Koh-Lanta

Koh-Lanta is a French reality television series based on . The series premiered on August 4, 2001, is produced by and broadcast on .
The first season was hosted by . Since the second season, Koh-Lanta has been hosted by Denis Brogniart. Following the show's debut in 2001, Koh-Lanta has been a huge success in France, regularly finishing first in its timeslot.
The series airs on Fridays at 9:00pm, with the exception of six seasons (, which aired on Saturdays and Sundays at 7:00pm, and , , , , and which all aired on Tuesdays at 9:00pm). The first seasons aired during the summer, but since 2009, the series has usually aired during fall and spring.
==History==
==Format Variations==
16–24 contestants (13–18 contestants in special seasons) must survive on an uninhabited island for 39–43 days (20–32 days in special seasons). They have to find food to accompany the meagre ration of rice supplied to them at the beginning of the adventure. They should build a shelter to protect themselves from external conditions (weather, insects...) and keep alight the fire they were able to start or which they won in the first round.
Each contestant brings a backpack with some clothes. Any product related to hygiene or food is prohibited, except for medical reasons.
Unlike most versions of , there have been three seasons where the final vote resulted in a tie. As a result, both finalists were declared winners in and , and two of the three finalists won Le Totem Maudit.
The name of the show, Koh-Lanta, is the name of the island where the first season was filmed.
The franchise uses mechanics similar to the American series but has introduced different twists.
===Tribes===
===Tribe Switch===
===Challenges===
====Reward Challenges====
====Immunity Challenges====
===Sudden-Death Challenges===
In some seasons, certain challenges are eliminatory. The adventurer who loses and finishes last is directly eliminated from the adventure.
===Tribal Council===
===Merge===
===Hidden Immunity Idol===
Unlike in the American version of Survivor, the tribal Immunity Idol is kept in use after the merge and is awarded to winners of individual Immunity Challenges instead of a necklace.
Koh-Lanta uses necklaces, known as "colliers d'immunité" (Immunity Necklaces) in French, as Hidden Immunity Idols. They were introduced in , and can be earned in a variety of ways, just like in the U.S. franchise.
===Ambassadors===
In almost all seasons, immediately before the merge, one person from each tribe becomes an ambassador. In modern seasons, the ambassadors meet privately and are tasked with eliminating a castaway from the game. If the ambassadors can't come to an agreement on who to eliminate, one of the ambassadors is eliminated via a rock draw.
The role of the ambassadors, and the way they are chosen, has varied several times throughout the history of the show. In every season up until except , they had to cast an extra vote against someone for the first post-merge Tribal Council. Ever since Le Retour des Héros, the ambassadors have voted to eliminate a castaway.
===Tied Destinies===
In most seasons since , at some point after the merge (final 8, final 10 or final 12), the castaways are randomly divided into pairs, and their fate in the game becomes tied for the duration of the episode. All castaways compete in the Reward and Immunity Challenges in pairs, and two people are eliminated at Tribal Council, as the person who receives the most votes also causes their partner's elimination.
===Replacement===
In Koh-Lanta, if a castaway is medically evacuated, the person who was most recently voted out returns into the game (aside in ). In the first seasons, this was also the case when a castaway voluntarily left, but since Raja Ampat, quitters are no longer replaced, unless somebody quits before the first Tribal Council. However, in Le Feu Sacré, quitters are replaced again.
If a person is removed and cannot be replaced by a previously eliminated player, a new castaway may enter the game.
===Black Vote===
In this twist, before leaving, the person voted off at Tribal Council is asked to cast a last vote against somebody from their tribe. This vote is called the Black Vote and is counted at the next Tribal Council attended by the targeted person. In case of a revote, the Black Vote no longer counts. This twist, like the Immunity Necklaces, was introduced in Raja Ampat.
In , Sandrine Bouzekri cast her Black Vote against Jean-Luc Duboscq after being voted out of the Naga tribe. The following cycle, Jean-Luc became a member of the rival Sambor tribe. He would attend the following two Tribal Councils with his new tribe, the first of which he had individual immunity and the second of which he was voted out. In spite of this, Sandrine's Black Vote only took effect the following episode after the tribes merged. With the mechanic changing the following season, it is unclear whether production made a mistake or if an amendment was made making it so that a Black Vote would be counted at the next Tribal Council of the tribe of the castor rather than at the next Tribal Council attended by the targeted person.
The Black Vote mechanic was changed in ; it is now used only after the merge, and the person voted out gives a remaining castaway an Extra Vote at the next Tribal Council.
===Finale===
The format of the finale episode differs greatly from the American version of Survivor. When there are four or five people left in the game, a special challenge takes place to determine the final three, with the person finishing last (or two who finish in last when there are five players left) being directly eliminated from the game (with the exception of , where the loser had an extra vote cast against them at the next Tribal Council). However, in Le Totem Maudit, the challenge allows three castaways to move on, but the remaining two compete in a second orienteering challenge, with the winner joining the other three, and the loser being eliminated.
In the first two seasons, the challenge that occurred was the Fallen Comrades challenge. Since Bocas del Toro, it is an orienteering race, where the first three people to find their object become the final three.
The final three castaways then compete in the Final Immunity Challenge, which has always remained the same since Nicoya: it is the Perch challenge, with the surface the castaways are standing on being progressively reduced in size (in Les Aventuriers, the challenge was Hands on a Hard Idol).
The last standing castaway earns their spot in the Final Two and, unlike in the American version of Survivor, must choose their Final Tribal Council opponent immediately after the challenge. The only exception to this rule was in Le Totem Maudit, where four castaways competed in the challenge, except that the castaway who won the second orienteering challenge had to compete in a much more difficult version of the challenge than the challenge the three others take part in. The winner of the Perch earned their spot in the very first Final Three of the show. They would then choose their first opponent for the Final Tribal Council. The opponent would then pick the third opponent among the last two, with the castaway not chosen being eliminated.
==Controversies==
===2013===
Production of the 2013 season was interrupted and cancelled for the thirteenth season. On March 22, 2013, TF1 announced that a contestant had died during the first day of filming for the season being filmed Cambodia. The teams were repatriated and filming was cancelled. Gérald Babin, a 25-year-old man who suffered violent cramps from the start of the first challenge suffered a heart attack. He was resuscitated but his heart stopped again on arrival at Sihanoukville hospital, where he eventually died.https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-death-authorities-open-587621
On April 1, 2013, Thierry Costa, a doctor who worked on Koh-Lanta for 4 years, committed suicide in the wake of the controversy. In his suicide note, he stated that his name had been "tarnished in the media", which led to his death.https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/thierry-costa-suicide-french-survivor-doctor_n_2993370.html
No contestant from this cancelled season was retained in the cast of subsequent seasons.https://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/koh-lanta-ces-oublies-de-la-saison-13-annulee-qui-s-illustrent-ailleurs_f167fa0a-1344-11e9-aaae-c83fe80d860chttps://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/elian-casini-koh-lanta-le-temps-passant-c-est-l-incomprehension-qui-predomine_b8788a7a-56ff-11ea-a3e1-13c84824f7bc
===2018===
During filming of the 2018 regular season in Fiji, allegations of sexual assault from a male castaway to a female castaway prompted shooting to be suspended.https://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568
It is alleged that Candide Renard, the daughter of football manager , was harassed by a fellow castaway. Between the 4th and 5th days of filming, Candide was sleeping away from the camp with the man and two other castaways. When the man in question allegedly harassed her, she called the production team and both were relocated away from camp in separate locations.https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/05/246313/was-herve-renards-daughter-sexually-assaulted
However, the man's version of events contradicts Candide's account. He said that a castaway fell ill, and another called production for medical assistance. At that point, Candide went back to the shelter alongside the rest of the tribe. Whilst Candide alleges this is where the assault took place, another castaway said he never witnessed the alleged assault.https://www.telestar.fr/tele-realite/koh-lanta/nouvelle-edition/eddy-guyot-koh-lanta-pourquoi-je-suis-innocent-351453https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/05/246313/was-herve-renards-daughter-sexually-assaulted
As a result of the accusation, filming of the season was halted and cancelled. The man was arrested upon his return to France, but was released after 10 hours of questioning. He denied the accusation.
It later emerged that the male castaway had been arrested twice in the past for violent behaviour, in 2008 and 2012, and served a total of 18 months in prison. In response to this, , host of Loft Story and former host of Secret Story (the French adaptations of reality TV show Big Brother) said he was surprised that TF1 did not perform a background check on the castaways before casting them on the show.https://www.francesoir.fr/societe-faits-divers/affaire-candide-renard-eddy-guyot-le-profil-violent-du-candidat-de-koh-lanta
Some contestants from this cancelled season have been included in the cast of subsequent seasons: 
* Sam Haliti and Pholien Systermans from .https://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/alexia-laroche-joubert-nous-voulions-des-heros-qui-n-avaient-jamais-gagne-koh-lanta_8eb6bb88-53c3-11ea-b696-60b802b9a2f3
* Aurélien Tessonhttps://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/aurelien-koh-lanta-un-plaisir-immense-de-me-voir-offrir-une-deuxieme-chance_c60bfe22-827a-11eb-84fa-ffc0e6724a5b and Hervé Comtéhttps://www.programme-tv.net/news/tele-realite/272098-koh-lanta-2021-voici-le-nom-des-deux-candidats-presents-dans-les-armes-secretes-qui-avaient-participe-a-la-saison-annulee/ from .
* Fouzi Ould Bouamama https://www.voici.fr/news-people/fouzi-koh-lanta-2022-ce-secret-quil-a-prefere-ne-pas-reveler-aux-autres-aventuriers-730100 from .
==Seasons==
Season 	Tribes 	Number of Castaways 	Filming Location 	Filming Dates 	Season Run 	Sole Survivor(s) 	Sole Survivor(s) 	Viewership(millions)
 	 	16 	, 	2001 	August 4, 2001 - September 22, 2001 	 	 	4.367
 	 	16 	, 	2002 	June 28, 2002 - September 13, 2002 	 	 	6.092https://web.archive.org/web/20040820234815/http://www.toutelatele.com/realtv/kohlanta2_audiences.html
 	 	16+2 	, 	2003 	June 6, 2003 - August 28, 2003 	 	 	5.414
 	 	16 	, 	2004 	July 2, 2004 - August 31, 2004 	 	 	6.081
 	 	16+1 	, 	2005 	July 1, 2005 - September 6, 2005 	Clémence Castel 	Clémence Castel 	6.889
 	 	16 	, 	2006 	July 21, 2006 - September 5, 2006 	 	 	6.868
 	 	16 	, , 	2007 	June 29, 2007 - September 11, 2007 	 	 	8.127
 	 	16+1 	, , 	2008 	July 4, 2008 - September 20, 2008 	 	 	6.844
 	 	14 	, , 	2008 	January 13, 2009 - February 13, 2009 	 	 	8.288
 	 	18 	, 	2009 	August 28, 2009 - October 30, 2009 	 	 	7.512
 	 	14 	, 	2009 	March 23, 2010 - May 21, 2010 	 	 	7.007
 	 	18 	, 	2010 	September 18, 2010 - December 8, 2010 	 	 	6.801
 	 	20 	, 	2011 	September 9, 2011 - December 16, 2011 	 	 	7.237
 	 	16 	, 	2012 	April 6, 2012 - June 1, 2012 	 	 	6.986
 	 	20 	, , 	2012 	November 2, 2012 - February 1, 2013 	 	 	7.098
First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640	First Hiatushttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/french-survivor-season-canceled-death-430640
La Nouvelle Édition 	 	13 	, , 	2014 	September 12, 2014 - November 21, 2014 	 	 	6.593
 	 	20 	, , 	2014 	April 24, 2015 - July 24, 2015 	 	 	5.625
 	 	20+1 	, , 	2015 	February 12, 2016 - May 27, 2016 	 	 	5.933
 	 	20 	, 	2016 	August 26, 2016 - December 9, 2016 	 	 	5.641
 	 	21 	, 	2016 	March 10, 2017 - June 16, 2017 	 	 	5.572
 	 	20+1 	, 	2017 	September 1, 2017 - December 15, 2017 	 	 	5.011
 	 	18 	, 	2017 	March 16, 2018 - May 25, 2018 	 	 	4.852
Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568 	Second Hiatushttps://twitter.com/Alpfr/status/994930080257261568
 	 	21 	, 	2018 	March 15, 2019 - June 21, 2019 	 	 	4.335
 	 	19+1 	, 	2019 	February 21, 2020 - June 5, 2020 	 	 	6.202
 	 	24 	, 	2019 	August 28, 2020 - December 4, 2020 	 	 	5.516
 	 	21 	, , 	2020 	March 12, 2021 - June 4, 2021 	 	 	5.510
 	 	20+1 	, , 	2021 	August 24, 2021 - December 14, 2021 	None 	None 	4.332
 	 	24 	, , 	2021 	February 22, 2022 - June 21, 2022 	 	 	3.590
 	 	20 	, , 	2022 	February 21, 2023 - June 13, 2023 	 	 	3.410
 	 	22 	, , 	2023 	February 13, 2024 - 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
 Two replacement castaways entered the game due to a high number of evacuations that could not be replaced by the previously eliminated castaways. A replacement castaway entered the game after an evacuation or quit occurred before the first Tribal Council. Due to accusations of cheating, the intended winner, Claude Dartois, had his victory revoked.
==See also==
*Official Koh-Lanta Site
==References==
Category:Survivor franchises
Category:Koh-Lanta