Total Drama Island (2023)
Total Drama Island (2023) (sometimes shortened to TDI23) is the first season of the revival, and the sixth season of Total Drama overall. The series premiered in Italy on K2 and Discovery+ on April 10, 2023, and is set to be expanded internationally throughout the year. The series was produced by Fresh TV and Corus Entertainment, in association with Cartoon Network and the BBC, and distributed by Cake Entertainment.[1][2] This season takes place fifteen years following the events of the original Total Drama Island[3] and takes the new contestants to a new island modeled after Camp Wawanakwa,[4] the setting for the first, fourth, and first half of fifth seasons, not reusing the Pahkitew Island following the series' delay in 2015.
| Total Drama Island | |
|---|---|
| Season 6 | |
 The Total Drama Island (2023) logo | |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network |
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| Original release | October 21 – December 2, 2023 |
| Season chronology | |
Plot
Taking place fifteen years after the beginning of the show, this season is a fictional reality show that follows the competition of sixteen new contestants at a summer camp on a fictional island (based and modelled after Camp Wawanakwa in the previous seasons) located in an unspecified area in Muskoka, Ontario. They spend almost 2 weeks (13 days) on the island competing in challenges for immunity. At the end of the season, one contestant will win C$1,000,000 (US$740,990.00). The competition is hosted by Chris McLean (Terry McGurrin, replacing Christian Potenza), who is assisted by the camp's chef and his co-host, Chef Hatchet (Deven Mack, replacing Clé Bennett).
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title [5] | Written by | Original air date | U.S. air date | Prod. code [6] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 1 | "Meet the Victims" | Jennifer Pertsch | October 21, 2023 | 2023 | 101 | TBA |
| Chris welcomes 16 new campers back to the original island and divides them into two teams who will face-off in a blindfolded challenge that is sure to cause pain. | |||||||
| 121 | 2 | "Pirates of the Cabbage'an" | Terry McGurrin | October 21, 2023 | 2023 | 102 | TBA |
| The two teams go to war, firing cabbages from cannons at each other from their respective pirate ships. The first team to sink the other ship will be the winner, but someone takes a very personal interest in one specific target. | |||||||
| 122 | 3 | "Drown Town Abbey" | Sam Ruano | October 28, 2023 | 2023 | 103 | TBA |
| Each team has a member placed into a clear glass tank that is locked and slowly filling with water. In order to free them, they must retrieve the codes at the far end of a dangerous obstacle course. | |||||||
| 123 | 4 | "Numbskull Island" | Miles Smith | October 28, 2023 | 2023 | 104 | TBA |
| It’s just a normal game of capture the flag, except the flag is a skull, and the opponents are armed with fire hoses, toilet plunger harpoons and giant rolling boulders. | |||||||
| 124 | 5 | "Jurassic Fart" | Neha Kohli | November 4, 2023 | 2023 | 105 | TBA |
| After an all-bean breakfast, the teams must cross the island in silence to avoid being eaten by raptors. The first team to reach the other side claims victory. | |||||||
| 125 | 6 | "The Launchback of Notre Game" | Laurie Elliott | November 4, 2023 | 2023 | 106 | TBA |
| Catapult your team member into distant scoring zones to earn points, but if you miss you’ll be landing in a penalty zone filled with all kind of evil. The first team to reach 10,000 points wins. The losing team, as always, will be sending someone home. | |||||||
| 126 | 7 | "Severe Eggs and Pains" | Nigel Downer | November 11, 2023 | 2023 | 107 | TBA |
| Chris responds to the network’s request for a holiday special by making the campers hunt for eggs. Who cares that it’s not Easter? And who cares if the hunt is for Cassowary eggs? With the teams now merged, it’s all about being the first one back with an egg and winning immunity. Well, that and not getting gutted by a giant bird. | |||||||
| 127 | 8 | "The Wheel of Vomit" | Andrew Harrison | November 11, 2023 | 2023 | 108 | TBA |
| Chef finally gets to show off his fancy culinary skills in an eating challenge where each dish is a tastebud’s nightmare. The last camper still eating wins immunity. The rest are all up for elimination. | |||||||
| 128 | 9 | "Paddle Field Earth" | Ben Joseph | November 18, 2023 | 2023 | 109 | TBA |
| Today’s challenge involves canoeing, hiking and mountain climbing. It’s just like normal summer camp, except that you canoe over a waterfall, hike through a geyser field and climb a mountain that’s actually the world’s biggest beehive. It’s nothing like summer camp! | |||||||
| 129 | 10 | "The Truth, The Pole Truth and Nothing But the Truth" | Tony Tran | November 18, 2023 | 2023 | 110 | TBA |
| If spending the day balancing on a pole under the direct sun with no food in your tummy sounds like a fun time, you are going to love today's challenge. | |||||||
| 130 | 11 | "Tortoise Rigamortis" | Miles Smith | November 25, 2023 | 2023 | 111 | TBA |
| With just five campers remaining, things are getting tense, so today is just about having fun taking selfies with wild animals. | |||||||
| 131 | 12 | "Caved by the Bell" | Andrew Harrison | November 25, 2023 | 2023 | 112 | TBA |
| The final four must hunt for coins in a dark and spooky cave. The challenge only gets worse when they discover that something is also hunting them. | |||||||
| 132 | 13 | "Magma Cum Laude" | Neha Kohli | December 2, 2023 | 2023 | 113 | TBA |
| This is it! Today, one of the three remaining campers will become a millionaire. The only thing standing in their way is two other campers, a forest, some lava, some violent goats, a mountain and vomit. Other than that, it's pretty easy. | |||||||
Characters
Total Drama Island (2023) features an entirely new cast of 16 contestants.[7] This is the third time the series completely replaces any existing cast with an all-new cast. The new contestants competing are: Axel, Bowie, Caleb, Chase, Damien, Emma, Julia, Millie, Mary Kate (a.k.a. "MK"), Nichelle Ladonna, Priya, Raj, Ripper, Lauren (a.k.a. "Scary Girl"), Wayne, and Hezekias (a.k.a. "Zee").
Hosts
| Character | Voice actor | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Chris McLean | Terry McGurrin | Host |
| Chef Hatchet | Deven Mack | Chef and co-host |
Contestants
| Contestant | Label | Voice actor | Team | Finish | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Merged | Placement | Episode | |||
| Caleb | The Smoking Hot Player | Kwaku Adu-Poku | Frogs of Death | 1st eliminated | 1 | |
| Axel | The Hard Core | Tamara Almeida | Ferocious Trout | 2nd eliminated | 2 | |
| Nichelle | Gorgeous with a Side of Substance | Tymika Tafari | Frogs of Death | 3rd eliminated | 3 | |
| Scary Girl | AKA Lauren | Katie Griffin | Ferocious Trout | 4th eliminated | 4 | |
| Damien | The Reactionary | Daniel Keith Morrison | 5th eliminated | 5 | ||
| Mary Kate "MK" | The Outrageous and Underestimated | Kimberly-Ann Truong | Frogs of Death | 6th eliminated | 6 | |
| Raj | The Hockey Bros | Varun Saranga | None | 7th/8th eliminated (Evacuated) |
7 | |
| Wayne | Jack Copland | |||||
| Ripper | The Bad Boy | Fred Kennedy | Ferocious Trout | 9th eliminated | 8 | |
| Zee | The Good Vibes Only Guy | Gerardo Gismondi | 10th eliminated | 9 | ||
| Chase | The YouTube Sensation | Julius Cho | 11th eliminated | 10 | ||
| Emma | The Breakout YouTube Star | Melanie Leishman | Frogs of Death | 12th eliminated | 11 | |
| Julia | The Influencer and Evil in Human Form | Julie Sype | 13th eliminated | 12 | ||
| Millie | The Book-Smart One | Barbara Mamabolo | Ferocious Trout | 14th eliminated | 13 | |
| Bowie | The Loveable Party Boy | Brandon Michael Arrington | Frogs of Death | Winner/runner-up | ||
| Priya | The Novice of Everything | Eman Ayaz | Ferocious Trout | |||
Elimination table
| Contestant | Episode | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |||
| Bowie | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | IN | FINAL | ||
| Priya | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | |||
| Millie | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | WIN | LOW | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | OUT | ||
| Julia | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | LOW | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | WIN | OUT | |||
| Emma | LOW | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | OUT | ||||
| Chase | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |||||
| Zee | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||
| Ripper | WIN | LOW | WIN | LOW | LOW | WIN | IN | OUT | |||||||
| Raj | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | OUT | ||||||||
| Wayne | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | |||||||||
| MK | IN | WIN | LOW | WIN | WIN | OUT | |||||||||
| Damien | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | OUT | ||||||||||
| Scary Girl | WIN | IN | WIN | OUT | |||||||||||
| Nichelle | IN | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Axel | WIN | OUT | |||||||||||||
| Caleb | OUT | ||||||||||||||
Production
Development
On February 17, 2021, it was announced that two new seasons were being produced for Cartoon Network and Max.[1] On June 22, 2022, it was announced by Cake Entertainment that the BBC had joined Warner Bros. Discovery as a co-commissioner for the new seasons and would air them on CBBC in the United Kingdom. In addition, the previous five seasons of the show and its spin-offs would be added to BBC iPlayer.[8][9][10] Terry McGurrin later clarified on Twitter that despite essentially filling the role of sixth and seventh seasons, the new seasons are instead being produced as a new series.[11] Despite its similar appearance and being listed in promotional material as Wawanakwa, Terry McGurrin clarified on December 14, 2022 that it is a separate island, and that Wawanakwa still sank,[4] with the new island featuring different landmarks and there no longer being a sign on the dock.
Casting
Christian Potenza initially announced that he would reprise his role as Chris McLean from the original, having recorded his lines for the series by late September 2021.[12] However, in late March 2023, following the release of the first English trailer for the series, Terry McGurrin revealed that he would replace Potenza as the voice of Chris instead, citing it as a creative decision taken during development.[13] On October 27, 2022, it was confirmed in an interview with McGurrin on YouTube that Deven Mack would replace Clé Bennett as the voice of Chef Hatchet, reprising his role from the spin-off series Total DramaRama.[14] On April 5, 2023, Fred Kennedy announced on his Twitter account that he would be voicing Ripper, one of the contestants in the series.[15]
Notes
References
- "WarnerMedia Expands Kids & Family Offerings on Cartoon Network and HBO Max Under New Tagline Redraw Your World" (Press release). WarnerMedia. February 17, 2021. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- Bharanidharan, Sadhana (June 22, 2022). "It's Game On For Total Drama As BBC Co-Commissions New Seasons". KidScreen. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- Pertsch, Jennifer (2023). "New Teams, New Screams". Total Drama Island (2023). Season 1. Episode 1. Cartoon Network, HBO Max, Boomerang, & CBBC.
- McGurrin, Terry. "I know the leaked promo material mentions Wawanakwa but we never mention it in the actual show. That island sunk". X. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- "CBBC - Total Drama Island: Reboot - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- Terry McGurrin [@standupmonkey] (December 9, 2022). "It's TECHNICALLY being produced as season 1 & 2 of a REBOOT, but we mention years have passed since Chris and Chef welcomed new contestants, so with previous seasons being acknowledged in this reboot fans should think of it as seasons 6 and 7. Sorry for making it complicated. 🤣" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Total Drama Island Revival: Plot, characters & everything we know". Dexerto. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
- "Hit animated reality series 'Total Drama' arrives on CBBC". June 22, 2022. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- "BBC agrees deal with Cake for six series of Total Drama tween franchise". Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- "Hit Animated Reality Series Total Drama finds new UK home on CBBC". Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- McGurrin, Terry. "It's TECHNICALLY being produced as season 1 & 2 of a REBOOT… fans should think of it as seasons 6 and 7". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- JZProductions26. Da Bois Podcast: (DBP) Ep 99: 6teen + Total Drama Voice Actor Christian Potenza. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2023 – via YouTube.
- McGurrin, Terry [@standupmonkey] (December 9, 2022). "It's TECHNICALLY being produced as season 1 & 2 of a REBOOT, but we mention years have passed since Chris and Chef welcomed new contestants, so with previous seasons being acknowledged in this reboot fans should think of it as seasons 6 and 7. Sorry for making it complicated. 🤣" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 April 2023 – via Twitter.
- Da Bois Podcast: (DBP) Ep 155: Total Drama Writer + Voice Actor + Comedian Terry McGurrin, archived from the original on 2022-10-26, retrieved 2022-10-27
- Fred Kennedy [@Fearless_Fred] (April 5, 2023). "Guys. GUYS! HUGE NEWS!!! I'm one of the cast members on the REBOOT of #TotalDramaIsland! Which debuts April 22 on #CartoonNetworkCanada! And I play the worst character on the show RIPPER. He is terrible and I love him for it!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023 – via Twitter.
