Plot Synopsis

Inspired by sensory-deprivation training used by NASA and Special Forces, DARKNESS is a one-hour reality series that challenges participants to mentally and physically survival. Three survivalists are trapped inside cave systems, abandoned mines and underground labyrinths for up to six days, pushing themselves to their mental and physical limits, working as a team to survive, stay sane and find the exit back to the light. In order to keep the experience as immersive as possible, participants will also be outfitted with specialized custom-designed camera equipment enabling them to document their own experience without any exposure to light. The series features people with diverse backgrounds and reasons to participate. From a female navy survival instructor who is using this opportunity to better her teaching for soldiers who may need to survive in complete darkness to a male firefighter who hates being told he can't do things and whose family said he'd never be able to complete this challenge, DARKNESS intimately takes audiences through the mental and physiological effects of prolonged light deprivation and chronicles their attempts to survive underground, struggling to combine their diverse skill sets and escape the darkness. In the series opener, "Cave of the Seven Serpents," three men spend six days in complete darkness fighting to find the exit of a treacherous cave system buried deep underneath the Ozark Mountains. Isolation, hallucination, dangerous accidents, and hordes of snakes complicate the mission.