Season 2 of Extracted is promising more drama and danger than ever before. Plus, the show has reality royalty in the house! The “Queen of Survivor,” Sandra Diaz-Twine, and her daughter, Nina Twine, are working as a team in Headquarters. Of course, Sandra won Survivor twice. In addition, Nina competed in Australian Survivor twice and won the USA reality competition series, The Anonymous. Meanwhile, it was Nina’s boyfriend, Eric Rivera, who was out in the Canadian wilderness, with only a camera and the clothes on his back. It was a daunting situation for all of the 11 survivalists.
Meanwhile, 11 teams of two are stationed at headquarters, competing in challenges to gain supplies for their loved ones. The amateur survivalists must face hunger, cold, and the threat of wildlife. And their teams are checking out their every move courtesy of remote cameras. However, while the teams can hear the survivalists, they cannot communicate with them.
Plus, the teams must form alliances and use strategy to help gain much-needed supplies for their survivalist. And, if the situation becomes too much, or too dangerous, for the survivalist, the team can push the Extract button and remove them from the game. The final survivalist and their team members win $250,000.
Reality Tea spoke with Sandra, Nina, and Eric about what it was like watching Eric in the wild, and whether Nina or Sandra would ever push the Extract button. Plus, did Sandra’s Survivor reputation put a bullseye on her back?
Why did Eric, Sandra, and Nina decide to join Extracted?
While some of the competitors had experience in the wild, Eric did not. “Before we went out there, we actually were looking through books, reading, watching videos, trying to prepare as much as possible,” Eric explained. “But not really … really experienced outdoors.”
Thankfully, a camping trip was already on the calendar. “You know, the crazy part is, we already had a camping trip planned before this happened, and it just so happened that we got the call right before we went camping,” Eric stated. “So, I got to prepare a little bit, like try to make fire and stuff like that.”
So, whose idea was it to go on Extracted? “It was Sandra’s idea,” Eric said with a laugh. “Well, I got the phone call, Kim, and I was asked for a two-female team with a guy in the woods, which they didn’t do Season 1. So, I was like, ‘Okay. Perfect,’” Sandra explained.
“I know Nina and I can handle it, and then we’ll put somebody in the woods. And I asked my husband, and he said ‘No’ right away. And we asked Eric, and he said, ‘Yeah. I’ll do it.’ So, that was all that had to be said, and Eric was it,” the Survivor legend added.
As for Eric, he did have some concerns about surviving in the forest alone. “I would say hunger and the bears. I was really worried that … that I wasn’t going to be able to deal with the hunger and stuff like that,” the autobody technician explained. “And just, I didn’t know how many bears I was going to encounter, or if I was. So, I was kind of scared of that. And maybe a little bit at night – how dark it was.”
What was it like taking part in Extracted?
While the survivalists did have their cameras, they weren’t helpful at night. “The camera had a little screen on it, and that was all the light you had. But you could probably see two or three feet surrounding the camera, and that’s it. Even if the moon was full, I couldn’t even tell because the woods were all in the way,” Eric said.
“And he was in a heavy-wooded area, too, Eric, right? Where it got dark really early, and then the light didn’t come up until way later than everyone else,” Sandra explained. “So, he would go to bed early and wake up late.”
So, did Eric find surviving in the wilderness more difficult than he expected? “I think it was more difficult just because I’ve always been a confident person. Listen, if I go out and do something, I feel pretty confident, and I’m not really scared to try different things,” he stated. “So, when I got out there, I think I underestimated it, and you know, it’s real life. Then you just gotta figure it out as you go.”
Meanwhile, watching Eric battle the elements was tough for Nina and Sandra. “It was really hard, mainly because there’s times when you’re just like, ‘I really want to say something, but I can’t,’” Nina said. So, it was really hard, you know … like any survivalist, to watch all of them struggle. Because that’s not easy, the human side of it comes into play.”
She continued, “But then we have to put on our competitor helmets and say, ‘You know what? There’s two different sides to this. In those moments that we feel down, we need to remember that this is a competition, and if we get down, we’re going to lose focus.’”
What worried Sandra and Nina the most about Eric in Extracted?
“For me, I was most worried about Eric kind of being reserved and not communicating to us what he needed when he needed it,” Nina stated. “But in this kind of scenario, in Extracted, if you don’t communicate what you need, we do not know what to prioritize. But if you don’t let us know, then we don’t know how to approach certain situations when those Trials begin.”
In addition, Sandra had some advice for Eric. “And Kim, for me, I had told Eric too, like, ‘If you wake up cold, you gotta find a way to warm yourself up. If your shelter’s not great, you gotta improve on it,” she explained. “If you’re hungry, you gotta go get food because any crates that we send you, if we can send you one, is a bonus. But don’t expect it,” Sandra added.
What was Sandra and Nina’s game strategy?
For Sandra and Nina, their previous reality competition experience could have put a target on their back. However, Sandra wasn’t worried. “I don’t feel like I had a huge target. I walked in, and I told Nina, ‘Someone always knows who I am,’” Sandra said. “But this time around, I think it was three or four of the family members that actually knew who I was.”
The Survivor winner continued, “And I just simply said, “I’m gonna, you know, just stay back. Relax. See who approaches me. See who’s happy that I’m here.”
Sandra continued, “Or see if anybody, from the beginning, you know, gives me that vibe like, ‘I shouldn’t be there.’ Like, it’s not fair that I’m there. And I just stayed looking at the monitors, and then Nina worked the room. Nina made the alliances.”
The mother-daughter duo decided this strategy would be the best way forward. “That was something we immediately talked about, [which] was me kind of being the one to scope out the scene, get the chit-chats going. Although we have very similar personalities, it’s a little bit easier to get along with me initially,” Nina explained. “And so I’m the one who can kind of put the feelers out, see how people are feeling, disarm them. Or say, ‘Hey, man, if you have any questions, go sit next to her. Go have a chit-chat. You’ll love her.’”
She added, “And eventually, hoping those guards will come down, they’ll be more willing to work with us. Rather than immediately pulling the daggers out, ready to go.”
Would Sandra or Nina be more likely to push the Extract button for Eric?
Thankfully, Eric knew exactly where he stood when it came to being extracted by his team members. “Well, I told you from the jump. Eric knew it. I said, ‘Eric, you need to have a conversation with Nina, because I will not press the button,’” Sandra stated. “Absolutely not.”
Nina added, “I can’t speak for every family, but that’s something that she stood 10 toes down on. And I think a lot of people, including us, did have that conversation of like, ‘When you’re done, you just need to be clear and concise.’”
She continued, “Going on Survivor two times, I know what that hunger feels like. I know when you’re down in the dumps, what that feels like in a different capacity, of course. So, I said if there’s ever a day where it just … it’s too much, your health is at risk, your mental [health] is at risk, you just need to communicate that clearly.” Nina added, “And although it’ll be hard, I’ll do my best to respect you in that moment.”
Meanwhile, for Eric, being alone was challenging. “It was crazy. In the video, you know, I said, ‘I like to be alone, but this is a different type of being alone,’” Eric said. “Back home, you get to choose when you’re alone and when you talk to somebody. And out there, whenever you want to talk to somebody, you can’t.” He added, “So, it was hard just sitting there and talking to myself.” Then, Sandra chimed in. “We told him to make friends with the bears,” she said, laughing.
Was Extracted or Survivor more physically and emotionally challenging?
“Well, for me, it’s going to always be Survivor, simply because it’s taken up so much of my life. If I add all the times I participated, it’s 166 days, in my book,” Sandra explained. “So, that’s the difference, and I’m not the one out there in the woods. Eric is. But I wouldn’t take that away from him because I had a tribe.” The Traitors alum added, “I always had help. I had people to talk to. Where he … it’s just him, and the bears. And the bears are not going to help him.”
According to Nina, she did not anticipate the “emotional complexity” of playing Extracted. “[It] really takes a toll on you when you have to watch somebody say, ‘Man, you know, I’m not feeling good today.’ Or they wake up, and you’re like, ‘Man, they don’t look that great.’ Or you can see the weight loss,” Nina explained.
She continued, “That’s when you know, ‘Okay. Nobody can vote me out, so some of the stuff I do, screw it. Let’s go full throttle.’ But at the same time, you know that could come into play later when you’re trying to get supplies.” Nina stated, “And maybe somebody didn’t like the way you stepped on their toes previously. So, they’re going to stomp on yours.”
When Nina played Survivor and The Anonymous, she made decisions for herself. However, in Extracted, there were more moving pieces. “Taking into account two other people along with, you know, 10 other families, and three people [in] each family. You know, there’s just a lot more,” Nina stated. “This time around, there’s other people I have to factor in now.”
This interview was edited for clarity.
Extracted Season 2 premieres on Monday, January 26 at 8/7c on FOX. It streams the next day on Hulu.
TELL US – ARE YOU GOING TO WATCH SEASON 2 OF EXTRACTED? DO YOU THINK THAT ERIC, SANDRA, AND NINA WILL WIN?
