James R | On 16, Sep 2017

Netflix has picked up The Green Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse, a new series from Matt Damon and Peter Berg.

The survival comedy, which is executive-produced by the Oscar-winning actor and the director, was first created by two military veterans: former Green Beret Shawn Vance and former combat medic Daril Fanin. They will star in the unscripted comedy series, which The Hollywood Reporter describes as “an anthology series that combines humor and usable survival skills”, as the duo try to survive different apocalyptic scenarios.

The pair exec-produce the programme with Damon and Jennifer Todd under their Pearl Street Films company, with Film 45’s Berg, Matt Goldberg and Brandon Carroll also on board. While Berg, who recently directed military drama Lone Survivor, has experience on the small screen, with an EP credit on HBO’s Ballers, The Green Beret’s Guide marks a rare step into the TV industry for Damon, who exec-produced Syfy’s Incorporated, which did not get renewed beyond a first season.

It joins a wave of military shows in the Trump era of the USA, with Netflix also picking up the rights to USA Network’s Shooter, which has just concluded its second season. It also continues Netflix’s push into reality and unscripted TV, with its original slate including talk show Chelsea, science series Bill Nye Saves the World, sports contest Ultimate Beastmaster and David Letterman’s upcoming return to the small screen.

Vance and Fanin’s show has been commissioned for eight episodes, with no confirmed release date yet.

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