept for a show, and one that’s likely to have viewers hooked.
“I was really drawn to the idea,” JLP explains.
“We live in this modern world, where life is messy, and uncertain, and we seem to have an endless stream of problems.
“If this apocalyptic event (was to occur), and all that stuff disappears, all that just gets reduced to one objective, right? Which is: survive, or die.”
The show is a co-commission between Binge and the UK’s Channel 4, with the producers responsible for mammoth shows like Squid Game: The Challenge and Alone Australia behind the big budget, cinematic series.
The place used for the show used to be a real, functioning town in the United States, but in recent years its been a training base for urban warfare exercises by the US military.
It boasts an abandoned hospital, school, supermarket and homes and businesses — all amenities that would potentially make the place even remotely hospitable are unavailable.
How does a group of ordinary people — we’re talking a mechanic, a paramedic, a farmer, a psychologist and even a social media influencer — cope after everything it takes to function in a modern society is stripped from them?
LaPaglia, who was host of Australian Survivor for almost a decade, is on hand to guide viewers through the unique experiment.
“When I first heard about Apocalypse, I was immediately drawn to the scale and ambition of the project,” he explains.
“I’ve spent years watching people navigate pressure, strategy and uncertainty, but this takes those dynamics into a completely new environment.
“Dropping ordinary people into a post-disaster world where every decision matters, creates a fascinating test of resilience, relationships and survival.”
JLP was called in to narrate two episodes at a time once everything was filmed, cut and finished.
He admits he was invested from the get-go.
“I was actually hooked with the teaser of the first episode,” JLP explains, “because it reminded me of The Blair Witch Project.
“It created more questions than it gave answers, and for me, that’s really good storytelling, and that grabs me — I wanted to know more.”
As a fan of the SBS survival series Alone, JLP knew he wanted to be involved as soon as he found out the producers behind that hit series were also helming Apocalypse.
“I am a big fan of the original Alone and I have watched almost all of those seasons,” he explains.
“Obviously, it’s in good hands.
“I got to the end of the first episode, and I was like, ‘Oh, what a great cliffhanger!’
“They would drip-feed me two episodes, and I would get them just before the voice-over, so I could watch it, and every week I’d be like, ‘I can’t wait another week! I need to see what is going to happen next!”
Like viewers are bound to do, JLP found himself imagining how HE would survive if placed in the same scenario, “which I think will be part of the appeal (of the show),” he explains.
“You look at that situation and you ask yourself: how would I respond? How would I cope?
“How would I survive, not only in the environment, but also with the other people I was left with, which I think is probably the bigger question.
“Could I survive with those people?
“I have asked myself those questions. And I think that is what this show taps into.”
