The Bare Necessities

Those unfamiliar with Discovery's breakout hit Naked and Afraid may be even more confused by its spinoff, Naked and Afraid XL.

It is not, as the name suggests, plus-size porn. "We get that joke a lot," sighs Jay Renfroe, executive producer and a principal of the production company Renegade 83.

The concept behind the original series, now in season two, is simple — a man and woman (who are strangers) must survive in a remote location for 21 days without food, water or a stitch of clothing.

"They don't have a hat or sunglasses," says Denise Contis, Discovery's executive vice-president of development and production. "They don't even have flip-flops. It's the epitome of authentic survival."

So far, this has meant countless puncture wounds, a maggot infestation of a man's buttocks and a situation the show termed "vagina mosquitoes."

"I don't know how some of these people endure this," Renfroe admits.

XL takes the Adam-and-Eve idea and supersizes it. The spinoff (which premiered last summer and returns in July) puts 12 contestants from the original show in the wilds of Colombia, where they either work together or squabble.

And the survivalists of XL must rough it for 40 days. "Going from 21 days to 40 is exponentially harder," says Joseph Boyle, executive producer, Discovery. "Every additional day is like three or four."

Though the challenges behind the scenes aren't life and death, they are unique. Because of the nonstop nudity, both shows must be censored by a group of digital pros informally known as the Blur Man Group. "It's about going grain by grain by grain," Renfroe says of the postproduction work. "All the guys ask for a larger blur."

Initially, finding recruits willing to strip and live rough wasn't easy. But since the franchise became a hit — XL premiered to an impressive 3.8 million viewers — casting has been a breeze. Many from the first show are clamoring for a chance to do it again on XL.

"The first time I took off my clothes, I thought, 'This is stupid.'" says E.J. "Skullcrusher" Snyder, a retired U.S. Army sergeant major who has appeared on both shows. '"Am I still going to have a seat at the VFW when this is done? What will my mom think?' But I was willing to take that chance. I love being out in the wild without electronics. And how many times do you get to go on safari naked?"