CBS to Air ‘Beyond the Edge,’ a ‘Survivor’-Like Competition Featuring Celebrities Competing in Panama

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CBS is sending celebrities into the wild. As first reported by TMZ, the Eye network is believed to be working on a new reality series to air this spring, which Variety has learned will be titled “Beyond the Edge.” The show would pit celebs in a “Survivor”-like battle of strategy, wits and muscle.

The network is officially declining comment on the news. But the project, believed to have been shot in Bocas del Toro, Panama, in September and October this year, will — according to TMZ — feature contestants including Colton Underwood (“The Bachelor”), former NBA star Metta World Peace, former NFL star Ray Lewis, Jodie Sweetin (“Full House”), Eboni K. Williams (“Real Housewives of New York”) and model Paulina Porizkova.

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Although details beyond that are slim, Variety hears that producers include Renegade 83, the company behind “Naked and Afraid.” Renegade 83’s earlier shows include “Blind Date” and “The Surreal Life” — so it knows a thing or two about “celebs” interacting and living together in close quarters.

This may be the closest thing CBS has come to producing a celebrity version of “Survivor,” although it’s clearly not that since it comes from different auspices. But the Eye network has already produced celeb versions of “Big Brother” — as a matter of fact, the next “Celebrity Big Brother” premieres in February as counterprogramming to the Olympics.

“Beyond the Edge” also sounds a bit like “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here,” a British reality format that has been a smash hit in the U.K., but failed to catch on in the U.S. despite attempts by ABC (in 2003) and NBC (2009) to adapt the series here. (Coincidentally, CBS sued ABC in 2003 in an attempt to halt “I’m a Celebrity,” arguing that it was a rip-off of “Survivor.” But a judge ultimately allowed that show to move forward.)

[Photo: Colton Underwood, Panama, Eboni K. Williams.]

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