“Everything’s Going To Get Worse” ‘Extracted’s Willis Family Unpacks That Shocking Elimination

In a reality TV genre where every competition demands the most out of its competitors, few series are proving as difficult as Fox’s Extracted. Created by Sylvester Stallone, this series puts a spin on your usual survivalist setup; it follows not only a group of wannabe woodspeople, but their loved ones, with this pair of family members having to watch each competitor’s grueling time in the wilderness from the safety of a remote headquarters. There they compete in competitions to try and secure their contestant vital supplies while watching them suffer out in the forest, knowing that they can have them extracted to safety at any moment — at the cost of $250,000, of course. It’s an emotional, physically grueling game, with this first season showing how anyone would agonize in a situation like this…well, almost anyone.

It’s hard to think of a reality TV contestant in recent memory as positive as Ryan Willis. Sure, every Extracted contestant entered the series sure that they’d thrive in this harsh environment, but few managed to keep that positivity up for longer than a few moments. Willis, on the other hand, managed to always keep his spirit up, with the camera catching him singing songs to himself and providing hilarious commentary for his wife, Sarah Thomas, and brother, Sean, back at HQ. It was an attitude that had many believing he’d be able to skate his way to the grand prize — so how did he become Extracted’s fifth eliminated contestant!? Collider sat down with Ryan and Sarah to discuss what led to his shocking extraction in that last episode, how he kept a sunny disposition in such grave circumstances, and the behind-the-scenes moments that pushed Sarah and Sean to pull the man out against his will!

Nobody Can Prepare for ‘Extracted,’ but Ryan Willis Got Close

Was it ever a question that Ryan would be the one in the wilderness on Extracted?

Sarah: No! Like, the second they told us about this, [I was like] Ryan’s going into the woods. We’re not going on if it can’t be Ryan!

Ryan: I’ve always wanted to go into the woods like that. That’s like, my dream!

We know that because, Sarah, you told a very funny story about Ryan going into the forest and coming back with a wound and makeshift skirt. Can you give us some more details about that?

Sarah: Yeah, Ryan wanted to go practice because we didn’t really know what this was going to entail ahead of time. He just took the essentials: the clothes on his back, a hatchet, a ferro rod and a friend. He came home a couple of hours later, and he was soaking wet, I think he was barefoot, and he had a hatchet wound on his arm!

Ryan: I was chopping a limb off a tree with this new hatchet I got…and it just grazed me. I looked down, and I could see the fat inside my arm, so I just pinched it shut. And I was like, ‘Oh, [it’s not] really bleeding.” And it was so clean. It was kind of neat!

Sarah: It was not neat. (Laughter)

When we start the episode, you’ve just received a huge supply drop and are talking about how much you enjoy being out in the wilderness. Can you walk us through what led to your extraction?

Ryan: I didn’t know it at the time, but my wife and my brother were not having a good time. I was like, ‘Oh, we’re doing good!’ And they were not having fun. So it was the opposite of what was going on with other people…everyone was having a hard time there, but I don’t know if everyone was having a good time in the woods like I was!

Sarah:…HQ was not a happy place. There was a lot of people really upset, a lot of really terrible extractions, a lot of people just really not having a good time. So it was not a happy place to be. And, you know, we didn’t know anything about the show going into it, and we thought we were going to be playing games like Survivor or doing strategy games, and we get there, and it’s just so much more psychological. And it was just sad — like everything was so sad! And at some point, is it worth being sad for a third of $250,000? The answer that Sean and I kept coming up with was, no, it is not worth being this sad for who knows how long.

And so it happens: Ryan is extracted. What was that reunion like?

Ryan: I was confused. I was like, what’s going on? Why are you crying? Why did you guys pull me out?

Sarah: It was hard. They bring him back to HQ, and Sean and I are just standing there sobbing. You can see him come out of the truck, and he’s like, ‘What happened guys?’ And it goes from confused, to concern, to like, ‘Oh my gosh, what happened to you guys?’ I think Sean and I were just completely…emotionally done. Physically exhausted. I feel like we had a much harder go of it than Ryan did in so many ways, which is crazy to think — most people might not understand that, but it was hard. HQ was hard. I’ll be curious what’s to come, because…they kept telling us it’s going to get worse. Everything’s going to get worse and worse and worse.

Can you remember the moment you knew you’d be extracting Ryan?

Sarah: I tried to talk Sean out of it for so long, [He] wanted to go days prior than we did, and I kept coming up with excuses…There was a point where we were able to send a letter to him, and I kind of let Ryan know that things weren’t going super great in HQ, and he [said to the] camera, ‘Do not extract me!’ And then I remember this episode, we were burning letters, and Sean and I had just agreed that…if we have to do something that psychologically hurts Ryan or another player, we don’t want to do it…and then all of a sudden [we had] to burn other people’s love letters to their family! They definitely won’t show it, but I got into a verbal disagreement with the producers. Like, as they’re reading us the rules…I yelled out, ‘What if I don’t want to?’ And they were like, ‘Well, then you’ll automatically be extracted.’ And so Sean and I went through the challenge, but I think both of us just felt sick from the idea. Like, that’s our only form of communication with people, and we had to hurt somebody else. It just didn’t feel good. There’s just no amount of money in the world that’s worth mental health long-term issues. And so I think Sean particularly was like, I need to leave. I need to be gone. And so we went up and pushed the button.

Of the many relationships onscreen, yours was one of the most compassionate, with Sarah constantly talking about how great you are, Ryan, and you looking directly at the camera multiple times saying you loved her. Did y’all feel ready as a couple to come on ‘Extracted?’

Sarah: Ryan and I have lived through hell and back together. It was crazy to me how we were apart…but like, he could say something on camera that immediately made me feel better and [I’d] know that he was thinking about us and doing fine. And the couple of times we were able to send a note, I could really get through to him and give him a boost. He and I are so dialed in…we can conquer the world together. I have no doubt about that.

Ryan: Yeah, we’re very in tune with each other…we like each other a little bit. (Laughter)

What do you feel like you learned most about yourselves by being on ‘Extracted’?

Sarah: I don’t know the answer to that…the other survivalists [were like], ‘We learned how to do hard things,’ but Ryan and I already knew how to do hard things. I don’t know that I learned anything from this show other than Ryan and I can do anything together [and that] family is more important than anything else.

Ryan: That we don’t like being mean to people.

Thank you all so much for speaking with us today. Now, final question: would y’all do Extracted again?

Ryan: Yeah, 100%

Sarah: No. (Laughter) We’re sending someone else in with Ryan next time!