Immunity in reality television is a concept that is widely used in weekly elimination-type reality television shows by which a contestant participating in such a show may not be "kicked off" or eliminated from competition in a particular time period. This device has been used in different ways in shows including The Apprentice, Big Brother, The Biggest Loser, Last Comic Standing, Project Runway, Survivor, Top Model (Australia, Spain, UK and US), and Top Chef.

Achieving immunity

Immunity is usually achieved through success in a challenge created by the show. In The Apprentice, immunity is given to the team leader of the winning team, who cannot then be fired from the team should they lose the next task. In Survivor, immunity is achieved by finding an "immunity idol" hidden somewhere in the locale of the game or winning an Immunity Challenge. In Top Chef, Last Comic Standing, and Australia's Next Top Model, immunity for a given episode is achieved in a 'mini' competition occurring at the beginning of the episode.

Use of immunity

The freedom that participants have to use their immunity differs from show to show. In Survivor, immunity can be passed to another player, while in shows like The Apprentice it can not, although it can be waived. In one Apprentice episode, a participant chose to waive his earned immunity, and was immediately "fired" by Donald Trump for giving up this powerful asset.Frank J. Landy, Jeffrey M. Conte, Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2009) p. 151. In all cases, however, at some point towards the end of the series, where there are few or only two remaining players, immunity is eliminated, and any player can be removed.