Bear Grylls has admitted that no one has ever felt completely safe while filming his TV shows. The 52-year-old British explorer is returning to screens with a new Amazon Prime series, The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls, premiering all six episodes on August 9, 2026.
New series challenges cast of The Chosen
The show follows the cast of the historical drama The Chosen as they face challenges in woodlands, deserts, and ravines. Cast members Jonathan Roumie (Jesus), Paras Patel (Matthew), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), Noah James (Andrew), and Luke Dimyan (Judas) join series creator Dallas Jenkins as Grylls guides them through Utah's Castle Valley, Canyonlands, the Ausable River, the Colorado River, the Great Basin Desert, and the Adirondack Forest.
Grylls on safety and unpredictability
Speaking ahead of the debut, Grylls said: "I think that one thing I can say with absolute certainty is no one has ever done an episode of Running In The Wild or Chosen In The Wild and felt absolutely safe from start to finish." He added, "The wild is unpredictable and we are in difficult places, especially with Chosen In The Wild."
Grylls noted the team works well together despite the risks: "We went to some real extremes but I think as a team, we have a small crew and we all work really well together." He emphasized the constant mindfulness of safety while operating in dynamic environments, such as "hanging off rock faces at, sort of, 600ft up in the air."
Rookies and the magic of the wild
Grylls highlighted that the actors are newcomers to such adventures: "You can't screw up and we also have rookies with us, so that's the other thing. None of these actors have ever done anything like this before." He praised the experience for bringing people "back to the bare essentials," adding, "You know, there's no hiding so you get to see people be real and open. I love that."
The series begins August 9, 2026, on Prime Video, with all six episodes released simultaneously.
