The 21 Best TV Shows About Getting Stranded On An Island | tvshowpilot.com (2023)

Being stranded on an island isn't something the average person would really want.

Think of movies likeFantasieinsel,I remember what you did last summer, or even the last onesjurassic world, and that's enough to make anyone paranoid about traveling to an island where no fixed escape route is planned.

In this list of TV shows about being stranded on an island, maybe we can learn a thing or two about how we might survive if that were to happen to us. Either way, these shows offer limitless entertainment, so let's get started.

Lost, ABC (2004 - 2010)

Of course A.B.C.Lostis on this list; Often hailed as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, it's pretty much the epitome of being stranded on an island!

It begins with a commercial flight between Sydney and Los Angeles, which then crashes on a mysterious and uncharted island somewhere in the middle of the South Pacific.

Tensions rise within the group of survivors as they figure out the best way to survive against the supernatural mysteries that lurk in the island's shadow.

Schiffbrüchig, TBS (2016-2018)

TBSsmashIt's a departure from the supernatural drama genre of the previous show, but it still ties in a lot with it.

smashis a comedy series that is actually a parodyLost!

The plot shows arescue missionto a group of stranded passengers who failed, leaving the motley crew of survivors to fend for themselves.

Now they are completely alone and cut off from the rest of the world.

With a mix of personalities, knowledge and survival instincts, the group struggles to live together without the conveniences of the modern world.

The Savages, Amazon Prime Video (2020-2022)

the wildis a drama series that follows a group of young women on their journey to a women's empowerment retreata hawaiinamed Dawn of Eve when her plane crashes and she is stranded on a deserted island.

Unbeknownst to them, they are in fact the unwitting participants in a social experiment conducted by the director of the same pension scheme.

Although they are eventually "saved," a second experiment begins with a group of men, and the group of women begin connecting the dots to the truth.

Gilligans Insel, CBS (1964-1967)

We went back several decades with this one, but CBS'Gilligan's islandIt's arguably one of pop culture's most popular references to this day when it comes to desert islands.

The popular sitcom follows the crew of two of the SS Minnow and their five tourist passengers as they sail into a storm and become shipwrecked during a supposedly short voyage from Hawaii.

Attempts are constantly made to rescue her, but are often unwittingly stopped by Gilligan, the minnow's clumsy first mate.

Gilligan's New Adventures, ABC (1974-1975)

Several years after the endGilligan's island, ABC premiered an animated series entirely based on it entitledGilligan's new adventures!

Many of the original cast members even returned to provide the voice for their versions of animated characters.

The overall plot stayed pretty much the same and the episodes played out exactly like the original.

However, since the cartoon format was aimed at a younger audience, they also added a little "moral of the story" after each episode!

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, ORTF/ZDF/BBC (1965 – 1966)

The 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe is another icon in this field and in the literary world in general!

Therefore,The Adventures of Robinson Crusoea German-French series was adapted from the novel and made into a program suitable for young people.

The show follows the eponymous character Robinson Crusoe, an Englishman, and his adventures on the desert island where he is trapped.

He also recounts his past in flashbacks and how his struggle to survive makes him a better man than he ever was.

Crusoe, NBC (2008-2009)

Decades after the first adaptation aired came NCCrusoe, also loosely based on Defoe's original novel, but with a slightly comical twist.

When we meet the titular Crusoe in this series, he's been stranded on the island for about six years, but his desperation to return home hasn't abated.

The series follows his adventures with his only companion Friday, a native he befriended.

Throughout the series we learn more about the life he left behind in England and how he ended up on the island.

Return to Paradise, GMA Network (2022–present)

return to paradiseis an ongoing Filipino drama series that only premiered in August 2022.

In a typical telenovela format, episodes are aired daily and so it has already amassed more than 60 episodes in the few months that it has been aired.

return to paradisefollows Red and Eden, two college students stranded on an island after a plane crash.

Relying only on each other to survive, they begin to fall in love.

However, the secrets discovered after their rescue threaten to complicate the relationship between them and their families.

Stranded, Netflix (2019)

The next foreign language series on the list isthe stranded, a Thai fantasy drama that premiered internationally on Netflix.

Here, the group stranded on an island is made up of privileged teenagers from an elite school.

On the last night of high school, while they are having fun, a powerful tsunami hits and they are all washed up on a mysterious island.

As they slowly orient themselves and formulate an escape plan, they uncover secrets that point to something far more fishy.

Flug 29 Down, Discovery Kids (2005-2007)

Flight 29 downis a comedy-adventure series aimed at a much younger audience than most of the above.

As you might have guessed from the series' title, the show begins with Flight 29, a small propeller-driven passenger plane, en route to Palau for an eco-camping trip, flying into a tropical storm and crashing immediately.

Its passengers are a group of young teenagers who immediately come up with a plan to survive and escape.

Luckily, a communication device allows them to record their thoughts and adventures, and maybe even receive a signal to the outside world.

Lost Isles, Red 10 (1976)

The Australian adventure seriesThe Lost IslandsIt begins on a ship called United World, which transports teenagers from all over the world.

When a hurricane hits and sinks the ship, the survivors are not counted and five of them wash up and are stranded on an uncharted island called Tambu.

There is a local community formed by the descendants of another ship that sank centuries ago, and they are ruled by a mysterious tyrant named Q.

The survivors secretly seek shelter while Q seeks them out, fearing their knowledge of the outside world.

The Great Escapists, Amazon Prime Video (2021)

Actors Richard Hammond and Tony Belleci play fictionalized versions of themselves on Amazon Prime.The great escapists.

The two are friends who went on a fishing trip together only to find their boat was hit by a storm and sank.

They end up on an unnamed island in the Pacific Ocean and use its shipwreck to find an escape route.

However, Hammond constantly sabotages their efforts whenever they approach, as he wishes to continue his adventure.

Mysterious Island, Family Channel (2005)

Mysterious Islandis another series based on a centuries-old novel, specifically L'île mystérieuse by Jules Verne.

Where the other programs on the list include shipwrecks and plane crashes,Mysterious Islandbrings with it something else: a hot air balloon that's gone off course and bound for an island in the Pacific!

The passengers were refugees escaping the American Civil War and managed to rebuild society on the desert island.

However, they soon begin to suspect that someone is watching and controlling their every move.

The New People, ABC (1969-1970)

ABCNew peopleis both an adventure drama and social commentary, presenting the prominent counterculture in American society during the 1960s.

It follows a group of teenagers returning from a goodwill tour in Southeast Asia, which some of them felt was "fake" to distract from what was really going on in their own country.

Stranded on an abandoned island originally intended for surface nuclear testing, these teenagers are leaving facilities and resources intact so they can survive.

The Secret Island, TV1 (1972)

Adventure drama seriesIsland of Secretsadds to the list another foreign language film as a Swedish original, aired in just six episodes in the early 1970s.

It was based on a novel of the same name, which had political themes, although it was aimed at young people.

In the series, a group of Boy Scouts are stranded on a deserted island and set out on a quest to build their own civilization, along with the triumphs and troubles that come with it.

The Land of Me, Netflix (2019)

the Netflixthe earthIt begins on the mysterious island in question, contrary to what led the characters to end up there.

The sci-fi thriller series follows ten strangers who wake up on the island with no memory of who they are or how they got there.

With conflicting personalities, tension quickly builds until one of them discovers they are part of oneJailsimulation program intended for "rehabilitation", albeit with obviously questionable methods.

There Was Ten, M6 / Channel 4 (2021)

it was ten, or Ils étaient dix in the original title, is a French adaptation of Agatha Christie's famous novel And Then There Were None, but in a modern setting.

Ten strangers, five men and five women, are invited to a luxury.Hotelon an unknown and deserted tropical island.

They soon find themselves cut off from the rest of the world and have no idea who their mysterious benefactor is.

Their journey to uncover the truth requires a glimpse into their past, which neither of them particularly enjoy doing.

And Then There Was None Left, BBC One (2015)

BBC todayAnd then there was nobodyis a three-part British crime novel adaptation and features an all-star cast.

Unlike the French series mentioned above, this one is hereback to 1939, when ten strangers are invited to a remote island off the Devon coast called Soldier's Island.

As they prepare for dinner, an announcement plays, informing them that they have all been accused of murder in the past.

One by one they die in a manner similar to the poem about the ten Indians they found in their bedrooms.

Harpers Insel, CBS (2009)

Harper's Islandties in some ways to previous adaptations of Christie's novel, as many have described it as a throwback to the poem Ten Little Indians, which is also the focusAnd then there was nobody.

InHarper's Island, Abby Mills returns to her hometown, the island of the same name, after leaving it 7 years ago when aserial killermurdered his mother and five other people.

However, Abby's return also marks the killer's return, and now everyone is a suspect as the island's citizens are killed one by one.

Yellow Jackets, Showtime (since 2021)

yellow jacketsIt's not necessarily about being stranded on an island, but we think getting lost in the Canadian wilderness is also enough.

Ishorror-Thriller follows a group of teenage girls who are on a flight back to New Jersey after a soccer tournament in Seattle in 1996.

Their plane crashes and they're stuck somewhere in Ontario.

The series chronicles their descent into insane cannibalism, interspersed with narratives of their current life as they speak their truth 25 years later.

Unknown Persons, NBC (2010)

The final show on our list is another NBC honorable mentionUnknown peoplefollows a mixed group of seven strangers who wake up in an abandoned ghost town with their memories completely erased.

All they know is that they are being watched.

Eventually, they discover that they are subjected to a series of psychological and physical tests while the handlers try to manipulate their every decision and move.

For what purpose, they must find out for themselves!