Survivor pushes TKO as if they’re anywhere close to comparable

After watching the debut of TKO, it’s clear that the only relation it has to Survivor is that it shares one of the executive producers; Mark Burnett.

During the Survivor offseason, it is difficult to find something that airs on US television during the summer weeks that captures that same air of reality competition as the island-based show. Sure, you could try to watch Big Brother, but not everybody can stay up to date with a show that runs on live feeds.

The social media accounts for Survivor would like you to believe that fellow CBS-backed show, TKO: Total Knock Out starring Kevin Hart, would be a good compromise. On numerous occasions, they teased that it features “all the fun, adrenaline and daunting challenges that has [sic] you addicted to Survivor.” Another retweeted a written piece that provides reasons why we’d like TKO.

Do not be fooled; TKO: Total Knock Out is nothing like Survivor, no matter how often they compare the two. The only thing they do share is that they’re backed by Mark Burnett; an executive producer for both reality competitions.

TKO works like this; five players will individually attempt to complete a difficult obstacle course while other players man turrets and other projectiles to throw at their opponents to slow them down or knock them off. The two fastest players will face off in one last showdown to earn $50,000, while the five fastest players throughout the season will face off in an Ultimate TKO for $100,000.

If the idea of running a grueling, grandiose obstacle course sounds a lot like former ABC show Wipeout, you would be correct! That show, at the least, had genuinely talented and funny commentators John Henson and ESPN’s John Anderson to keep the quips coming. Furthermore, those obstacle courses were built on a larger scale in the outdoors.

TKO not only has a familiar course the players run through multiple times but is on a much smaller scale due to its indoors space. The competitors’ backstories are egregiously overproduced, much like the show, which features gratuitously numerous shots of the audience clapping to fill in for weird editing cuts.

Finally, no matter your opinion on comedic giant Kevin Hart (he makes enough money from stand-up comedy to earn that title), TKO represents some of his worst works. His earnest reaction to everything is to yell a lot, perhaps to match the obnoxiously loud yelling from the audience at all times. It’s in stark contrast to the mundane, uninteresting obstacle course itself, which looks like a ratchet version of Wipeout’s worst course segment.

Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking 35 Sole Survivors By Season

TKO is not a good comparison to Survivor, nor is it an enjoyable watch. I highly recommend watching anything else during the offseason, including fan seasons of the show like Maryland, which has been excellent so far.