Discovery Channel has partnered with Darlow Smithson Productions, the award-winning company behind the critically acclaimed Touching the Void, to create an epic series depicting extraordinary perseverance in unimaginable situations. In 10 one-hour episodes that canvass the globe, I SHOULDN’T BE ALIVE puts viewers in the heart of the moment, as survivors of death-defying ordeals relive their experiences at the edge of human limits— and the moment of truth that kept them alive. Premiere episodes air every Monday at 2200 hrs (10:00 pm SIN/HK), starting February 20. Episodes encore on Tuesday at 0300 (3:00 am), 0800 (8:00 am), and 1500 hrs (3:00 pm); Sunday at 1000 hrs (10:00 am); and the following Friday at 1800 hrs (6:00 pm).
Why does one person live against all the odds and another die? Darlow Smithson Productions brought the true, perilous journey of two climbers in the Peruvian Andes to the screen in Touching the Void. The groundbreaking I SHOULDN’T BE ALIVE taps a similar vein, incorporating striking visuals and the latest CGI technology to put viewers at the heart of engrossing stories of human survival.
The series explores our most basic human instincts, while revealing amazing intricacies and profound depths of the human condition. Each one-hour episode reveals the very best true stories of survival, focusing on the moral dilemmas, crucial moments, chance events and life-or-death decisions of the survivors. Viewers will feel the power and magnitude of those decisions, and be moved to ask themselves, “What would I have done to survive?”
Each episode narrates a unique and exceptional feat of survival – some from the world of professional adventurers and extreme sports … men and women who deliberately invite danger. But other episodes find ordinary people caught suddenly in terrible ordeals and fighting for their lives. The stories are told in the present tense, with chilling, high-caliber dramatizations, from the perspective of the survivors. At the heart of each episode, an agonizing moment reveals key choices that must be made to allow the survivors to cheat death and live to tell their story.
The series premieres with Escape From the Amazon, which profiles three friends who embark on the adventure of a lifetime, but then must take unparalleled risks when their journey turns divisive and ominous. Initially out to find a lost Indian village deep in the Amazonian jungle, the three entrust their lives to a guide who claims to be an expert in the area, but who soon leads them all into jeopardy… and one of them is never to be heard from again.
In Lost in the Snow, which tells the story of a U.S. army private en route -- with his wife and their five-month old son -- to a funeral, when a huge snowstorm lands them in barren and frozen wilderness. In this sparsely populated area, the soldier realizes no one will find them. With his family stranded, starving and injured, he must decide to leave his wife and baby to track down help. But is there actually any help to be found?
I SHOULDN’T BE ALIVE is produced by Darlow Smithson Productions for the Discovery Channel. From Darlow Smithson, John Smithson and Adelene Alani are executive producers, and Alex Marengo is series producer. For the Discovery Channel, Jack Smith is executive producer.
About Discovery Communications, Inc.
Discovery Communications is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in more than 160 countries and territories with 1.3 billion cumulative subscribers. Discovery Networks International offers 17 television brands, reaching 670 million cumulative subscribers. In Asia Pacific, seven Discovery brands reach 326 million cumulative subscribers in 23 countries with programming available in eight languages. Discovery Communications is owned by four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company’s Founder and Chairman.
