The seventh season of Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge premiered on Nat Geo this week, with a new slate of celebrity guests joining the world-famous survivalist on a series of adventures around the world. While the show doesn’t exactly change things too much from previous seasons, it’s no less entertaining.
In this seventh season, Bear Grylls is taking it up a level by teaching his celebrity guests essential survival skills that they’ll have to master and then prove they can use in a high-stress situation. This season’s celebrity guests include award-winning actor and filmmaker Bradley Cooper, award-winning Marvel superhero Benedict Cumberbatch, award-winning actor and singer Cynthia Erivo, comedian and actor Russell Brand, award-winning actor Troy Kostur, singer-songwriter Rita Ora, The Little Mermaid’s Daveed Diggs, and She Hulk’s Tatiana Maslany.
The thing that stands out most about this series is the concept. We’re all familiar with Grylls and his many, many talents, but to see him take someone with little to no experience surviving in the wild and train them on what to do is far more entertaining than simply watching Grylls do it himself. Add in the fact that these inexperienced guests are some of our favorite celebrities and you’ve got some must-see TV. Of course, this concept has been proven again and again by the previous six seasons of this series and this seventh season continues to hammer it home.
Another thing this show does very well, as is often the case with National Geographic's products, is build suspense. Of course, we know these guests are going to be just fine in the end because there is no way we would have missed a story about Bradley Cooper plummeting more than 100 feet into a trench while filming a reality show, but the show expertly keeps us on the edge of our seats with every broken branch and slippery step.
The success of the show is also due in large part to Grylls himself. The legendary survivalist is on the verge of being a television legend as well, having been a household name for many years now. In this season and the show in general, Grylls works double duty, teaching these celebrities how to survive while simultaneously interviewing them about their fascinating careers.
And then there’s the celebrity guests. Probably the biggest draw of the show, this who’s who list of guests is always fun to watch in action. Whether you’re watching Benedict Cumberbatch repel down the side of a cliff or Rita Ora jump out of a plane, It’s always fun seeing these actors, musicians and the like venture out of their comfort zones.
Overall, this seventh season of Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge provides more of what you love from previous seasons with a brand new set of guests. It’s not breaking any new ground but, given the format, it doesn’t really need to. Fans will enjoy hearing from their favorite celebrities and seeing them put in these absolutely wild situations.
New episodes of Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge premiere each Sunday on National Geographic.