CBS's 'The Summit' Was One of Reality TV's All-Time Biggest Flops

Here are some brief thoughts about the finale of CBS’s The Summit, because it doesn’t deserve more than that. The reality series itself seemed to give up, with the final two episodes shortened from 90 minutes to 60, and the extra half-hour filled with reruns of Ghosts—a fitting metaphor for how lifeless this show turned out to be.

Even with the reduced runtime, The Summit struggled to scrape together 42 minutes of compelling footage. The finale required little actual hiking to the peak. Instead, the first half of the episode featured a helicopter ferrying the three remaining contestants to the summit, leaving a fourth eliminated player behind. Yes, this “treacherous” trek—hyped as a battle against harsh terrain, Antarctic winds, and grueling challenges—culminated in a f***** helicopter ride. Earlier in the season, there was hand-wringing about whether they’d reach the top in 14 days. But with at least two days lost to bad weather, they somehow made it right on schedule, as if required from production lest the series be left with no finale.

Once at the top, the three finalists divided the remaining prize money. The “twist”? A separate pot of cash, amassed from players forced out earlier, was awarded to one finalist by a jury of eliminated contestants. Essentially, it was a half-baked Survivor-style Tribal Council that lasted 15 minutes yet somehow still dragged. A guy named Nick won. He’s one of the least compelling reality competition winners in 25 years of reality competitions.

There was no tension because, after ten weeks, we weren’t invested in anyone. The casting was abysmal. The only remotely interesting player was a self-proclaimed “Asian cockroach,” who stood out merely for being mildly obnoxious. Gameplay? Virtually nonexistent, dictated by arbitrary decisions rather than strategy. The much-touted mountain climb boiled down to uninspired challenges that contestants grumbled through but easily completed. These weren’t skilled climbers, and if any task had been as punishing as advertised, the entire cast would’ve tapped out in week one.

Contestants whined, cried, and voted each other off in anticlimactic, hand-raising ceremonies presided over by host Manu Bennett, who grunted his way through wooden speeches before telling the eliminated player to leave. It’s baffling that CBS sidelined their consistently entertaining The Amazing Race for this. Let’s hope they never make that mistake again, which is unlikely considering that it held on to less than 40 percent of its Survivor lead-in. The Summit should be canceled immediately and helicoptered out of our collective memories.