2013’s Siberia delivered a mock-reality series with horror and sci fi elements that could have turned into a sleeper genre entry, but it did not receive the support of its network and never continued to a 2nd season.
What Is It? This series follows 16 reality show contestants who are dropped into a remote Siberian wilderness to compete for a cash prize. As they face grueling challenges and harsh conditions, strange and terrifying events begin to unfold, leading the contestants to realize that something far more sinister is happening off-camera. Blurring the lines between reality TV and fiction, the show takes plenty of twists and turns as the contestants fight for survival while uncovering the disturbing secrets of their surroundings.
Aired: NBC, 2013, 1 Season Totaling 11 Episodes
Created By: Matthew Arnold
Starring: Joyce Giraud, Johnny Wactor, Esther Anderson, Miljan Milosevic, Daniel David Sutton, Neeko O.J. Skervin, Sam Dobbins
Is It Must-Watch Sci Fi? No. But this show delivered an interesting mock-reality series that blended sci fi and horror and deserved at least a couple more seasons.
The Skinny: Siberia arrived on the NBC schedule in July 2013 with little in the way of promotion, and few people understood what it really was. It certainly seemed like just another reality show in an overly crowded market, and not surprisingly, it did not draw much of an audience. Even those who tuned in at first may have been confused, as it took a few episodes for the audience to realize that there was something more going on with the show. For those who did stick around, Siberia started to deliver some twists and turns as it introduced horror elements and some sci fi leanings as well. And by the end of the show’s first season, it proved to be a truly engaging genre entry.
Unfortunately, the show suffered most from the fact that it started out pretending to be a reality show, which is anathema to most sci-fi fans. Better marketing might have clued-in the audience to expect something more, but at the same time, the network may not have wanted to spoil the surprise. Still, it was the fourth or fifth episode before the show moved into full-on sci-fi/horror mystery, and the already small audience had shrunk further by that point. And as it leaned more heavily into its genre elements, suspension of disbelief was stretched a bit as viewers may have been questioning how the ever-present camera crew kept the film rolling throughout the downward spiral of events.
Still, the show had a good cast that reacted well as things started to go awry. And the mystery continued to deepen with each episode, delivering some pretty good genre television. But NBC seemed to stick the show on the schedule as an afterthought and did nothing to help it find an audience. So, it disappeared after one season, and what could have turned into a sleeper sci-fi series was instead cast to the television wasteland.
Cancelled Too Soon? Yes, and it was fully the fault of the network. Siberia was completely funded upfront, so it was an inexpensive series for NBC. Airing it in July was not necessarily a bad idea because CBS had success with the genre entry Under the Dome that same summer. They just needed to give it more promotion, and they could have easily gone with the angle that it was a reality show where things didn’t go as planned, developing some intrigue and drawing viewers to the show (which the promos did do, they just did not get enough exposure). Instead, they slotted it into a not particularly viewer-friendly hour (Monday 10 PM EST), and the show failed to find much of an audience. To make matters worse, the eleventh and twelfth episodes were merged together because the show had been thrown off schedule by the Royal Baby Special that aired in July, and they needed to wrap it up before the Fall premieres.
NBC never officially announced a cancellation, and since the production company owned the show, it started to circulate through the international market over the next few years. I kept in touch with several of the actors over social media during that time, and they were optimistic that a second season would eventually happen. In addition, the audience for the show continued to grow as it premiered in multiple countries across the globe. Sadly, though, it never did get a second-season renewal, leaving the show on a pretty big cliffhanger ending.
Should It Be Rebooted? I don’t know that a ground-up reboot would be the best way to go with the property, but I would definitely like to see it return in some form. Perhaps they could stage a revival with new participants, maybe even referencing the failed first attempt to add mystery, and several of the original actors could make a return at some point when things start to go awry again. That would be a good way to tie in the first season of the show and provide some answers to the mysteries originally put forward. The production company that did the show has since shut down, though, so I don’t know who has the rights. But since this one did start to develop an international following, there might be enough support to justify bringing it back.
Interesting Fact: The production company, Sierra/Engine Television, followed a new model of independently financing the show upfront, and it was the first such series bought by one of the major networks. It certainly seemed like a good way to go with the property and allowed it to be syndicated internationally, but ultimately, it did not prove sustainable.
Where Can You Watch It? The entire series was released on DVD, but that has since gone out of print. It is currently available to streaming for free (with ads) on Tubi TV.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
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