Variety confirms TMZ's report that CBS taped a Survivor-style show featuring celebrities in Panama. CBS has yet to confirm Beyond the Edge, which Variety says was filmed in Bocas del Toro, Panama in September and October. Variety also reports that Beyond the Edge will be produced by Renegade 83, whose other shows include Naked and Afraid, Blind Date and The Surreal Life. So it has experiencing filming celebrities in close quarters. Meanwhile, Deadline reports Survivor's Jeff Probst is expected to sign on as an executive producer. "This may be the closest thing CBS has come to producing a celebrity version of Survivor, although it’s clearly not that since it comes from different auspices," reports Variety's Michael Schneider. "But the Eye network has already produced celeb versions of Big Brother — as a matter of fact, the next Celebrity Big Brother premieres in February as counterprogramming to the Olympics. Beyond the Edge also sounds a bit like I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, a British reality format that has been a smash hit in the U.K., but failed to catch on in the U.S. despite attempts by ABC (in 2003) and NBC (2009) to adapt the series here. (Coincidentally, CBS sued ABC in 2003 in an attempt to halt I’m a Celebrity, arguing that it was a rip-off of Survivor. But a judge ultimately allowed that show to move forward.)" Though no official cast list has been released for Beyond the Edge, TMZ reported that its competitors include Colton Underwood, Jodie Sweetin, Metta World Peace and Eboni K. Williams.
TOPICS: Beyond the Edge, CBS, Jeff Probst, Reality TV, Renegade 83