Meet The Host Of Netflix’s Answer To Survivor

Imagine arriving at a cliff-top, oceanside villa for a luxe summer of partying, but just as the drinks start flowing, it’s all taken away. That’s the premise of Netflix’s new reality competition series, Surviving Paradise, in which 12 unsuspecting contestants find out they’re being banished to the wilderness to fend for themselves while competing to return to the villa for a $100,000 grand prize.

In Bustle’s exclusive first look at the series, premiering Oct. 20, host Jessimae Peluso is the one who crashes the party and explains the Surviving Paradise rules.

“My role was really to deliver the worst news they’d ever heard and be the wrench in all of their plans — a wrench in a cute outfit,” Peluso tells Bustle, comparing the show to CBS’ Survivor. “I’m like, ‘Hey guys, you having fun? OK, great. Now go scale that mountain barefoot!’”

The standup comic, who you might recognize from MTV’s Girl Code or Netflix’s Tattoo Redo, also faced a challenge: trying to censor herself. “I had to practice not saying the first thing that came to my mind in order to maintain the surprise and the element of there being something real at stake,” Peluso adds, referring to some grueling cast competitions. “But underneath all of that quiet, there were a lot of thoughts that I did not say to maintain the show’s integrity.”

If you’re into watching “a beautiful train wreck,” Peluso promises Surviving Paradise is for you. Below, she breaks down what to know about the latest entry to the Netflix reality TV universe.

How Does Surviving Paradise Work?

The cast begins the competition at a camp deep in the forest, exposed to harsh elements and surviving only on rice and beans. The villa represents “the height of luxury,” and to become an “insider,” contestants must either win challenges or be voted in by their castmates.

However, once inside the villa, no one is ever safe. Expect backstabbing and cutthroat gameplay, as the players do whatever it takes to avoid being sent back to camp as an “outsider.” Cast members must be inside the villa at the game’s end for a chance to win the $100,000 grand prize.

Where Was Surviving Paradise Filmed?

Peluso shares that filming took place in a rural, mountainous region of Greece called Lefkada. The 103-degree summer heat proved to be another challenge. “I don’t know how the contestants did it because I was suh-weat-ing,” jokes the Syracuse, New York, native. “They’re having to literally dig their claws into the dirt to try and win, and I’m just there with my lashes falling off.”

Also, she reveals the elements even brought production to a halt at one point. Citing a Jurassic Park-level “torrential flash flood rainstorm,” Peluso recalls how filming had to stop because the “mountain was getting flushed out.”

How Cutthroat Does Surviving Paradise Really Get?

Very. Peluso says to expect shocking betrayals within alliances you won’t see coming. “The things people are willing to do to get ahead, yikes!” the comedian elaborates. “There were a couple of times I had to remind myself that I was mic’d. Because I was just like, ‘They did what?! Wow! Wow!’”

She also saw how strategic people get when the stakes are high. “A lot of people are struggling, and when people are struggling, that’s when they can get dangerous,” she says. “When people are desperate, that’s when they’re dangerous. The show kind of highlights just how dark it can get. They’re friendless twice [over] is all I’ve got to say.”