9+ Differences between “No Limite” and its foreign version “Survivor”

The reality show No Limite, from Globo, premiered its 6th season in search of recovering the success it had in the first ones. In 2000, it was the second reality show in Brazil and its success paved the way for other formats.

In the 6th season, No Limite has a greater requirement of physical effort and resistance than the previous one. With that, comparisons with Survivor, the original US show, became unavoidable.

So we from awesome.club, we made a comparison between its main features, showing the differences between the original Survivor and the Brazilian version No Limite, as well as a bonus about backstage.

Survivor is one of the most successful reality shows on American TV, which is why it has generated more than 40 seasons since its debut in 2000. Each season has its own name, with the location where it is being filmed or the theme of the time. No Limite had a very successful first season, but it couldn’t stay relevant over time, so it had far fewer editions.

The American show Survivor usually has 16 to 18 participants, but there have been cases with more than that. To exemplify, the first season had 16 participants and the most recent one, 18. No Limite had 12 participants at the beginning, but it had a season with 16, one with 23 and the current one started with 24 competitors.

Survivor has been presented since the year 2000 by the same person, Jeff Probst. He has hosted several shows in the US, but it was Survivor that made him most famous. Here in Brazil, No Limite has already passed through the hands of three presenters. Zeca Camargo commanded seasons 1 to 4, André Marques the 5th and Fernando Fernandes the 6th. Fernando is a Paralympic athlete who has tried several adapted sports and also has a lot of experience as a presenter.

Being in its 42nd season, it’s hard to say here where Survivor has already been filmed. They have already passed through several countries in almost all continents, and even had two seasons recorded in Brazil, one in Amazonas and another in Tocantins. Currently, since the 33rd season, the show has been shooting in the Mamanacu Islands, Fiji.

No Limite, in turn, never left Brazil, having recorded seasons in Ceará, Mato Grosso and Pará. Season 6 takes place again in Ceará, more precisely in Praia do Coqueiral, in a small town called Flecheiras, the same location as the 2009 season.

In both programs it is common for the participants to be divided into tribes, at least in the first episodes. In Brazil, the competitors have always been in two teams, of balanced ages and genders, and in the 6th season the tribes were Sol and Lua. In the 42nd season of Survivor there were three tribes: Taku, Ika and Vati.

But Survivor, having so many seasons, has already been able to experience the most varied combinations of tribes. They’ve had seasons with two tribes, three, four and, in season 29, one big exception: it was two tribes with nine pairs of competitors who already had some previous relationship. The separation criteria also varied widely: age, ethnicity, social class, and even “intelligence vs. beauty vs. muscles”.

All this variety in the composition of the tribes has an explanation: Survivor always has themed seasons. For example, season 20 was titled Heroes vs. Villains, and featured former contestants separated based on their reputation with the public. Another interesting season was the 33rd, Millennials vs. Gen X, with a tribe of ten participants born between 1963 and 1982 and another with ten born between 1984 and 1997.

No Limite, despite the few editions, also had a theme. Season 5, 2021, had only former BBB participants as competitors. The audience this time was not so good, having one of the lowest scoring finals on the show.

Here in Brazil, No Limite has established itself among the public as a reality show essentially about survival (and exotic foods), where participants go through several difficulties to prove their resistance. In the US, the Survivor program took another turn. There, the participants who usually win appeal to other strategies that go beyond physical conditioning (and exotic foods as well). They include forging alliances, manipulating competitors and even lying!

An example of this was the 12th season of Survivor, in which the contestant Cirie Fields claimed to never leave the couch at home and was even afraid of leaves, not knowing what animals could be under them. At 36 years old and overweight, she was considered weak by competitors, so no one voted to leave her, preferring to eliminate stronger competitors. Combining charisma and manipulation, even with all the weaknesses, Cirie managed to stay for a long time, and was the 12th eliminated, almost in the final stage.

The strategies adopted by Survivor participants are largely due to the program’s own format, where players form a jury to vote on who will be the winner of the program. That way, if any participant exaggerated in the manipulation, his strategy can be turned against himself at the time of the final vote. Differently, No Limite has a vote made by the public, live, in the final episode.

Another big difference between the Survivor and No Limit programs is in the prize pool. The American show has the same prize since the first season: one million dollars. In Brazil, currently, the prize is R$ 500 thousand since 2009, but it was less – in the first season, the winner took R$ 300 thousand and a new car. Occasionally, contestants earn prizes throughout the program, in addition to their participation fee.

No Limite debuted in 2000 with two more seasons in 2001, but was later paused. This happened because Survivor producer Mark Burnett sued Globo for copying the show’s format without paying for it. The broadcaster, then, regularized the situation to be able to return with No Limite in 2009, this time with the rights to use the format duly purchased.

What about you, do you usually follow No Limite and other survival reality shows? Do you think you would do well if you participated in one?