Channel 4 is launching a brand-new survival reality series this September, and Apocalypse sounds like it could be one of the more unusual additions to the autumn TV schedule. The seven-part series begins on Sunday, 13 September at 9pm and follows 14 ordinary people from the UK and Australia as they spend 28 days trying to survive inside an abandoned town with no electricity, running water or food.

The contestants are divided into two groups, Eastside and Westside, without knowing the other camp exists. They will have to scavenge, reuse whatever they can find and work out how to feed themselves while living among the remains of modern life. Things do not stay peaceful for long either, with Channel 4 teasing an early conflict after Eastside reaches the town’s only supermarket first and takes its supplies.

What Is Apocalypse on Channel 4?

Apocalypse asks a fairly simple question: if modern society suddenly disappeared, how would ordinary people cope? The 14 participants include a mechanic, paramedic, farmer, chef, psychologist, politician, content creator and former soldier, giving the two camps a mix of practical skills and very different personalities. They will spend 28 days living without the comforts they rely on at home, while deciding whether survival comes down to individual instinct or working together as a group.

The two camps begin completely unaware of each other, but with limited resources available, it does not take long for their paths to cross. The supermarket becomes one of the first major points of tension after Eastside gets there first, setting up an immediate rivalry between the groups.

When Does Apocalypse Start on Channel 4?

Apocalypse begins on Sunday, 13 September at 9pm on Channel 4 and will also be available to stream through Channel 4. The series consists of seven episodes. Channel 4 has confirmed the launch date and episode count, with the full transmission schedule still to come. You can watch the first look trailer below.

Who Is in the Apocalypse Cast?

Eastside includes Steven McKell, a 32-year-old content creator from Lincoln with 4.6 million TikTok followers; Kiera Madison, a 29-year-old psychologist from New South Wales; London theatre director Bertie Watkins; 20-year-old student nurse Kyra Muzvaba from Northamptonshire; Birmingham mechanic and single mum Louise Baker; Australian beef farmer Scott McMinn; and Bristol paramedic Laura Powell.

Westside is made up of Welsh farmer Ioan Humphreys; Made in Chelsea star and social media personality Freddie Browne; London black cab driver Brooke McCreaner; Wolverhampton councillor Celia Hibbert; Australian diesel mechanic and former soldier Matthew “Matty” Wilson; Paralympic gold medallist Kelly Cartwright; and Australian chef Dean Sganga.

The line-up gives each camp people with different reasons for taking part. Some wanted to test their survival skills, while others were drawn to the social experiment or wanted to see how they would cope without the comforts of everyday life. Freddie Browne may already be familiar to reality TV viewers through Made in Chelsea, while Steven McKell brings a huge social media following into the experiment. Others arrive with skills that could become extremely useful very quickly, particularly mechanics Louise and Matty, farmer Scott, paramedic Laura and chef Dean.

How Does Apocalypse Work?

There are no normal homes, stocked kitchens or easy ways to call for help. Instead, the contestants must make use of whatever remains in the abandoned town and figure out how to provide food, shelter and other basic necessities for themselves.

Channel 4 describes the programme as a modern survival series, but the setup also gives it a strong social-experiment element. With two rival communities building their own systems without knowing another group is nearby, disagreements over resources could become just as important as the practical challenges.

The series is produced by The Garden, part of ITV Studios, with Jo Harcourt-Smith, Rachael Smith and Tim Whitwell serving as executive producers.

For CultureCues, we are very curious about this one. Dropping 14 strangers into an abandoned town for 28 days is already a strong premise, but splitting them into two camps without telling either side about the other could make things especially interesting once those limited supplies start disappearing. We are also looking forward to finding out which contestants immediately become survival experts and which ones start missing Deliveroo before the first night is over. If Eastside and Westside are already fighting over the supermarket, the apocalypse may be the least of their problems.

Apocalypse begins on Sunday, 13 September at 9pm on Channel 4.