I Shouldn't Be Alive (2005–2012)

Plot

What lengths would you go to in order to survive in the wild where you have to battle the forces of nature and the elements? I Shouldn't Be Alive presents viewers with this very question, allowing them to re-live the harrowing, true stories of real people who survived fascinatingly dire circumstances and lived to tell about it. Viewers find the experience of I Shouldn't Be Alive to be an emotional one - the featured tales often deal with unimaginable scenarios, moral dilemmas, split-second decisions and chance occurrences that determine life or death. This highly engaging series constantly leaves viewers in awe and forces them to ponder: Do I have it within me to do the same?

Email me if I Shouldn't Be Alive returns or gets revived

Highest-rated episodes all ranked

  1. 0176 Days AdriftS04E06 · 6.0Steven Callahan departs from El Hierro in the Canary Islands, in Napoleon Solo - a sloop he designed and built himself. He's bound for Antigua as part of the Mini Transat 6.50 single-handed sailing race from Penzance, England. One night a ferocious storm severely damages his boat. He escapes the sinking vessel in an inflatable life-raft, nicknamed Ducky, with a meagre supply of food and water. For 76 days he is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean at the mercy of the currents and winds. During his ordeal he is battered by the elements, attacked by sharks and plagued by constant punctures to his raft. It's an epic story where one man's will to survive is put to the ultimate test.
  2. 02I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E09River of FearS04E09 · 6.0Running through the majestic splendour of the Grand Canyon the Colorado River offers construction contractor David Whittlesey with just the kind of challenge he craves. He embarks on a 3 week, 280 mile white-water rafting expedition, opting to tackle some of America's most gruelling rapids on his own. Just days away from completing his journey David's raft capsizes, gets stuck and he loses all of his life-saving supplies. As he attempts to scale a cliff face, which is his only way out, he falls and injuries himself. He is trapped, alone and knows that hypothermia could kill him before anyone even knows where he is or that his life is in danger.

Episodes by season

Season0113Episodes2005–06AiredSeason avg
  1. S01E01Shark SurvivorOctober 28, 20051982. Five people get caught in a tropical storm and their yacht sinks. They have to survive in the middle of the ocean on a raft with absol
  2. S01E02Lost in the SnowNovember 4, 2005A U.S. Army Private, his wife, and their five-month old son travel to a funeral, but on the way there, they miss the sign that leads to the
  3. S01E03Escape from the AmazonNovember 11, 2005Three friends go to the Amazon for a trip but things get nasty when their guide leads them to jeopardy. As the four (three friends and guide
  4. S01E04Swept AwayNovember 18, 2005Two friends go kayaking in the Strait of Georgia. When the tide comes in, one friend falls from his kayak and fears that he will end up in t
  5. S01E05Kidnap in the Killing FieldsNovember 25, 2005A man involved in demining Cambodia accidentally steps on a landmine and blows off his leg. Two years earlier, he was kidnapped by a murdero
  6. S01E06Jaws of DeathDecember 2, 2005A man crashes his plane in the African savannah. With legs broken in a total of six different places, he has to make it alive past lions and
  7. S01E07Trapped Under a BoulderMarch 10, 2006An environmentalist heads for a remote island off the coast of Queensland, he then meets a Dutch man on a deserted beach. A one ton slab of
  8. S01E08Ice Cave SurvivorMarch 17, 20061995. A man and his son go on a skiing trip to Turkey. When a snowstorm arrives, they lose their way, and the father has to chose between st
  9. S01E09ShipwreckedMarch 24, 2006Two cousins go on a fishing trip when they realize they are shipwrecked on a deserted island.
  10. S01E10I Shouldn't Be Alive S01E10Alaskan AvalancheMarch 31, 2006Two climbers are scaling a sheer ice-wall in an Alaskan mountain when one of the climbers falls and is badly injured. A passing aircraft see
  11. S01E11I Shouldn't Be Alive S01E11Lost at SeaJune 9, 2006Two sons looking to repair their relationship with their father plan a fishing trip with their father in Mexico. An unexpected storm leaves
  12. S01E12I Shouldn't Be Alive S01E12Crash in a VolcanoJune 16, 2006Three men filming a volcano in their helicopter crash after losing control and get trapped in a crater of the active volcano. Surrounded by
  13. S01E13I Shouldn't Be Alive S01E13Lost in the African BushJune 23, 2006Five survivors of a private plane crash must survive the dangers of the desolate African wilderness. With two severely injured, some of the

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Season027Episodes2006AiredSeason avg
  1. S02E01I Shouldn't Be Alive S02E01Nightmare CanyonNovember 10, 2006Two brothers go on a hike in Utah's Canyons. They expect the trip will take no more than 8 hours, but when freezing temperatures come, one b
  2. S02E02I Shouldn't Be Alive S02E02Frozen at 20,000 FeetNovember 17, 2006A couple go on a tour of the San Jacinto Mountains, only to find themselves stranded and alone for 4 days fighting for their lives.
  3. S02E03I Shouldn't Be Alive S02E03Trapped Under the IceNovember 24, 2006A man and his aged dad go kayaking in the Alaskan wilderness. Everything goes fine until they run into some ice on the river, and soon find
  4. S02E04Into the Heart of DarknessDecember 1, 2006Two close friends head for the Amazon rain forest and get lost in the jungle. They have to survive the dangers of the jungle and hold on to
  5. S02E05Blood in the WaterDecember 8, 2006Five boat safari goers find themselves stranded in the hippo and crocodile-infested Zambezi River when their watercraft sinks due to a mad h
  6. S02E06Dive into DangerDecember 15, 2006Two divers get stranded in the Pacific Ocean when their boat has to leave them. As they believe help is not coming they make a decision to s
  7. S02E07A Walk in HellDecember 22, 2006A group of five teenaged scouts and three adult guides hike into the Grand Canyon during a heat wave. As their water runs out and the older

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

Season0311Episodes2010–07AiredSeason avg
  1. S03E01I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E01Trapped in the CanyonJanuary 15, 2010Two-time adventure racing world champion Danelle Ballengee suffers a pelvis-shattering 60-foot fall and 2 nights in sub-freezing weather in
  2. S03E02I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E02Date from HellJanuary 22, 2010A couple go on a tour of the San Jacinto Mountains, only to find themselves stranded and alone for 4 days fighting for their lives.
  3. S03E03I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E03Nightmare on the MountainJanuary 29, 2010An 18 year-old elk hunter in Montana is seriously injured by a bear and must spend a night wandering the wooded mountain area in search of h
  4. S03E04I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E04Crushed and AloneFebruary 5, 2010A man drives his quadbike in the Canadian Wilderness, loses control of it and he and the quadbike topple over and he ends up getting his leg
  5. S03E05I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E05Boys AdriftFebruary 12, 2010Two teenagers plan on going fishing in a less than seaworthy boat when a riptide drags them into the Atlantic ocean. They face extreme dehyd
  6. S03E06I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E06Fear in FreefallApril 2, 2010Three friends sky diving trip goes horribly wrong when their plane gets caught by a storm, sending them into the shark infested waters of Co
  7. S03E07I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E07Shattered on ImpactApril 9, 2010Four men fight for their lives against the very animals they have dedicated themselves to protect.
  8. S03E08I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E08Lost in the OutbackApril 16, 2010A treasure hunter gets lost in the Australian Outback and struggles to survive wild dingoes, as well as the scorching heat, until rescuers c
  9. S03E09Blizzard of DeathApril 23, 2010A father and son on a hunting expedition in Kyrgyzstan are caught in a blizzard, and the rescue helicopter sent to retrieve them crashes.
  10. S03E10I Shouldn't Be Alive S03E10Avalanche of TerrorApril 30, 2010A solo hiker in the Carpathian Mountains breaks his hip and femur when he is crushed by multiple avalanches.
  11. S03E11Grand CanyonJanuary 7, 2007

Season 3 ranked & reviewed

Season0417Episodes2010–11Aired 6.0Season avg
  1. S04E01I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E01A Dad's Worst NightmareOctober 13, 2010Divorcee Mathew McGough is taking his five-year-old daughter Shannon for an overnight camping trip to Wallaroo Rocks, deep in the Western Au
  2. S04E02I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E02Shipwrecked FamilyOctober 20, 2010On the final leg of an amazing two year sailing voyage, the Silverwood Family hit some stormy weather 180 miles west of Bora Bora in the Sou
  3. S04E03I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E03Trapped on a LedgeOctober 27, 2010Charlie Hench has set himself a big challenge before he turns the big 50 - to fulfil his dream of a late-summer solo hike through the Sierra
  4. S04E04I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E04Crashed in the RockiesNovember 3, 2010Trainee pilot Justin Kirkbride takes two friends, Tommy and Larry, on a sightseeing tour of the Rocky Mountains, but crashes on a steep, sno
  5. S04E05I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E05Death in the Sea of CortezNovember 10, 2010Lifelong friends Joseph Rangel and Lorenzo Madrid, both in their 50s, sign up for a five-day sport fishing trip in the Sea of Cortez. On the
  6. S04E0676 Days AdriftNovember 17, 2010 6.0Steven Callahan departs from El Hierro in the Canary Islands, in Napoleon Solo - a sloop he designed and built himself. He's bound for Antig
  7. S04E07Alone in the AmazonNovember 24, 2010Fresh-faced twenty two year old Brit Benedict Allen embarks on an epic six-month expedition which will take him from the mouth of the Orinoc
  8. S04E08I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E08Vacation NightmareDecember 1, 2010Newlyweds Brandon and Brandy Wiley are on a backpacking adventure in Costa Rica, when their 8 - person Cessna crashes in dense tropical rain
  9. S04E09I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E09River of FearJanuary 5, 2011 6.0Running through the majestic splendour of the Grand Canyon the Colorado River offers construction contractor David Whittlesey with just the
  10. S04E10I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E10Killer CrevasseJanuary 12, 2011Mountaineer Jim Davidson and best-friend Mike Price embark on a mountaineering expedition to conquer the snow-shrouded summit of Mount Raini
  11. S04E11I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E11Hike into Hell CanyonJanuary 19, 2011Twenty five year old nurse Linda Forney and her pet dog Cocoa Gin set off to explore one of the seven natural wonders of the world - the Gra
  12. S04E12I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E12Death ClimbJanuary 26, 2011In January 1999, Jamie Andrew and his friend Jamie Fisher are trapped on a ledge in the French Alps when a surprise snowstorm blows in.
  13. S04E13I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E13Hell in the DessertFebruary 2, 2011Just three months into a new relationship, Roger Sargeant, his new girlfriend Shelly and her two young daughters Tiffany (9) and Michaela (5
  14. S04E14Ocean DisasterFebruary 9, 2011Skipper Steve Conway, safety officer Roger Stone and four student sailors are competing in a 4 day, 600 mile yacht race from Texas to the Gu
  15. S04E15I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E15Left for Dead on EverestFebruary 16, 201150 year-old Australian mountaineer Lincoln Hall attempted to climb Everest in 1984 but didn't reach the summit. Now, 22 years later, he has
  16. S04E16I Shouldn't Be Alive S04E16A Father's Deadly DilemmaFebruary 23, 2011In 2003, David Hunt and his 11-year-old daughter Leia, set off on a snowmobiling adventure in the Quebec back country. Disaster strikes when
  17. S04E17I Shouldn't Be Alive Season 4 Episode 17March 2, 2011

Season 4 ranked & reviewed

Season056Episodes2011AiredSeason avg
  1. S05E01Avalanche!July 6, 2011Five young guys from Bozeman, Montana have got together for a back-country ski trip to celebrate New Year 2005. Sam Kavanagh, Blake Morstad,
  2. S05E02Blood on the MountainJuly 13, 2011British hiker Matt Briggs spends ten days stranded in the mountains of New Zealand's South Island following a crippling fall on a solo trek.
  3. S05E03First Date NightmareJuly 22, 2011Experienced climbers Rachel Kelsey and Jeremy Colenso are in the Swiss Alps descending the Piz Badille Mountain when they are caught up in a
  4. S05E04Christmas HorrorJuly 27, 2011Students Sonja Rendell and Marni Sheppeard are on a 3-day hike in Arthur's Pass National Park, staying in picturesque huts and planning to v
  5. S05E05Climb out of HellSeptember 30, 2011Amateur photographer Jordan Nicurity is exploring a beautiful cove on Hornby Island in British Columbia when he falls 20ft from a cliff, sha
  6. S05E06Til Death Do Us PartSeptember 30, 2011In 2009, Tom and Linda Bosworth set off on a short 'jeeping' adventure to a beautiful but remote canyon in New Mexico.. Disaster strikes whe

Season 5 ranked & reviewed

Season066Episodes2011–12AiredSeason avg
  1. S06E01Volcano Vacation HellOctober 7, 2011Businessman and entrepreneur Dewey Gaedcke decides to check out the spectacular Kilauea Volcano, driving down a secluded local road, before
  2. S06E02Chasm of DeathOctober 7, 2011School teachers and old friends, Ben Gowans, Jason Cox and Clay Craig embark on a 'guy's trip' to the remote wilderness of Utah. Ben has tal
  3. S06E03Dive of TerrorOctober 14, 2011In 2006, ex-Navy diver Rob Hewitt embarks on a short recreational fishing dive off the Kapiti Coast near Wellington, New Zealand. A fun day
  4. S06E04Escape from Bear MountainOctober 14, 2011In the summer of 2010 Texan Gary Nall and his friend Dave Akers take a trip in Dave's Cessna to the Knick Glacier deep in the Alaskan wilder
  5. S06E05Lost in the JungleFebruary 17, 2012Ken gets lost alone on a trip to Mayan ruins.
  6. S06E06Perfect StormFebruary 24, 2012A helicopter rescue crew fight for their lives.

Season 6 ranked & reviewed

Shows like I Shouldn't Be Alive all similar shows

The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.

  1. 01Drama·DocumentaryRescue 9111989Rescue 911 is an informational reality-based television series that premiered on April 18, 1989 and ended on August 27, 1996.Compare
  2. 02Documentary·ActionLimitless with Chris Hemsworth2022Chris is on a mission to live better for longer.8.1Compare
  3. 03Documentary·Drama·CrimeThe First 482004The First 48 follows detectives from around the country during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect.7.9Compare
  4. 04Documentary·Mystery·DramaA Haunting2005These are the true stories of the innocent and the unimaginable.7.5Compare
  5. 05Documentary·Action·Science-FictionMarvel Studios Legends2021Revisit the epic heroes, villains and moments from across the MCU in preparation for the stories still to come.7.4Compare
  6. 06Documentary·Drama·Science-FictionTestament: The Story of Moses2024This illuminating docudrama series chronicles Moses' remarkable life as a prince, prophet and more with insights from theologians and historians.7.3Compare

Head-to-head pick any opponent

Stack I Shouldn't Be Alive's full episode-rating history against a rival, on one chart.

Keep exploring top shows