72 Hours is an American reality competition television series produced by Lighthearted Entertainment in which each episode three new competing teams of strangers are dropped in the complete wilderness where they are given very few essential items to survive and must travel through harsh environments, such as dangerous wildlife or insect infestations for 72 hours to find a hidden briefcase that contains $100,000.
The team that finds the briefcase are the winners of the competition and they receive the $100,000 cash prize.
The series aired in the USA on TNT from 6 June to 26 July, 2013. There are eight hour-long episodes in one season.
72 Hours originally aired in South Africa on M-Net from 7-18 February, 2014. New episodes broadcast daily at 18h30, on weekdays. The series later aired on DStv's M-Net Series Zone channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
72 Hours premiered on M-Net Series Zone on Saturday 22 March 2014, at 17h00. New episodes broadcast weekly at the same time.
Synopsis
Hosted by Brandon Johnson (Disney's Shake it Up), 72 Hours drops competing teams of strangers into the wilderness, leaving them with only a single bottle of water and a GPS tracking device as their guide.
The teams will then have just three days to form strategic bonds, hike across treacherous terrain, battle the elements and make difficult survival choices, all in a quest to be the first to find a hidden briefcase full of $100,000 cash.
Every episode of 72 Hours opens with three teams comprised of three strangers who must traverse through a variety of challenging environments – jungle, mountain, desert, etc. – in search for a briefcase filled with money.
The teams will consist of three competitors from diverse backgrounds, such as a fireman, a tattoo artist, a kickboxing instructor, or a civil engineer. Each team member brings his/her own unique survival skills, personalities and motivations to the competition.
Competitors will navigate a wide variety of terrains, including the lush Hawaiian islands, the mountainous Southern Rockies, the breathtaking canyons of the American Southwest, the jungles of the South Pacific, the majestic Wasaya Islands in Fiji, the jagged coastlines, the lush lagoons of Tasmania and the expansive alpines and forests of New Zealand.
Even the most beautiful of these locations has obstacles that the teams must overcome, whether it is insect infestations, suffocating heat, dangerous wildlife, or inclement weather.
The choices the teams make strategically and geographically will be critical to how they finish in the competition. All three members of a team must find the money together in order to win, making any team member's notion of quitting a drama-filled and sometimes confrontational decision.
The first team to locate the briefcase of cash within the three-day timeframe will win the $100,000 cash prize.
72 Hours comes from Lighthearted Entertainment (Extreme Makeover), with Howard Schultz (The Moment of Truth), Rob LaPlante (The Apprentice) and Brady Connell (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) serving as executive producers. Jeff Spangler serves as co-executive producer.
Seasons
Season 1 (8 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 7 Feb 2014 | Finale: 18 Feb 2014 | Weekdays, 18h30
Channel: MS Zone | Premiere: 22 Mar 2014 | Finale: 10 May 2014 | Sat, 17h00