Castaways (2018) is an American reality television show produced by ABC. The series premiered on August 7, 2018, and chronicles the lives of 12 individuals as they try to survive on a number of islands in Indonesia. Unlike other reality shows, participants on Castaways may not be initially aware that there are other Castaways nearby. This had led some sources to compare the show to Lost. Moreover, the participants can leave only by waiting for a rescue team at the end of the show or by quitting. Each castaway has one piece of luggage. They all arrive alone and with someone else's luggage washed up on shore with them. Everyone is required to have a journal in their luggage where they write about themselves, this allowing those who find it to learn about them.
The human need for companionship under extreme circumstances is tested when 12 diverse individuals are dropped alone throughout various islets in Indonesia and challenged to survive among washed-up luggage, scattered resources and abandoned structures while knowing there are other castaways out there but unaware of how many, their locations or when they will be rescued. The only way to leave the remote islands is to persevere long enough to be rescued or to quit. As dramatic situations unfold, the series flashes back to the real lives of each participant in documentary fashion, demonstrating haunting parallels to the lives they left behind.