Five reasons you should watch Bear Grylls' Netflix survival show Celebrity Bear Hunt
Celebrity Bear Hunt is available to stream on Netflix.
Bear Grylls' much-anticipated series Celebrity Bear Hunt has dropped on Netflix — and early reviews have been somewhat mixed.
Ahead of its release, the Netflix show had been tipped to be the next I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!, swapping the Australian jungle for the Costa Rican jungle and presenters Ant and Dec for Holly Willoughy.
But does the show have the shock factor and entertainment value to rival the popular ITV show?
The reality television format, in which a number of celebrities live together in a jungle environment, sees the celebrities live in a lodge a lot more inviting than base camp in the Australian jungle.
The celebrities are offered beds with mosquito nets, cooking facilities, access to their own clothes and personal items and even a beautiful view of the sea.
Celebrity Bear Hunt drops 12 famous contestants into the jungle where they have to put their survival skills to the test as they attempt to avoid being hunted down by adventurer Grylls.
The show puts consciousness of surroundings, situational awareness, haste, stamina, and teamwork to the test as the celebrities are put through their paces in various challenges under the scorching heat of the South American sun.
Contestants take on a series of team challenges and the person who impresses Grylls the least following the challenge, is summoned to the Bear Pit - several square kilometres of jungle hell.
The celebrities selected to enter the Bear Pit are given the task to escape the pit before getting hunted down by Grylls, using their survival skills in the process.
Of the celebrities that are caught, Grylls chooses which celebrities impressed him with how they navigated the challenge and who will return safely to the lodge and the celebrity who failed to impress him and will back their bags for home.
The show marks a career reinvention for host Willoughby after quitting This Morning in 2023 and features stars including Irish singer-songwriter Una Healy, Mel B of the Spice Girls, former world number one tennis player Boris Becker, and Kola Bokinni who rose to fame in Ted Lasso and whose mother hails from the Kingdom of Kerry.
It wouldn’t be a complete cast without some Irish involvement. In Grylls’ new show, who comes in the form of singer-songwriter Una Healy from Tipperary.
Swapping the stage for the Costa Rican jungle, the former The Saturdays pop singer puts herself through her paces and faces her fears.
The single mother of two is seen opening up on the show about life experiences and reveals that she is “learning a big lesson” from the others in the jungle lodge and finds herself listening and processing more than she has done in the past.
Another contestant with an Irish connection is actor Kola Bokinni, known for his role as Isaac McAdoo, the captain of AFC Richmond, in Ted Lasso.
Bokinni, whose mother hails from Kerry, starts his jungle journey on a high, quickly becoming one a stand-out personality but starts to struggle to believe in his capabilities as the show goes on. His fellow jungle lodgers step in to support him and encourage him to keep being himself.
Although the show’s contestants enter the jungle as complete strangers, the 12 celebrities become very close in a short amount of time while sharing a living space.
The celebrities from all walks of life share stories about their pasts, careers to dates, and previous struggles - quickly getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which can be used to their advantage out in the jungle.
The show has some lovely moments where celebrities are seen being vulnerable and opening up to their fellow lodgers, showing viewers that even those in the spotlight who seem to have it all together, can struggle beneath the surface.
While the contestants do become close throughout the course of the show, they are also seen to get frustrated at times, as the challenges become more extreme and peoples’ competitive sides begin to show.
The show tests their resilience, as well as their patience, and challenges them to see how far they would go to survive being caught by Grylls.
The catch here is that in the jungle lodge, they share a space together and out on the jungle floor, it’s a game of survival of the fittest and every person for themselves.
The environment in which the celebrities find themselves out in the jungle and the tests they must go through in order to survive offers viewers some important lessons in trusting your instincts.
The show explores how survival skills are very much essential to have, and that despite one’s best efforts, it can be tricky to navigate unfamiliar terrain in harsh conditions.
Throughout the show, Grylls offers some survival tips to the contestants, such as how to use urine mixed with chemicals to create enough heat to cook a meal out in the wilderness, which just might come in handy for some of us one day - you just never know.
Admittedly, the show will not be everyone’s cup of tea - the challenges are somewhat repetitive and presenter Willoughby’s rather serious approach lacks Ant and Dec’s enthusiasm - but if there is one thing that holds true, it’s that the show is most definitely binge-worthy.
The series consists of eight episodes in total and each episode has a run time of about 50 minutes, making it the perfect show to throw on in the evenings that doesn’t require any concentration or analysis on the viewers’ behalf.
Just eight episodes in, and we find out who the first-ever winner of Celebrity Bear Hunt is. Will it be the luck of the Irish in this case? You’ll have to watch to the end to find out.
- Celebrity Bear Hunt is now available to stream on Netflix.
