The Summit (American TV series)

This article is about the American reality television series. For for the Australian series this is based on, see The Summit (TV series). For the Canadian miniseries, see The Summit (TV miniseries).

The Summit is an American reality competition television series that premiered with a sneak peek on September 29, 2024, before its timeslot premiere on October 9 on CBS and concluding December 4, 2024. The series is hosted by Manu Bennett and is based on the Australian series of the same name. The goal of the show is a group of contestants are required to climb a mountain; overcoming treacherous physical obstacles along the journey, while at certain points having to adopt a mental and social game as well.

The Summit
Genre	Game show
Presented by	Manu Bennett
Composer	Uncanny Valley / Matt Dunne (additional music)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Kevin Lee Tina Nicotera Manu Bennett Sharon Levy Michael Heyerman
Production locations	Glenorchy, New Zealand, New Zealand
Production company	Endemol Shine North America
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 29 (2024-09-29) – December 4, 2024 (2024-12-04)

On April 22, 2025, the series was cancelled after one season.^[1]

Format

Contestants must climb a mountain, with the goal of reaching the summit, within only fourteen days. Each contestant holds an equal share of the prize money. When a contestant forfeits, or is medically evacuated, their share is removed from the game. At certain points alongside the trail, contestants reach checkpoints, in which at the checkpoints, contestants are able to rest, and relax; however this comes at a cost, to where the contestants in a social vote, must vote someone out. The eliminated players' share of the prize money is equally split with the remaining players. The prize pot will disappear completely if the contestants do not reach the summit in the allocated time.^[2]

Mountain's Keeper

The Mountain's Keeper will make appearances throughout the series; she keeps track of the trekkers' movements, is aware of how the physical and social game is commencing, and is watching the group at all times. The Keeper will occasionally throw duffel bags onto the trail, and the contents of those bags may bring twists into the game.

Endgame

The contestants who make it to the end of the summit will receive a portion of the pot. However, how much they receive will be up to the other contestants.This was alluded to on the show with Bennett saying “Be careful with who you meet on the way up, because you don’t know who you’ll see on the way down" on the start of their journey.

Location

The series was filmed in the Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand, starting near Glenorchy.^[3]

Series details

Season		Episodes	No. of contestants	Originally aired		Result
				Season premiere	Season finale	Remaining contestants at Summit	Initial Prize	Remaining Prize	Decision?
	1	10	16	September 29, 2024 (2024-09-29)	December 4, 2024 (2024-12-04)	3	$1 million	$750k	Unequally split

Season 1 (2024)

Contestants

Name	Age	Hometown	Occupation	Left	Reason for exit
Nick Morgan	28	Madisonville, Louisiana	Salesman	Ep. 10	Completed
Punkin Jackson	33	Columbus, Mississippi	Air Force Master Sergeant	Ep. 10	Completed
Therron Pittman	29	Los Angeles, California	Waiter	Ep. 10	Completed
Jeannie Geyer	56	Mahopac, New York	Grocery Store Employee	Ep. 10	Nick chose to eliminate
Beckylee Rawls	27	San Diego, California	Construction Manager	Ep. 9	Eliminated at checkpoint
Amy Stephens	46	Edisto Island, South Carolina	Bank Manager	Ep. 8	Eliminated at checkpoint
Dusty Fisher	28	Boise, Idaho	Real Estate Agent	Ep. 8	Therron chose to eliminate
Dennis Cho	29	Indianapolis, Indiana	Nurse	Ep. 7	Eliminated at checkpoint
Jennye Stirlen	37	Cary, North Carolina	MMA Referee	Ep. 6	Eliminated at checkpoint
Pati Arana	37	Los Angeles, California	Barber	Ep. 5	Eliminated at checkpoint
Robert Culp	42	Bolingbrook, Illinois	Educator	Ep. 4	Eliminated at checkpoint
Geoff Green	28	Sharpsburg, Georgia	Neuroscientist	Ep. 3	Eliminated at checkpoint
Shweta Choudhury	28	Los Angeles, California	Corporate Strategist	Ep. 2	Eliminated at checkpoint
Bo Martin	52	Gun Barrel City, Texas	Teacher/Coach	Ep. 2	Eliminated in challenge by sacrifice
Rose Mattie	41	Chandler, Arizona	Stay-At-Home-Mom	Ep. 1	Eliminated at checkpoint
Tony Reyes	36	Austin, Texas	Media Director	Ep. 1	Medically Evacuated

Elimination

Color key:

  – Completed The Summit and received a share of the prize

  – Eliminated and lost the money

  – Evacuated/Withdrew from the competition and lost the money

  – Eliminated at a checkpoint and money was stolen

  – Eliminated, money was stolen, but stole from the cash pot

  – Trekker had immunity

  – Given Power to Eliminate (PE) a Trekker

Name	Episode
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Nick										PE	Completed $500k
Punkin											Completed $250k
Therron								PE			Completed $250k
Jeannie				Immunity						Eliminated	—
Beckylee									Eliminated	—
Amy								Eliminated	—
Dusty								Eliminated	—
Dennis							Eliminated	—
Jennye						Eliminated	—
Pati					Eliminated	—
Robert				Eliminated	—
Geoff			Eliminated	—
Shweta		Eliminated	—
Bo		Eliminated	—
Rose	Eliminated	—
Tony	Withdrew	—
Prize	$937,000	$870,536	$870,536	$870,536	$870,536	$870,536	$870,536	$750,000	$750,000	$750,000

• The three finalists were each awarded the $250,000 that they carried. The 13 eliminated players voted on who would receive the $250,000 that was removed from the game; the final vote was Therron 2, Punkin 5, Nick 6.

Episodes

No.	Title [4][5]	Original release date [4][5]	Prod. code [4]	U.S. viewers (millions)	Rating (18-49)
1	"To the Summit"	September 29, 2024 (2024-09-29)	101	3.03[6]	0.3[6]
2	"Hard Choices Must Be Made"	October 9, 2024 (2024-10-09)	102	1.96[7]	0.3[7]
3	"Snakes and Ladders"	October 16, 2024 (2024-10-16)	103	1.82[8]	0.2[8]
4	"An Unexpected Storm"	October 23, 2024 (2024-10-23)	104	2.01[9]	0.2[9]
5	"Succeed Together, Fail Alone"	October 30, 2024 (2024-10-30)	105	1.87[10]	0.2[10]
6	"Never Show Your Weakness"	November 6, 2024 (2024-11-06)	106	1.94[11]	0.2[11]
7	"The Snowline"	November 13, 2024 (2024-11-13)	107	1.96[12]	0.2[12]
8	"Necessary Evils"	November 20, 2024 (2024-11-20)	108	1.89[13]	0.2[13]
9	"The Final Checkpoint"	November 27, 2024 (2024-11-27)	109	2.04[14]	0.3[14]
10	"Season Finale: Judgment Day"	December 4, 2024 (2024-12-04)	110	2.27[15]	0.2[15]

Production

On January 17, 2024, it was announced that CBS had ordered the series with Manu Bennett as the host.^[16] On July 13, 2024, it was announced that the series would premiere on September 29, 2024.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22]} On September 12, 2024, the contestants were announced.^[23] On April 22, 2025, the cancellation of the series was announced.^[1]