Koh-Lanta

Koh-Lanta is a French reality television series, France's version of Survivor. The series premiered on August 4, 2001. The show is broadcast on TF1, and there have been 13 "regular" seasons along with 4 "special" seasons (3 all-returnees and 1 returnees vs. celebrities).

The current host of Koh-Lanta is Denis Brogniart. Since its debut in 2001, Koh-Lanta has been a huge success in France, regularly finishing first in its timeslot.

Format Variations
16, 18 or 20 contestants (13, 14 or 16 contestants in special seasons) must survive on an uninhabited island for 39, 40, 41, 42, or 43 days (20, 21 or 23 days in special seasons). They have to find food to accompany the meagre ration of rice supplied to them at the beginning of the adventure. They should build a shelter to protect themselves from external conditions (weather, insects...) and keep alight the fire they were able to start or which they won in the first round.

Each contestant has a backpack with some clothes. Any product related to hygiene or food is prohibited, except due to illness.

Unlike most versions of Survivor, there can be more than one winner of Koh-Lanta if the final vote is tied.

The name of the show, Koh-Lanta, is the name of the island where the first season was filmed.

Tribe switch and dissolves
Main Article: Tribe Switch and Tribe Dissolve.

Final Four Elimination
When there are four persons left in the game (five in, and ), a special challenge takes place to determine the final three, with the person finishing last (the two last when there are five persons) being directly eliminated from the game (except for  where the loser had an extra vote against him at Tribal Council).

Hidden Immunity Idol
Koh-Lanta uses necklaces, called in French "colliers d'immunité" (Immunity Necklaces), as Hidden Immunity Idols (while the Immunity Idol symbolizes both Tribal and Individual Immunity). They were introduced in.

Replacement
In Koh-Lanta, if a castaway is medically evacuated, the last person voted off returns into the game. In the first seasons, it was also the case when a castaway voluntarily left, but since Raja Ampat, quitters are no longer replaced. If a person is removed and cannot be replaced by a previously eliminated player, a new castaway may enter the game.

Black Vote
Before leaving, the person voted off at Tribal Council is asked to cast a last vote against somebody from their tribe. This vote is called the Black Vote and is counted at the next Tribal Council attended by the targeted person. In case of a revote, the Black Vote does not count anymore. This twist, like the Immunity Necklaces, was introduced in Raja Ampat.

2013 Series Cancellation
Production has been stopped and the series cancelled for the 2013 season following the death of a contestant, Gérald Babin, victim of several heart attacks during the first Day $1of filming in Cambodia on March 22, 2013. The program's on-site doctor, Thierry Costa, committed suicide following the controversy. In his suicide note, he stated that his name has been "smeared in the media", leading to his ultimate death.