Plot Synopsis

Hosted by Jesse Palmer with commentators Erin Coscarelli and Joe Turpel, THE ULTIMATE SURFER is an eight-episode elimination competition series that features 14 of the world's greatest up-and-coming surfers who train and live together at the World Surf League's (WSL) Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California, in the hope of competing on the WSL Championship Tour. Men and women compete in individual and team challenges focused on specific surfing disciplines. Weekly eliminations leave two men and two women as finalists who vie for the male and female titles of the THE ULTIMATE SURFER, $100,000 cash, and the opportunity to compete on the elite WSL Championship Tour, the pinnacle of professional surfing. Kelly Slater's remarkable, one-of-a-kind, human-made wave -- the most even playing field for measuring surf mastery -- is at the heart of the series. Slater serves as on-air talent and special correspondent for the show, as well as being the lead consultant.

The Season 1 competitors are: Anastasia Ashley (33, Miami Beach, FL); Kai Barger (30, Haiku, HI); Mason Barnes (26, Venice, CA); Tia Blanco (23, Oceanside, CA); Austin Clouse (26, Jacksonville Beach, FL); Brianna Cope (25, Koloa, HI); Luke Davis (27, Los Angeles, CA); Kayla Durden (27, Jacksonville Beach, FL); Juli Hernandez (22, Costa Mesa, CA); Zeke Lau (26, Honolulu, HI); Alejandro Moreda (34, San Juan, Puerto Rico); Koa Smith (25, Sunset Beach, HI); Malia Ward (22, San Clemente, CA); and Bruna Zaun (30, Redondo Beach, CA).
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On Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 10pm ET/PT, ABC premiered "The Ultimate Surfers," the season finale of THE ULTIMATE SURFER. Friendships and alliances built along the way are pushed to the sand as two men (Zeke and Koa) and two women (Tia and Brianna) meet in the final showdown. Eleven-time surfing world champion Kelly Slater surprises the finalists with a once-in-a-lifetime coaching session, sharing real-time feedback on the wave he created. After a neck-and-neck race at the Final Surf Off, one man and one woman are crowned The Ultimate Surfers, winning $100,000 and the opportunity to compete on the WSL Championship Tour.