Last week, Netflix released a wave of compelling shows, including “Apple Cider Vinegar,” “Cassandra,” “The Åre Murders” and “Prison Cell 211." At the same time, the world’s biggest streaming service also debuted a new reality survival show, “Celebrity Bear Hunt.” While it may be a trash TV alternative to the quartet of gripping dramas above, it's quickly become my guilty pleasure.
Now to properly set out my stall, I’m fully aware that “Celebrity Bear Hunt” is not a particularly great TV show. It falls into pretty much all the pitfalls of the reality TV genre, including an overreliance on obnoxious editing and a cast of “celebrities” that barely qualify as Z-listers, and yet, it makes for extremely easy-watching, and dare I say it, pretty suitable background noise as well.
Sometimes you’re in the mood for an uncomplicated slice of reality television escapism rather than a dense drama that demands your full attention span, and if that’s what you’re currently craving, “Celebrity Bear Hunt” is a highly suitable pick. Here’s why it’s my current guilty pleasure watch...
What is ‘Celebrity Bear Hunt’ about?
Taking clear cues from popular reality shows like “Survivor,” “Celebrity Bear Hunt” follows a group of pampered British celebrities (yes, the term “celebrities” is used pretty loosely here) who are dropped into the jungles of Central America to compete against survival expert Bear Grylls.
Taking part in various challenges, should they fail to meet the grade, they’ll be thrown into the “Bear Pit,” a sprawling wilderness playground where Bear stalks them through the dense trees as they desperately seek a means of escape. If captured by the legendary survivalist, they face an early elimination.
Presented by Holly Willoughby (an icon of daytime TV in the U.K.) and featuring contestants such as Mel B from '90s pop supergroup Spice Girls and former tennis champion Boris Becker, “Celebrity Bear Hunt” is designed to prove that even regular humans can overcome the untamed wilds. Oh, and Bear Grylls also gives his usual barrage of survival tips along the way.
‘Celebrity Bear Hunt’ is perfect “Laundry TV”
Compared to some of Netflix’s intolerable reality TV shows (looking at you, “Too Hot to Handle"), “Celebrity Bear Hunt” is positively remarkable. At the very least it’s not filled with wannabe social media influencers having endlessly vapid conversations. Nevertheless, it still falls squarely into a category I’ve taken to calling “Laundry TV.” As the name suggests, these are TV shows perfect for throwing on when you need something to entertain while doing chores.
“Celebrity Bear Hunt” most clearly comes into its own during the challenge segments. These put the cast in uncomfortable situations such as crossing a rickety rope bridge across a gorge or scaling a waterfall. These extreme challenges, while not especially original considering shows like “Survivor” have been running for decades, get enough adrenaline flowing to entertain.
Things step up when losing contestants enter the much-feared “Bear Pit.” This portion of the show feels heavily inspired by video games. Chiefly, it reminds me of the online title Dead by Daylight, as the constants are stalked through a large area by a predator (Bear Grylls in this case) and must collect items to activate an escape route (ranging from digging underneath the pit’s large fence to squeezing through an underground tunnel). I’m pretty confident the show’s producers have at least a couple of gamers among them.
I’ve also found “Celebrity Bear Hunt” surprisingly humorous, even if often that isn’t necessarily the show's intention. For starters, Bear Grylls’ abilities are hyped up to a comical degree. At one point in the first episode, presenter Holly Willoughby declares the celebrities are "at Bear’s mercy,” and I couldn’t help but laugh as Bear’s subsequent tracking advice boiled down to basically “listen out for loud noises,” which seemed like a rather obvious strategy to me.
Where “Celebrity Bear Hunt” stumbles is primarily in the numerous sections dedicated to the celebs discussing their adventures at base camp. These moments are likely designed to bring some humanity to the series, but the teary heart-to-hearts and forced drama are bland. However, there are a few touching moments when the constants dig deeper into their vulnerabilities.
The other area of “Celebrity Bear Hunt” that grates is the erratic editing. Granted, this is a real staple of the reality TV genre, but the show's attempts to make every moment feel extremely high-stakes too often have the opposite effect. Plus, obvious emotional manipulation techniques are deployed too frequently. But as noted, this is an issue with the reality television genre.
Stream ‘Celebrity Bear Hunt’ right now
“Celebrity Bear Hunt” isn’t a candidate for the best Netflix TV shows. It’s got far too many fundamental flaws for that. Not to mention, it does very little that is new in the reality survival arena. Nevertheless, it’s rapidly become one of my favorite guilty pleasure watches. Yes, it’s trash television, but sometimes that’s exactly what you’re looking for, and I’ve enjoyed watching it over the past few days. Even if while streaming it I’ve usually also been doing something else.
If you’re looking for an easy-to-watch Netflix series that doesn’t necessarily require your full attention and can be easily consumed while completing odd jobs around your home, “Celebrity Bear Hunt” is a great pick. Sure, you’re probably not going to remember much of the series after consuming the finale, and it’s not reinventing the reality TV wheel, but it’s basically Netflix junk food, and I’m not too proud to admit I enjoy some junk from time to time.
Meanwhile, if you're looking for a Netflix show that will completely hold your attention instead, here’s a rundown of everything new added to the streaming service in February 2025 with picks for all moods including movies and shows.
Watch "Celebrity Bear Hunt" on Netflix now
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