The beloved reality show, Survivor, is soon approaching its 50th season after 25 years on the air. The grueling, 39-day challenge (now 26), with contestants risking their lives and living in the wilderness, has fostered many icons of the show. Jeff Probst, host of Survivor, has revealed that the milestone 50th season will cast past players as well as stars of the show. Similarly, the season will be marketed as “in the hands of the fans,” with public votes taking place to decide many key aspects of the game. With these changes comes controversy, as many long-term fans of the show criticize its production, as well as the recent cast reveal.

Cast Reveal

Jenna Lewis-Doughtery

• Competed on Survivor: Borneo (8th place)
• Competed on Survivor: All-Stars (3rd place)
• Targeted all winners on All-Stars

Colby Donaldson

• Competed on Survivor: Australian Outback (2nd place)
• Competed on Survivor: All Stars (12th place)
• Competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians (5th place)
• He made one of the dumbest moves in Survivor history by taking Tina to the finals over Keith

Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick

• Competed on Survivor: Pulau (seventh place)
• Competed on Survivor: Guatemala (second place)
• Competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (19th place)
• She’s the only person in Survivor history for her pre-merge tribe to lose every single member except for her

Cirie Fields

• Competed on Survivor: Panama — Exile Island (fourth place)
• Competed on Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites (third place)
• Competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (17th place)
• Competed on Survivor: Game Changers (sixth place)
• She has never been voted out traditionally, always due to a twist or idol play

Ozzy Lusth

• Competed on Survivor: Cook Islands (second place)
• Competed on Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites (ninth place)
• Competed on Survivor: South Pacific (fourth place)
• Competed on Survivor: Game Changers (12th place)
• He holds the record for the most eliminations 

Benjamin “Coach” Wade

• Competed on Survivor: Tocantins (fifth place)
• Competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (12th place)
• Competed on Survivor: South Pacific (second place)
• Gained a cult-like following on Survivor: South Pacific

Aubry Bracco

• Competed on Survivor: Kaoh Rong (second place)
• Competed on Survivor: Game Changers (fifth place)
• Competed on Survivor: Edge of Extinction (16th place)
• She is the first contestant from a “Brains” tribe to reach FTC

Chrissy Hofbeck

• Competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers (second place)
• She is the fourth woman to earn four individual immunity wins

Christian Hubicki

• Competed on Survivor: David vs. Goliath (seventh place)
• He is the only person from David vs. Goliath who did not reach the FTC to return for another season

Angelina Keeley

• Competed on Survivor: David vs. Goliath (third place)
• Known for her iconic moment when she kept asking another contestant for her jacket after she was voted out

Mike White

• Competed on Survivor: David vs. Goliath (second place)
• He brought contestants from his season of Survivor onto the White Lotus

Rick Devens

• Competed on Survivor: Edge of Extinction (fourth place)
• Holds the record for the most hidden immunity idols possessed in a single season

Jonathan Young

• Competed on Survivor 42 (fourth place)
• Cast the only jury vote opposing the majority in his season

Emily Flippen

• Competed on Survivor 45 (seventh place)
• Holds the record for the smallest ratio of votes to be eliminated from the game

Dee Valladares

• Won Survivor 45
• First Cuban-born winner

Quintavius “Q” Burdette

• Competed on Survivor 46 (sixth place)
• Known for asking everyone to vote him out after a blindside failed

Charlie Davis

• Competed on Survivor 46 (second place)
• His loss was highly controversial, as his biggest ally betrayed him in the end

Tiffany Ervin

• Competed on Survivor 46 (eighth place)
• Made it to the merge with a hidden immunity idol

Genevieve Mushaluk

• Competed on Survivor 47 (fifth place)
• Orchastrated two of the biggest blindsides in her season

Kyle Fraser

• Won Survivor 48
• The first male Sole Survivor to win the final immunity challenge since Chris Underwood

Joe Hunter

• Competed on Survivor 48 (third place)
• Known for his relationship with Eva 

Kamilla Karthigesu

• Competed on Survivor 48 (fourth place)
• Never had her name written down and never got voted out

Production and Reception

In recent years, many decisions by Jeff and Survivor’s production team have received negative feedback from fans. With the new era of the show emerging, the grueling 39 day competition was limited to only 26 days. Although seeming easier on the contestants, many other factors such as flint and food were also limited to give contestants a harder time in such a short time span. However, many long time fans have found issue with this change due to the pacing of episodes. Unlike the older episodes, new era Survivor has been criticized for being way too rushed and soulless, with many storylines being squeezed into one episode due to the short show period. Similarly, the newer seasons of Survivor all begin with 3 tribes, later merging into 2, then 1. While this might not seem problematic, a pattern has emerged with every single season following this design. One tribe consistently loses up until the tribe swap, making for very predictable and boring TV. Lastly, with the new era, production has decided to get rid of the iconic live reunion for the finale of the show. Instead, fans watch a pizza party taking place at Final Tribal Council directly after the vote for the reunion. With many of these complaints being aired out to Survivor’s team, Season 50 was announced with the theme, “In the Hands of the Fans,” allowing the fans to control many aspects of the show they never could have imagined. Many votes took place throughout the year leading up to the 50th season, determining tribe colors, challenges, twists, and more. Although this appealed to many viewers, complaints surrounding the casting of the season prevailed. Since the 50th season was marketed as “for the fans,” many were confused as to why half of the casting contained new era players, especially since the era was viewed negatively by so many.

Opinions & Predictions

In my opinion, the cast of Survivor 50 features far too many new era players, and not enough players from the midseasons. For example, there are no players from the 20’s that aren’t from a returning player season. This cast was supposed to represent the show as a whole, and I feel that including so many contestants from the most recent seasons defeats the purpose, especially when they aren’t anywhere near as memorable as some of the iconic players who were denied this opportunity. Seeing as this season was marketed as giving fans the choice, it feels counterproductive that production would choose a cast that viewers have openly disliked. On the other hand, some great choices were made, especially when casting Jenna Lewis, Christian Hubicki, Cirie Fields, and other iconic fan favorites. Overall, I’m excited to see how this cast interacts with one another, especially with how much the game and playing style has evolved from season 1 to season 49. 

Personally, I will be rooting for Cirie Fields, Charlie Davis, and Christian Hubicki. Cirie Fields is one of, if not the most, legendary player, not only in Survivor but many reality competition shows across the genre. She is the best to never win, and I truly hope she makes it far, which she will. Cirie has an incredibly strong social and strategic game that could carry her through this season to the FTC. Similarily, Charlie Davis was robbed of his victory in 46 over a bitter jury. He had the strongest strategic game by far, and navigated flawlessly through that trainwreck of a season. He maintained strong relationships with his allies, and in the end, only lost due to a betrayal from his greatest ally, who was jealous of his success. I feel that Charlie can persevere and make it to the end of 50, especially since he is less known, this time winning over the jury in FTC. Lastly, I’m rooting for Jenna Lewis. She was on the very first season of Survivor, and went on to All Stars. Overall, I’m excited to see how she navigates this very new game as it has changed a lot since her season. She is a very strong player, who targeted winners during All Stars, and eventually only lost because of Boston Rob and Amber’s romantic relationship. Hopefully, she can improve even more this season and no showmances will hold her back from a long-awaited win.