14 days to reach 'The Summit': Why the new competition series is not another 'Survivor'

There’s only so much one can do to prepare for climbing a mountain, but it’s only when the journey begins that you realize what you signed up for. 

The same goes for reality competition shows like "Survivor" and "The Challenge," which push contestants to their physical and emotional limits. In the new CBS series "The Summit" (Wednesdays, 9:30 EDT/PDT), players helm harsh terrain, daunting obstacles and ethical dilemmas to reach a peak in the New Zealand Alps. 

Premiering last month, the show follows sixteen strangers who carry cash in their backpacks, adding up to $1 million. Throughout the 14-day trek, the group must reach several checkpoint camps, where they vote each other out.

Along the way, they must also overcome obstacles and are forced to make difficult decisions presented by the ominous "Mountain Keeper" overseeing the journey. If the remaining contestants fail to reach the summit in 14 days, they all go home empty-handed. 

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While reality TV fans may recognize familiar themes of persistence and deception, the team behind the series aimed to take preexisting conventions to craft a feat of its own. 

"Our difference to 'Survivor' or 'The Amazing Race' is gravity. It's a long way down," Host Manu Bennett told USA TODAY. "I turn around and say your challenge is to reach the Summit, and who they are departs their body for a second."

From not telling the group they would be climbing a mountain to ensuring their safety along the way, here’s how producers shaped "The Summit."

What did contestants think they signed up for? 

As shown in the series premiere, the inexperienced climbers did not know they were going to climb Mount Head in the Southern Alps of New Zealand until they began. 

Producer Kevin Lee, who previously worked on "The Challenge," said the contestants were warned that they weren’t enrolling for something simple. 

"We're just talking to them like, ‘Hey, you don't know exactly what you're going to be doing, but trust me it's going to be hard. So get out there and go jogging tomorrow,'" Lee told USA TODAY. 

Uncertainty is an integral element of the series where an ever-changing format keeps the adventure engaging for both the climbers and viewers at home, Lee said.

"The format is much more uncertain and looser than on 'The Challenge,'" Lee said. "They don't know if one person is going to win? Can five people win? It changes from day to day, with the bag drops from the Mountain Keeper."

What makes this show emotionally brutal?

Despite it all being a game, the genuine bonds formed between the climbers often lend to some emotionally devastating TV moments. 

If openly voting for who they want to eliminate wasn’t harsh enough, the Mountain Keeper also spontaneously accelerates betrayal throughout the season. 

"They do have to rely on each other to try to make it up this mountain, but then they also can betray each other in order to get more money and so that's a really interesting but in a way an awful dynamic that just creates these emotions," Lee said. 

Periodically throwing dilemmas with each episode, the Mountain Keeper’s role is to remind each player that the journey always comes before friendship. 

"It's what makes the show special. It's just seeing these people do something that in a million years they never thought they'd be able to do. But then of course it's cutthroat, and they might get voted out so you get both sides of the equation," Lee added.

How many crew are climbing the mountain?

Then, of course, there’s ensuring the safety of the group navigating the mountain. 

While the show centers around 16 Americans, they are accompanied by 50 others along the way, including the camera crew, a mountain safety team, an obstacle course team and medical personnel on standby. 

A team of that magnitude devoted to safety alone is necessary when dealing with a dangerous environment, according to Lee.

"Our mountain safety team is walking with everybody at the time making sure somebody is not going to walk off the side of a cliff and or eat a poisonous plant," he said. "The whole time they're out there, there's actually a medical doctor walking with them, in the camps with them, and then there's the helicopters on standby."

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How were contestants cast for the series?

Since a show centered around professional climbers is less enthralling, Lee said producers sought the perfect group of strangers who could safely, but not easily, reach the Summit. 

The cast underwent several background assessments, physical health screenings, stress tests and production interviews to find the right group. 

"It's an inexact science, but that's what we're shooting for. It's going to be really hard for them, they may or may not make it, but it's possible for them to make it," Lee said. 

In the series premiere, Texas media director Tony Reyes, 36, was medically evacuated after fainting on Day One. Medical personnel pulled him from the game, despite Reyes' persistence to stay in. 

"We're all rooting for him. He's a big guy, but he ran a marathon before he came on the show. We thought he could make it and I think he could have if he made it through that first day," Lee added. 

Why was Manu Bennett chosen as host?

Producers cast Manu Bennett as "The Summit" host both for the strong "action movie star" gravitas he brought to the series and because he is a New Zealand native, according to Lee.

"He has a passion for it that we thought would come across as good in the show," Lee said. "Him being from there, I think gave the cast a little bit of respect for the environment that they maybe wouldn't have known about if it hadn't been somebody from New Zealand."

Bennett said the role is a chance for audiences to see him as a person, rather than the fictional characters he’s played throughout his career in projects like "Spartacus," "Arrow" and "The Hobbit" films.

"Maybe they'll address me like Jeff Probst," Bennett said, referring to the longtime "Survivor" host. "My sister said to me, 'you've been seen as all these characters, and I don't see you as those and it'll be nice that you get to present something of your own personality.'"

If nothing else, the team behind "The Summit" hopes that the series inspires viewers to seek adventure in their own lives, whether that’s climbing a mountain, going on TV, or an even higher feat. 

A new episode of "The Summit" airs Wednesday from 9:30-11 p.m. EDT/PDT on CBS. The show is also available to stream on Paramount+, live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs.