A reality TV show is quietly filmed in Yellowknife every year, but it may not be what you expect. Friends in the city gather to run their own annual version of CBS show Survivor.
Last weekend, this year’s contenders convened at Prelude Lake, along the Ingraham Trail north of the territorial capital, for challenges, voting and backstabbing.
Like the original, individuals are transported to remote locations and divided into “tribes.” While the CBS version pushes contestants to build shelter and find food, the Yellowknife version is slightly less intense.
Tribes that lose a challenge are sent to a tribal council, where one contestant is eliminated through a vote. The goal is to outlast everyone, becoming the last survivor.
But the game isn’t just about the challenges – it revolves around strategy and social status. To avoid elimination, you need allies and relationships that will benefit you at the tribal council.
Rylund Johnson, a long-time organizer of this show, said a group of Yellowknifers had hosted these competitions for four or five years pre-Covid before it was interrupted.
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Johnson decided to bring it back around three years ago.
“The original guys went out, had a fun weekend with friends playing games, and now the production value seems to go up every single year and get a little bigger and more elaborate,” he said.
“This happens with a lot of Yellowknife things. They start small and then they just… everyone kind-of gets involved.”
That said, even with so many people helping, the group has no intention of making an actual reality TV show. The purpose is to “just have fun,” said Johnson.
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“You’d be surprised how playing a game with your friends over the weekend actually becomes a rather significant thing for people,” he said, describing intense conversations about people’s moral frameworks and whether lying is acceptable in the context of Survivor.
Strategizing and scheming
The geographic location of Yellowknife plays a role in the production. The midnight sun allows for challenges to last longer, while Johnson suggested Yellowknifers’ high capacity and outdoor skills make some challenges possible.
“There’s such an assumed competency to do outdoor things in the city of Yellowknife that makes people really competitive,” said Johnson.
Contestants each chip in $100, forming a $1,000 prize pool. This year’s winner of that prize was Tori Carmichael, a first-time contestant and avid Survivor watcher.
“I definitely didn’t come into it expecting to win, that wasn’t my intention,” she said. “I kind-of signed up for the weekend thinking it would be a good way to get outside my comfort zone and meet new people.”
Carmichael said decisive moments of this year’s competition came during the jury deliberations, where she successfully advocated for why she should be the one to win.
“People were on their game, strategizing and pulling you aside for a chat and scheming,” she said, adding she was grateful to the organizers for putting it together.
If any Yellowknifers are confident enough to put their skills to the test or help create the game, Johnson says all you have to do is get in touch. He said a dynamic age range and cultural divides make the game fairer and more interesting.
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“The first year we played, everyone was kind-of friends, and then your alliances are just who you spend the most time with,” he said.
“But if you don’t know anyone, that really makes it a bit more of an honest game.”
After editing this year’s footage, the group plans to upload the finished show onto YouTube and host a watch party.
