Country of origin Colombia Running time 42 minutes Original release 2004 – present (2016) Network Caracol Televisión Genre Reality television | No. of seasons 13 Original network Caracol TV First episode date 2004 Number of seasons 13 | |
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Related shows Presented by Margarita Rosa de Francisco, Víctor Mallarino, Taliana Vargas, Toya Montoya, Juan Ignacio Velásquez Cast Taliana Vargas, Lina Marulanda Similar Sábados Felices, La niña, The White Slave, Colombia's Next Top Model, THE SUSO´S SHOW Profiles | ||
Desafío is a Colombian reality television game show produced by Caracol TV. In the show, contestants are isolated in an island and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other members until only one final contestant remains and wins a cash prize.
Contents
- Groups
- Locations and beaches
- Challenges
- El Juicio
- End of the game and prizes
- Seasons
- Other versions
- References
Although the show has been mostly produced by Caracol TV, other versions have been produced by GenTV and Univision. These two versions were produced in Florida and aimed to the Latin American audience in the United States.
Groups
Contestants are split in different groups of usually six to eight people each. The criteria for the division might vary from season to season. Some criteria used have been age, social hierarchy, or where they came from.
Each group is given a unique name and an identifying color. These are used on flags, challenge courses, on-screen text and various other items. Each player is given an assortment of clothes with their respective colors and symbols. Players are required to wear the color of their group in a visible location at all times, allowing the audience to identify their affiliation. Upon switching groups (due to a merge or dissolution), players are required to give up their old clothes and obtain new ones in the new group's color.
Locations and beaches
Each group is assigned a different beach to stay. Each beach has different qualities and benefits:
During each show, the groups have to compete in a challenge ("Desafío territorial") to decide which group will stay on each beach.
As the show progresses and contestants are eliminated, the teams are merged into a single group and they are taken to Playa Fusión, which features commodities slightly better than Playa Media.
Challenges
During each show, teams will play three separate challenges. The challenges are:
Challenges vary from obstacle courses, to races, swimming matches, building puzzles, among many others.
El Juicio
"El Juicio" (or "The Judgment") is held at the end of each episode. Here, the group that lost the "Desafío Final" vote one person out of their team. Present at the judgment is the team that won the "Desafío de Salvación", who will serve as the judges. After a brief discussion of the events that led to that moment, each member of the losing team walks up to a table and secretly votes to eliminate a member of his team. After all members of the team have voted, the host counts the votes.
Originally, the judges voted to save a member of the other team. The strategy usually was to try to anticipate who the losing team would want to eliminate and save him/her. The next member with the most votes would then be eliminated. In 2008, the rules were changed and the judges were given the option to veto the choice of the other team to eliminate a member. If they veto, the losing team is forced to vote publicly for a second member to be eliminated. This is referred to as the "bloody vote". In 2009, a new rule was made. The losing team voted to eliminate a member of their team. Then, a second voting has to be done to choose a second member to be eliminated. Then, the judges decide which of the two "sentenced" members was eliminated.
In the event of ties, sometimes the judges get to choose which of the members of the losing team that are involved in the tie, is eliminated. Also, the members that are chosen to be eliminated are sometimes given a chance to vouch in front of the judges for their safety.
End of the game and prizes
When there are two contestants left in the game, they return to Colombia for one last show, along with the eliminated contestants. Here, the audience votes for the contestant they want to win the game. In 2008, the system was changed and it was the other contestants who voted for the winner. The winning contestant usually gets a prize in cash whereas the second place contestant gets a new car.
Seasons
The Colombian version is produced by Caracol TV and has been hosted by several celebrities. Each competition has a unique name, and lasts from 13 to 15 episodes.
Other versions
Although the main version of Desafío is produced by Caracol TV for Colombian television, two other versions have been produced in the United States.