The Snake contestants Alyssa Grassie and Frank Joseph have urged viewers to give them and their fellow players grace as they claimed the brutal filming conditions impacted their ‘decision-making and mental clarity.’
The new Fox competition series, hosted by actor and comedian Jim Jefferies, kicked off in June with the finale set to air tonight.
Likened to fellow game show The Traitors, The Snake forces contestants to leverage their unique skills, training and powers of persuasion as they face a multitude of challenges designed to showcase the traits needed to be successful in the game.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail ahead of the grand finale which saw Frank walk away $100,000 richer after an intense showdown against boxer Brett Covalt, Alyssa and Frank laid bare the tough behind-the-scenes conditions.
Despite the tough nature of the show, both Alyssa and Frank heaped praise on Fox and the producers for making them feel protected.
‘In my opinion, Fox was amazing,’ Alyssa said. ‘I would have not lasted as long if it wasn’t for the producers from 495 and Fox. They made us feel all so comfortable. Everything we needed, they would get us. They were just amazing.’
Giving insight into what they endured behind the scenes, Alyssa alleged that they were recorded non-stop.
‘The cameras were never off,’ OnlyFans model she claimed. ‘They were on 24/7. There was no free time, no down time.’
The Snake contestant Alyssa Grassie revealed the show’s brutal filming conditions
Frank Joseph urged viewers to give the players grace as he revealed the tough filming process
All 10 episodes of The Snake were filmed in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, across several weeks throughout April and May 2025.
Temperatures in the region for those months can get as high as 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
‘It was so hot,’ Alyssa said. ‘We were in the jungle in Argentina and the humidity. Like, we were outside most of the day and people don’t realize we were doing these challenges, and it was so hot.
‘We were buried in this coffin. It’s like 100 degrees out and it was just the hottest I’ve ever been in my life.’
Frank, a make-up artist from New Jersey, implored fans of the show to give the contestants ‘more grace’ as he continued to relay the supposed conditions.
He claimed: ‘We were filming probably 7am to 4am. We were functioning on coffee so our emotions and the things that maybe any of us might have said during the course of this, people might look and perceive as, oh, this person is this, or this person is that.
‘I challenge you this: If you think that you could do what we did, check into a hotel room for just one week. Don’t talk to anybody. Don’t sleep. And only function on, you know, random assortments from the menu and coffee.
‘And then after the week, tell us how your emotions are, and your mental clarity and your decision-making abilities are before you throw stones in glass houses. So, I give everybody grace for that because some people said some crazy things.’
The 10-part competition series was filmed in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina
The series began with 15 players competing to win the prize fund of $100,000
Speaking to Daily Mail, Frank claimed the contestants were filming ‘probably 7 a.m. to 4 a.m’ and ‘were functioning on coffee’
Alyssa also claimed that producers would have to approve every single players’ outfit before each challenge and each Saving Ceremony.
‘We really couldn’t dress ourselves unless we were in the house,’ she said. ‘Every Saving Ceremony, [producers] would go through our suitcases and see what we had and then send it all the options to the higher up so then they would pick one for us to wear.
‘A lot of times on the show we didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for the ceremony because we had so much going on during the day and then the producers would come in and be like, “you have to be ready in 30 minutes for the Saving Ceremony” and like, how do I get hair full makeup and get my outfit approved in 30 minutes?’
After filming, Alyssa noted that it was ‘hard’ to adjust back to being back in reality.
‘I think we really leaned on our other castmates during that time because we were like, how do we go from living in the jungle, doing all these challenges, filming back to normal life?’
‘I think all of us went in there understanding that, yes, this is a great experience, but it’s also an opportunity,’ Frank added.
‘So as much as you feel as though, you know, I can’t pull from anywhere else, I don’t have any more energy left to give, when you realize that you may never get this opportunity again, you pull from a reserve, I think that’s saved for a moments like this.
‘So, you’d be surprised at what you’re capable of when you commit to something and put your mind to it.’
Daily Mail has contacted Fox for comment.
