Who will be last standing in the last frontier?
That's the question Netflix poses in its new reality series, Outlast. Only in this survival show, set in the Alaskan wilderness, you literally can't go it alone. Contestant Jill Ashock teased what to expect from the eight-episode social experiment, which dropped March 10.
"I know people think that they're getting ready to watch just another survival wilderness kind of reality TV show," she exclusively told E! News on March 9. "They're in for a rude awakening."
As the private investigator put it: "Outlast is like a horror film, Hunger Games and all the other survival shows thrown together and put in a blender with a lot of bitter sour and vodka and they churn it all up and just shove it down our throats. And that's what the viewers are gonna get."
The series—from executive producer Jason Bateman—stars 16 nature lovers with varying degrees of survival skills. While there are no outright eliminations, the twist to Outlast is that to remain in the game (and eventually win some of the $1 million prize) you must be part of a team.
The contestants are initially divided into four camps of four, with the goal of simply outlasting their competition together. However, that's easier said than done.
"The hardest part was not really surviving Alaska for me," Jill explained. "I've got the skills. I had the mindset and I had the ability to strive to not quit. It was trying to develop a desire to trust a teammate, to put faith in another human being."
"Outlast disabled me with that tactic," she continued. "Because I couldn't finish the game without having at least one partner—without being a part of a team—I found it very uncomfortable, putting myself in a vulnerable position. It's not who I am. I am this tough exterior person that will intimidate and stronghold my ground to keep you from getting in. But then, of course, you see who I really am."
But the game does provide an out, should the elements or personalities prove too difficult. One option is to walk away from the game entirely by shooting a flare gun. However, if the issue is rooted in team conflict, contestants are able to abandon their partners... as long as another team is willing to take them on.
And as Jill teased, with 15 other people to contend with under dire circumstances, viewers will see plenty of conflict—and maybe even a few villains in the bunch.
"I'm gonna tell you right now, when the cameras are off, people will really show you who they truly are," she noted. "You get me 100 percent authentically 100 percent of the time. I'm not any different right now than I was out there in Alaska."
Trust us, you do not want to be the last person to catch Outlast, now streaming on Netflix.