Plot Synopsis

In this one-hour reality series, explorer Ed Stafford takes on a series of head-to-head challenges against some of the biggest names in survival, risking life, limb, and reputation along the way. Over miles of hostile terrain in Asia, Ed and his opponents face high stakes survival challenges as they race to reach a pre-determined extraction point, in a bid to prove they are top of their game and be the first man out. As they tackle the punishing distances, fearsome challenges and diverse environments, tracking technology allows survival expert Andrew Wood to provide viewers with analysis of the techniques and performances of the competitors. The shoot took a team of 25-30 crew members 75 days to complete, requiring 22 cameras shooting at 50fps, which generated eight times more data than a standard HD production. The total shoot clocked in 65 terabytes of raw data.

In each 60-minute episode, Ed challenges a different opponent, including: ultra-fit ex-Marine and ropes expert Aldo Kane, as they race across Borneo's crocodile-infested mangrove swamps in the series premiere; ex-South Korean special forces soldier Khen Rhee, who is challenged to navigate a never-ending natural maze in Kazakhstan; endurance athlete Matt Graham, who races against Ed in Mongolia's Gobi desert; ex-military survival legend E.J. Snyder, as the duo race through the harsh Thai jungles; primitive skills expert Cat Bigney, who races Ed across the stunning but deadly island paradise of Palau in the South Pacific; and John Hudson, chief Instructor at the UK Military Survival School.

ED STAFFORD: FIRST MAN OUT had its U.S. premiere on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 10pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel.