The "end of the world" is "getting the reality-show treatment," said Brian Stelter in The New York Times. The Discovery Channel's new series The Colony, which debuted Tuesday night, isolates 10 strangers in an abandoned warehouse "for two months with minimal food and water" and assigns them the task of rebuilding society, as an imaginary viral outbreak has destroyed most of the world. The Colony is "essentially a social experiment, albeit one set up by cameramen instead of scientists," and it's quite "entertaining." (watch the trailer for The Colony)
A show like this could have never "been predicted in the early days" of reality television, said Joanne Ostrow in The Denver Post, "when catching fish on an island and dating a housemate represented the height of unscripted TV." The Colony hinges "on very real modern anxieties," and "you can't say prime time doesn't change with the times—terror is the new car chase."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.