K E Y P O I N T S
- Shipwrecked made a welcome return to our screens after an absence of seven years
- It has moved from its traditional Sunday afternoon slot on Channel 4 to weeknights on E4, airing over the next three weeks
- The series takes on the familiar ‘Battle Of The Islands’ format that was introduced during the original show’s later years
- Episode one introduced us to the first eight islanders, including a Chelsea wig-maker, a Marines trainee and a social media influencer
- Late arrival Harry was then set a secret mission to divide the group into the Tigers and Sharks
- Each island will now battle it out to recruit as many newcomers and build the largest tribe in order to win a £50,000 cash prize
S N A P V E R D I C T
With Celebrity Big Brother consigned to the telly dustbin and a whole five months to go until a new series of Love Island, many have been in desperate need of reality TV pitstop.
Step forward, Shipwrecked.
The OG island-based series that used to form part of our regular weekend hangover viewing is back, and while we’re glad that not much of its format has changed it’s still clear to see how bosses are chasing the lucrative Love Island audience.
Not only has Shipwrecked been moved from a weekly Sunday afternoon slot on Channel 4 to a weeknight primetime slot on youth channel E4, it’s also airing over a three-week period, presumably in the hope of building momentum like its ITV2 rival.
And from the first episode, it has all the right ingredients to be just as successful.
The starting line-up is full of promising characters with the potential to deliver on drama and humour. Chelsee Healey look-a-like Liv is already rocking the boat, delivering the first argument within 24 hours on Tiger Island, while Kush looks likely to emerge as a fan favourite with his one-liners and budding bromance with Tom.
Big T – as divisive as she may be to both the islanders and to viewers at home – is also the perfect reality TV casting, and we reckon it won’t be long until she lets her “Chelsea princess” persona drop to reveal a more vulnerable side.
We’re also looking forward to feminist Emma staging a coup to bring down the peacocking male leaders, especially after Harry’s oh-so-predictable move to make Tom his rival island captain so there could be, what he called, a “mano vs mano” battle...
*eye roll*
The coming episodes will see the Tigers and the Sharks going head to head as they try and attract new arrivals in order build the biggest tribe possible, and emerge as the winning island.
However, as the newbies rock up, it would be refreshing to see some different body types represented on the show. While producers have made a better attempt at diversity in the starting line-up than Love Island bosses usually do, it will be interesting to see if this particular imbalance is addressed later down the line.
B E S T L I N E S
“I turn mundane into fabulous. Legit."”
- Kush cementing himself as our early favourite
“I’m really happy about this because our theme tune can be Katy Perry – Roar."”
- Kush, upon discovering he was a Tiger
“You know how you get a semi in your sleep? I was like, ‘Nooo, a mosquito’s going to come and attack it!’"”
- Kush on some hard island problems
“I would have preferred a steak. I’m hungry and I like steak."”
- Liv on discovering a new Islander, rather than a meal
“I was sleeping in this sleeping bag, which is like a giant condom, and I like, farted, and I literally gassed myself to death. It was such a disaster."”
- Big T familiarising herself with a Dutch oven
S T A N D O U T M O M E N T
Who knew mermaids were so controversial?
T A K E H O M E M E S S A G E
Nostalgia will no doubt have helped pull in viewers for the first episode, but the success of a nightly reality show like Shipwrecked in the streaming era will depend on if it generates a social buzz and becomes appointment-to-view TV like Love Island.
Even if it doesn’t, it’s still the perfect way to escape the freezing weather and tide us over until its ITV2 cousin returns in the summer.
Shipwrecked airs weeknights at 9pm on E4.