Koh-Lanta
Koh-Lanta is a French reality game show based on the popular international Survivor format. The series premiered on August 4, 2001. The show is broadcast on TF1 and there have been 17 regular seasons, and 4 special seasons. The host of Koh-Lanta is Denis Brogniart since the second season.
Following the basic premise of other international versions of the format, it features a group of contestants who are marooned in an isolated location, where they must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow contestants, until only one remains and is declared the winner and awarded the grand prize of €100,000.
Since its debut in 2001, Koh-Lanta has been a huge success in France, regularly finishing first in its timeslot.
Format and rules
The show follows the same general format as the other editions of the show. The players are split between two "tribes", are taken to a remote isolated location and are forced to live off the land with meagre supplies for approximately 6 weeks. Frequent physical and mental challenges are used to pit the teams against each other for rewards, such as food or luxuries, or for "immunity", forcing the other tribe to attend "Tribal Council", where they must vote off one of their players.Once about half the players are remaining, the tribes are merged into a single tribe, and competitions are on an individual basis; winning immunity prevents that player from being voted out. Most players that are voted out at this stage form the "Tribal Council Jury". Once down to two people, a final Tribal Council is held where the remaining players plead their case to the jury as to why they should win the game. The jury then decides who between the two should be considered the winner and be awarded the grand prize of €100,000, with the runner-up being awarded €10,000.
Differences in format
Unlike most versions of Survivor, dual winners are possible in some seasons where the jury vote resulted in a tie. In this case both contestants are considered the winners and each receive €55,000. This differs from most editions of the show as other editions will either never have a jury with an even number of participants or have tie-breaker mechanisms in place.Another difference in rules between Koh-Lanta and other editions is how the unexpected eliminations are handled. On Koh-Lanta, when a player is eliminated from the game outside of "Tribal Council" the player replaced by the most recently eliminated player who will take their place and the game continues as planned. In other editions, an unexpected elimination is handled by adjusting the events of the game to accommodate the absence of a player.
Seasons
| No. | Season | Season premiere | Season finale | Location | Days | Initial tribes | Winner | Runner-up | Final vote |
| 1 | Koh-Lanta: Return of the Heroes | January 13, 2009 | February 13, 2009 | Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil | 21 | Two tribes of six former players, based on a draw. Two players eliminated in initial challenge. | Romuald Lafite | Jade Handi | 5-2 |
| 2 | Koh-Lanta: Clash of the Heroes | March 26, 2010 | May 21, 2010 | Poum, New Caledonia | 20 | Two tribes of six, former players against famous sportspeople. One additional player added to each tribe on day 4. | Grégoire Delachaux | Freddy Boucher | 6-2 |
| 3 | ' | April 8, 2012 | June 1, 2012 | Koh Rong, Cambodia | 23 | Two predetermined tribes of eight former players. | Bertrand Bolle | Claude Dartois | 9-1 |
| 4 | Koh-Lanta: The New Edition | September 12, 2014 | November 21, 2014 | Sibu Island, Malaysia | 23 | Two tribes of six former players. Tribes formed after first Tribal Council by two latecomers. | Laurent Maistret | Martin Bazin | 7-0 |
| 5 | ' | 16 March 2018 | 25 May 2018 | Yasawa Islands, Fiji | 32 | Two tribes of nine former players. | Clémence Castel | Pascal Salviani | 5-4 |
| 6 | 21 February 2020 | 5 June 2020 | Kadavu Group, Fiji | 32 | Two tribes of seven new players. Five returning players compete in challenges to join one of two tribes. | Naoil Tita | Inès Loucif | 7-2 |
Controversy
Season 5 controversy
During the broadcast of the second episode, participants had to kill and cook Puffinus pacificus, a species of fully protected bird in New Caledonia. This caused that several spectators demanded explanations to the TF1 channel. TF1 responded that according to the LPO, Puffinus pacificus are not a protected species. LPO asked the CSA to take up the case, and the latter also decided to initiate legal action against TF1 and the producer of the Adventure Line Productions program.The petition against the production company was accepted, therefore TF1 was ordered to pay the LPO €1,000 in damages and €2,000 for procedural expenses, while the TF1 channel lawsuit against the LPO was rejected.
Season 13 cancellation
Production was stopped and the series cancelled for the 2013 season following the death of a contestant, Gérald Babin, during the first day of filming in Cambodia on 22 March 2013. The program's on-site doctor, Thierry Costa, committed suicide following the controversy. In his suicide note, he stated that his name has been "smeared in the media", leading to his ultimate death. Production later resumed for Koh-Lanta: The New Edition.The death of Babin marked the second death of a contestant on any edition of Survivor worldwide. The first death occurred on the 4th season of Bulgarian Survivor when contestant Noncho Vodenicharov died, however unlike Koh-Lanta the production of the series continued.