One of the biggest surprises of this article is that MB was in Fiji for
at least the pregame of S50. And pregame was nearly a week long! There's
a ton of good stuff in this article including Dalton letting us know
that the first IC isn't until Day 3 and the first TC is that night. I thought for sure people would be booted on Day 1. ________________________________________________________________________
On the beach for Survivor 50: An exclusive, all-access first look at the biggest season ever
EW joined players, producers, and Jeff Probst in Fiji to get the inside scoop on the anniversary installment.
By Dalton Ross
January 7, 2026 12:00 p.m. ET
Jeff Probst can't see anything. The host and showrunner of the most influential reality competition show in television history is moments
away from kicking off the once-unthinkable anniversary season of
Survivor 50, yet he can't even lift his head up to welcome the returning all-stars.
A nasty rain and heavy wind combo platter on this June morning is
smacking him right in the face as he assumes his starting position next
to a tray of buffs on the sandy Fijian shores of Monuriki island, the
same location where Tom Hanks once became BFFs with a volleyball in Cast Away. And the weather is not just an issue for the master of ceremonies. Even as the contestants arrive to begin the season, an important rowing portion of today's marooning challenge remains up in the air due to tumultuous swells.
"Holy s---!" Probst exclaims as he literally weathers the storm and
tries to shelter his face with the trademark Survivor baseball cap
seemingly permanently affixed to his head. "Wow!"
The host removes the hat to adjust the tightness in the back before returning it atop his well-coiffed dome. Nope, not good enough.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. He adjusts the lid again
and prays for the best. Cameras begin rolling and Probst officially
kicks off Survivor 50: "Bring in the barge!"
Video placeholder image
Off in the distance, a massive silver ship rCo with two Survivor 50 flags flapping in the ample breeze and a giant 50 logo square in the middle rCo slowly makes its way to shore, exit ramp already descended. The wind slightly abating, Probst stands on his mark and admires the approaching vessel and its 24 well-known passengers.
"Awesome," he says to himself while clapping four times. "A beautiful sight."
One by one, legends of the game step off the ramp, onto the beach, and
up towards the man that has greeted them once, twice, three, and
sometimes even four times before. Charlie walks up first, followed by Stephenie, then Jenna, Dee, and Savannah. A mix of Old Era icons and New
Era upstarts ready to do battle on the ultimate stage. Colby stands next
to Coach rCo the two combatants from a furious Day 1 challenge exactly 30 seasons ago. Angelina rubs elbows with Q, a commotion corner if ever
there was one. "Black Widow" Cirie is stationed next to "Honor and Integrity" Joe rCo a symbolic yin and yang to the entire franchise ethos.
As all 24 all-stars line up single file, their host bellows out those magical words: "WelcomerCa to Survivor 50!"
Cheers explode alongside arms raised in air, fist pumps, rabid applause,
and cries of "Wooooooooo!" (They're either giving a coordinated
shout-out to the Survivor: Cagayan runner-up or are super excited to be there. Possibly both.)
And so begins the battle for ultimate Survivor bragging rights on the franchise's biggest season yet (which will premiere Feb. 25 on CBS). And what was going through Jeff Probst's mind as all the history and
pageantry of 50 seasons culminated in this epic moment that nobody could have predicted 25 years ago?
"Honestly? I hope my hat doesn't fly off," the host recalls two days
later back at a production base camp reception area that also doubles as space for everything from crew yoga to CPR training.
But, while Probst was locked in on his hosting duties as the contestants reached the shore, he did allow himself one brief moment of reflection.
"Watching that barge come inrCa. It took a while, so I was looking at it, and I was looking at the logo, and I was thinking, Man, we did it. We
got to 50. We built a show that's lasted so long, we are on our 50th iteration of it. And that was cool."
Probst is one of only four people who have been working day-to-day on Survivor for all 50 seasons, dating back to the year 2000. Challenge producer John Kirhoffer is another.
"Of course, when you're celebrating a milestone like 50, you think back
to season 1," says the man who has put every single Survivor challenge
on the screen. "And I remember so clearly being on the boat, leaving
Pulau Tiga [after season 1] thinking, Oh, please God, just one more. Let
me do one more of these. This is such a cool group and this is such a
cool show. I just want to do one more. I'd never been on a show that
went multiple seasons. I kept getting on things that get canceled or
just end. So this has been the craziest."
If Probst and Kirhoffer are thankful to still be around for season 50,
it's nothing compared to the 24 players selected to return for the
landmark season rCo and that was very much by design.
"In our casting, we wanted people who were joyful," explains executive producer Matt Van Wagenen, who started on the show back on season 14.
"We've had some seasons in the past where some players play some pretty dark, brooding games. This time, we wanted a joyful celebration and
wanted joyful people to celebrate with us."
One of the easiest ways to find people who truly wanted to play was to
go against the reality TV grain and limit the exorbitant appearance fees that have become commonplace on shows like The Traitors, Deal or No Deal Island, and House of Villains.
While even Survivor offered some premium guarantees for certain players
to return for season 40's Winners at War, this time, the show went back
to its original All-Stars payment model from season 8, with the first
person voted out receiving $25,000, plus a $10,000 reunion show fee.
(The reunion payment has continued even in the reunion-less New Era. although the live event could very well return for season 50, if fans
voted the show back onto rCo or, in this case, off rCo the island as one of the 11 categories viewers could weigh in on as part of the "In the Hands
of the Fans" campaign.)
"With this season, there was not going to be any big appearance fees," Probst says. "The prize money is slightly higher than normal, and that's
it. We were very clear when we called each player: 'These are
non-negotiable terms. You're going to be out here for 26 days and here's
the money. This isn't a leverage situation. If the prize money is what you're here for, then maybe 50 is not for you. We want people who want
to be here to be a part of 50.'"
Of course, fans rCo and naturally, many disappointed former players rCo immediately found nits to pick with the final list.
"I know we took some flack on some of our choices," Van Wagenen acknowledges. "We were never going make all the fans happy."
While some high-profile absentee fan favorites like Jerri Manthey and Carolyn Wiger publicly expressed their dismay over being passed over,
there were others who simply couldn't or wouldn't make the trip.
"The group we put together for 50 will please some people and upset
other people," Probst concedes. "There's no way to satisfy everyone. I
do remind the fans: You do have to trust us a little bit that we know
who wanted to play and who didn't want to play. We know who wished they could play, but the scheduling didn't work out. There were a lot of
things going on behind the scenes."
"There were people who I would love to have seen play who said no," adds
Van Wagenen. "I probably asked John Cochran to play about 15 times, and
he turned me down every time. So we couldn't get everyone we wanted, and
we couldn't fit in everyone who wanted to be in there. So that's a tough position to be in."
As for complaints that the list of players contains too many contestants from recent seasons, with 11 of the 24 returnees being from the five
most recent installments, that actually closely mirrors what the
franchise has done in the past with all-star seasons like Heroes vs Villains, Cambodia, and Game Changers, which were heavily loaded with
recent competitors.
Van Wagenen also notes another reason for the recency bias: "I think
part of it is there's an age thing. It's got to be the oldest cast we've ever had. So we wanted some younger players as well."
The game before the game
Just because the players picked to represent season 50 are joyful and
seem almost programmed to work in the word "fun" while talking to Entertainment Weekly out in Fiji just days before the marooning, that
does not mean there is an absence of game face. In fact, some folks
began playing their season 50 game well before they got the official
invite to return.
"The day after I lost South Pacific, I started playing this game," says Benjamin Wade (a.k.a. Coach, a.k.a. the Dragonslayer). "In the chance
that I was going to come back here, every single interview I've ever
given, I've sandbagged it, saying 'I can't win this game' while at the
same time thinking about the mistakes that I made and how I could play
this game differently. I've never stopped playing."
That has included venturing out of his zen den to make the social rounds.
"I don't like most people. I don't like Boston Rob and any of these
people where this has become their identity. Their whole identity is
caught up in this bulls---. So I don't like most people, but I talk to
all of them because I know that it's going to give me a foothold."
Coach is not the only one who played the long con.
Kamilla Karthigesu discloses that she and Joe Hunter actually worked
very closely together during Survivor 48 but, "I intentionally didn't
talk about it in my exit press because I had a feeling Joe would be
here, and I wanted to see if we could play that up that Joe hates me."
But leave it to the mad professor to pull off the biggest ruse of them all.
"Six weeks ago, we had a baby," David vs. Goliath fan favorite Christian Hubicki reveals. "His name is Michael."
Even more amazing than the new bundle of joy is the fact that the
robotics educator rCo who is otherwise very active on social media rCo has kept the child's existence completely classified, not posting or telling anyone about the pregnancy or birth.
"He's my secret weapon," says Christian, who was debating whether to
reveal the baby's existence should he make it all the way to final
Tribal Council. "These people don't know I have a child. Everyone knows
that Angelina has these two beautiful children she loves dearly and will
do anything for. People think I'm a goofy robotics professor who can't
open up bottles in front of Colby."
If you really want to see Survivor 50 contestants fumble around
awkwardly, watch them try to squirm out of answering the uncomfortable question of how much pregaming they did with other competitors. Players making off-island alliances with other potential returnees before
leaving for Fiji is strictly forbidden. It's also highly unenforceable. Producers and players both know it happens, but most don't like to
actually admit to doing it.
"I don't talk about that," four-timer Aubry Bracco says while avoiding
eye contact. "We're not supposed to do that."
What about you, Genevieve Mushaluk? "I can honestly tell you on my life
I have not reached out to a single player that is here,rCY says season
47's wily lawyer. And did anybody reach out to you? "I am not saying
people have not spoken to me."
How about Chrissy Hofbeck? "Oh, I did not pregame at all," the Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers runner-up says in mock exaggerated tones while
staring at the ground.
Cut to David vs. Goliath's Angelina Keeley: "I talked to Chrissy a lot!
I'll be honest about that. We met six years ago, totally hit it off. It
was right after Thanksgiving and she was like, 'I wanted to wait till
the new year, but I didn't want to miss my opportunity. I really want to play with you and go deep and have a secret alliance that no one knows about.' And I said, 'I love it!'"
Pinpointing who has actually made alliances with whom can often feel
like connecting threads on a giant FBI bulletin board, as several contestants rCo like season 45 winner Dee Valladares, who cops to speaking with Emily Flippen, Charlie Davis, and Kyle Fraser rCo admit to chatting with a small, select group of individuals.
But there can be downsides to working the proverbial room as well. The
most popular Survivor player to never win, Cirie Fields, claims she does
not do as much pregaming as others because "I got ears to the ground,
even though I don't go out. So I don't have to be out there. I have soldiers, and they bring a lot of information, even information about
some of my so-called allies."
One alleged ally in particular is Cirie's former Heroes vs. Villains,
Snake in the Grass, and Traitors castmate, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick.
"Word on the street is that Stephenie's a little worried about me,"
Cirie explains. "She was saying verbatim that 'Cirie is my kryptonite in these games.' And I'm like, 'What the f---? I'm actually your closest
ally. I don't know why you don't see it that way.' I heard it from
several different people that 'Stephenie's out to get you.' I'm like,
'Why, my dog? Damn, what happened?' We fell out. I thought we was cool.'"
"Cirie's f---ing deadly," Stephenie tells EW on the same day. "My goal
is to use her as long as I can, but I've got to get rid of her before
she has a chance to get rid of me."
That's not the only drama.
"I heard Colby told someone 'That Angelina girl seems chaotic,'" says,
yes, Angelina. "First of all, we don't refer to women in 2025 as that. Second of all, okay, yeah, my edit was a bit chaotic, sorCa fair. But in real life, I'm a lot more reasonable. He'll find out soon enough."
But does any of the off-island pregaming actually work on the island? Players who have been through it before have their doubts.
"There was so much of that happening for Australian Survivor," says
Cirie, who ended up in fourth place on the recently aired international edition. "Not one ounce of it worked out. The people that were supposed
to be aligned to doing this and that were voted out so far before they
even got to the merge that there was nothing to be done."
"I was there for the very first iteration of bringing people back," says Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, from season 1 and Survivor: All-Stars. She notes
that making pregame alliances can backfire, in that people rCo and
potential future jury members rCo take things way more personally when pre-existing promises are made among friendsrCa and then broken. "When you took someone down, it wasn't like, 'Oh dude, you got me.' It was a
murder. It was a murder and there was blood on your hands and people
hated you. There are relationships that have never been healed from All-Stars."
First (and worst) impressions
If the game of Survivor 50 began back in the United States (and
Winnipeg. We see you, Genevieve), it truly kicked into high gear once
the contestants arrived in Fiji for an almost weeklong pregame filled
with interviews; photo shoots; marketing and social media tasks; and, wellrCa a lot of sitting around. But even that can be strategic, as in-person impressions that can completely alter the game are made. Rick Devens assumed an entirely new identity for his stay at Ponderosa, where contestants live both before the game and after they are voted off.
Instead of "Devens," as he was known on Edge of Extinction, the former newscaster transformed into zany Uncle Rick, courtesy of a carefully choreographed wardrobe.
"Every shirt I have is strategic to play into the fact that I'm just a goofball out here and not much of a threat," Rick says while wearing a "Superdad" T-shirt. "I showed up with a Lion King shirt, and I have a
Dead Coconut Club shirt from Halloween Horror Nights, and a Hawaiian vacation shirt. I also have these bright-pink gecko shorts that I wear around. I go out of my way to be fascinated with the birds and geckos,
with this dumb look on my face. Anything I can do to put that in their
head that, 'Oh my God, this is like my Uncle Rick, I'm into it!'"
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Not everyone is into it.
"Rick is rubbing me the wrong way," says Dee. "He's smirking at
everybody, and it's just like, 'Dude, it's too much.' He's trying too
hard, and he can't contain his emotions. I think he's going to go out swinging too hard too soon and he's going to be out."
Proving herself the ultimate Goldilocks contestant, Dee also worries in
the opposite direction. "I'm wary of Aubry. I can't read her. You know
how Rick is too excited? Aubry is the opposite. She's walking around
with her head down and just not making eye contact with anyone. So Rick
is making too much eye contact and Aubry's not making enough."
Christian believes one of his former David vs. Goliath tribemates has
been coming on too strong. "Angelina is making goo-goo eyes at every
person she passes by around here. I don't think the charm is working on people, and I think the way that she is acquitting herself around
Ponderosa, it could put her to be an easy pickoff." (He also notes that
"I'm in adjoining rooms with Angelina, which is hilarious. She asked the hotel staff to murder all the hornets in her room.")
Angelina has already made Survivor 49 champ Savannah Louie's hit list.
"She laughs a lot and then will make eye contact with different people,"
the Survivor 49 winner notes. "She made eye contact with Q, and I saw
them laughing about something on the boat yesterday. I don't even know
what it was, but I'm like, 'If you're laughing and you're not looking at
me, you got to go.'"
Ponderosa pregame also turned a potential Savannah ally into an
adversary. "Initially, when I heard Jonathan [Young] was on this cast,
I'm like, 'I need to be on the same tribe as Jonathan. He's so strong.
He's literally going to carry me to merge," she reveals of the season 42 challenge beast. "But the more I spend time with this guy, the more I'm like: We cannot be on the same tribe. He is just someone who's very
loud. He likes to hear himself talk. We're in the car on the way to the
boat dock today rCo it's like 4:30 in the morning rCo and there's the radio playing and Jonathan starts singing along, and I'm like, 'Why are you singing at 4:30 in the morning? This is unnecessary. You don't need to
be doing that.' So that annoyed me."
At least she knew who Jonathan was. "I didn't even know which one was
Jenna Lewis," Coach admits. "I thought that she was Genevieve! I never watched Genevieve play and I don't know Jenna Lewis, so I saw her and I
was just like, 'Oh, so that's what Genevieve looks like.' And then one
day I saw her bag and it said Jenna. I'm just like, you moron!'
Perhaps not surprisingly, the player making the biggest pregame
impression has been the Dragonslayer himself. It seems everybody has a
story regarding Coach, and they are universally hilarious.
"Before we come out to Fiji, we get sequestered at a hotel in Los
Angeles," explains (the real) Genevieve. "There's a producer meeting
where no one can speak, but this is the first time you lay eyes on who
is in the zoo. And Coach was one of the last people to come in. He comes
in this fully lit conference room with his ponytail, sunglasses on,
chest puffed out, walking up the aisle from the back of the room to take
a seat at the front. Picture the most Top Gun diva-ish bride walking
down the aisle. That was the vibe, and I was just like, 'Wow, how is
there not a TV screen between me and this man? This is cool as hell!'"
Uncle Rick recounts the same story. "Coach comes walking in with
sunglasses on looking like the Terminator. Just walks straight by all of
us to the front row and sits down and I'm just like, This is the dude!
This is the guy I dreamed of!"
Season 49 fourth place finisher Rizo Velovic remembers the moment he was first slayed. "I'm going through LAX and Coach is just randomly doing
Tai Chi and I'm like, Dude, he's actually like this! I thought it was a joke. RizGod is a joke. He's actuallyrCa I don't know what the word is.
He's insane. He's crazy. What you see is actually what you get with him. It's f---ing unreal!"
And then there is the tent story. During the pregame portion of the
game, contestants will often be held in tents with no talking for hours
on end as they get taken out one at a time for an interview or photo
shoot. It can get hot. And it can definitely get tedious.
"I remember this really scared me a little bit," says Christian. "I
wanted to get out of the tent, but Coach had his feet up right in front
of the entire entrance. I go up to get out, and he doesn't budge a millimeter. I'm like, Oh my God. But then, five minutes later, he
started to go, 'I can't take it anymore! If I had anxiety, I would run
out of this tent right now! I'd run off into the forest right now!'"
"Coach was losing his mind the first day," Kamilla concurs. "He was
asking one of the handlers, 'Has anyone ever ran out of the tents
because they lost their mind?' And she's like, 'No.' And he turned to me
and is like, 'I'm about to do it.' I'm like, What the f--- is going on, Coach?"
Coach brings up Tentgate himself to EW. "This sh--- here wouldn't have
flown with some of the old schoolers. They would've been like, 'F---
this. We're talking.' I said out loud to the handler, 'Has anybody ever
just gone f---ing crazy and just run out of the tent?' We were there for
11 or 12 hours. There were times when we were on seasons and me and
Boston Rob and Tyson, we'd be like, 'F--- that. Open the door. We got to
go pee. This is bulls---!'"
As unpredictable and volatile as Coach can be, he's easily the name that comes up the most when contestants are asked who they wanted to play Survivor 50 with. Call it the Cult of Coach.
"What if I can be the mini-Dragonslayer next to the big Dragonslayer and
we can go and slay all the dragons together?" asks Kamilla.
Even the usually mild-mannered Geneveive wants to buy whatever Coach is selling. "It is enthralling to see someone who appears to just be so comfortable in their own skin doing and saying whatever the hell they
want at any given moment, social norms be damned."
Plus, the ponytailed wonder has a tender side.
"The longer I've seen him around at Ponderosa and pregame, the more I realized Coach seems like he has a really big heart," says Savannah. "He
let me go ahead of him and get the very last chicken curry last night,
and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, you didn't have to do that.' He had no
chicken curry when I got up there."
Slaying dragons and hearts simultaneously.
Getting the bands back together
Jeff Probst is snapping his fingers. It's Day 3 of Survivor 50 and the
host is in position waiting for the all-clear signal to bring the
players in for their first immunity challenge rCo a classic Survivor obstacle course concluding with a 50-piece puzzle rCo that will send one team to Tribal Council later that evening.
It's a beautiful sunny morning, with no sign of the rain and wind from
48 hours prior.
"Rolling, quiet please!" barks out senior producer Riley Ranftle to the crew.
A few moments of silence and then director David Dryden (with the show
since season 2) says calmly, "Over to Jeff."
This leads to the host's familiar "Come on in!" that cues the players to begin their entrance. They walk in, one tribe at a time, finding their proper positions and filling the camera-line gaps between each other, as these reality TV veterans are so well trained to do. Once they are all situated, Probst immediately goes to his oldest foil.
"Colby, out of the gate, I see intensity on your face. Everybody else is smiling and you are in the locker room, ready to go."
The response from the Survivor: The Australian Outback fan favorite is
curt and to the point. "I'm having fun. We're good."
Probst can't help but laugh at the intense feeling of d|-j|a vu washing
over him.
"Oh my God! We're back to 15 years ago. I asked Colby a simple question
and the response I get is, 'We're good. Carry on, Probst.'"
"Sorry. No, I should smile," responds Colby. "I'm having fun. That's an honest answer."
"There's no sorrys," Probst counters. "This is the banter of 50. When
you've known each other this long, this is what makes it so fun."
That back-and-forth is a callback to the pair mixing it up on Heroes vs. Villains 30 seasons ago, when Colby refused a free piece of
pre-challenge chocolate saying "Don't need it, let's go" rCo leading the host to respond, "I got the message, brother. We'll go when I'm ready."
But the history between Probst and Colby is nothing compared to the connections between some of the players on the cast rCo connections that could make or break games. With apologies to both Schoolhouse Rock and
De Le Soul, three is definitely the magic number when it comes to
Survivor 50.
There are three seasons that have three players each on Survivor 50:
David vs. Goliath's Angelina, Christian, and Mike White; season 46's Charlie, Q Burdette, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin; and season 48's Kamilla, Kyle, and Joe. And there are also three people (Chrissy, Genevieve, and Jonathan) who have not played with any of their new castmates, three
former winners (Dee, Kyle, and Savannah), and even three former On Fire
With Jeff Probst podcast cohosts (Rick, Dee, and Charlie).
But some trios seem more willing and natural to work with each other
than others. Correctly or not, the David vs. Goliath alums are viewed as super tight rCo especially after Mike gave Angelina and Christian cameos
on his Emmy-winning series The White Lotus.
"We're going to have to mitigate it," Angelina concedes of the obvious connection. "If we have to sacrifice Christian, we gotta sacrifice Christian. Of the three of us, I'm with Mike. But we want to keep
Christian as long as possible."
Charlie makes the case that when it comes to the season 46ers, "As far
as trios go, we are probably the least bit a monolith. I blindsided
Tiffany, I blindsided Q, Q tried to blindside me. Neither of them voted
for me to win the game. There was a lot of bad blood." (You didn't
actually think he was getting through this story without a T-Swift reference, did you?)
While it's possible others will not see that throuple as a threat, there
is no denying Q's reputation for utter chaos makes a lot of players very nervous entering the game. ("I'm really wary of Q," notes five-time
player and challenge beast Ozzy Lusth. "He really tried to run his
season.")
Even Q himself is hoping to see a less volatile version of Q the second
time around. When asked about his biggest weakness as a player, he
answers simply: "Getting bored."
And why exactly is that? "When I get bored, I do stupid s---. When I get bored, you see the A, B, C game. You see hide and seek. When I get
bored, you see the Q skirt, and I don't need to get bored to where one
of those moments happen and it reminds everybody That's the Q we thought
we would get. That's the Entertainment Q. That's the Chaotic Q. That's
the one we can't predict. I have to stay in a state of being okay being bored, because when I get bored, stupid s--- happens."
Talking to Q is anything but boring, like when he boasts that his competitors should completely clear their calendars back home.
"This season here is going to be more than Christmas canceled. If you
got a wedding that's on the back of this season, you can cancel it if
you think you're going to win. If you got a date you're planning when
you get back home because you think you're going to have a good time and you're going to win this one, you can cancel your date. Ladies, you got
a hair appointment? Cancel it. It's not going to happen. I will
literally target people for anything rCo literally anything."
Don't believe him? Try this one on forrCa ahem, size.
"I saw Dee. Dee is nice. I want to work with Dee up until the point to
where I don't want to work with Dee. But I saw Dee's big toe. Dee's big
toe is bigger than all her other toes. And I'm thinking, like, I'm a
feet guy. I can't play Little Bitty Piggy with those! You know what I
mean?" (UhhhrCa not really.)
There is one player from a trio season that was decidedly unhappy to see
a fellow player joining her back in Fiji.
"My biggest weakness in this game is the fact that Kyle is here," says Kamilla. Not only does the fourth-place finisher insist she had no idea
her previous partner in crime was part of the cast, but she says she
would not have come had she known rCo especially since season 48 finished airing less than two weeks before players left for season 50.
"I feel like that's something that Jeff should have disclosed to me when
he asked me if I wanted to come back for 50," Kamilla says. "Because if
I knew, I'd be like, 'Okay, let Kyle have this season. Call me back for
51, 52, 53, whatever.' Because everyone just saw us play together on 48.
We talked about having a secret alliance pretty much every episode. It's
in their minds, it's very fresh. I don't like it."
So what does she do about it? "I do what I do best, and that is throw
other people under the bus. I'll be like, 'Well, there's two people from
49. We don't know what happened on their season!"
There's no doubt that if pregame chatter is to believed, back-to-backers Savannah and Rizo rCo who had around 10 days home in between being in Fiji for 49 and 50 rCo are in serious trouble.
"I can't believe I'm playing Survivor with someone who calls himself the RizGod," says Charlie. And he's not the only one.
"I get a weird look from Rizo, but Rizo puts me off anyway," says Cirie, shaking her head. "Anybody with a name like Rizo, you can't be trusted.
And definitely the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know."
In fact, the only thing players do know about the R-I-Z-G-O-D RizGod
Baby is what they saw in the Survivor 49 promo that aired at the end of
the season 48 finale.
"I don't recall a time someone ever name-dropped themselves in the preview,'" says Rizo of the sudden notoriety among his castmates. "I did
my whole shtick and I'm like, 'This is great!' But then I was like,
'F---, all these people that are going to be on 50 are going to know
that I call myself this!'"
The fear of the season 49 unknown is an almost constant theme when
chatting with the new cast.
"I'm having flashbacks of Russell Hantz being at Ponderosa [for Heroes
vs. Villains], and we didn't know how he played," recalls Coach. "I am literally to the point of wanting to write notes to people saying, 'The
49 people have got to go.' They scare me because they have a distinct advantage on us."
"I don't like it at all," concurs Kyle. "Savannah rCo she's locked the
freak in, and she looks like she's ready to play the game. If I'm being completely honest with you, it's very hard to build consensus votes on
these returning seasons. So if one of them are on my tribe, this theme
of 'we don't know anything about them' is exactly what I would try to employ. Just get him out of here. I mean, we got JT writing love letters
to Russell Hantz because they don't know who he is. Why let that happen again?"
It's not just the uncertainty that scares Dee, the widely considered
best player from the New Era. The former winner sees the 49ers as
already being in midseason form while the others are still working themselves back into Survivor shape.
"They haven't had time to decompress in the real world, which means
they're still in game mode," Dee explains. "I know that from firsthand experience, you need a whole year to decompress from game mode. So I
don't like 'em. I want them out." (It should be noted that when this reporter was in Samoa for Heroes vs. Villains, the contestant that
players were most worried about before the game was Parvati Shallow rCo
and she still made it all 39 days.)
For her part, Savannah (described by multiple 50 players as a "mini-Parvati") was originally planning to lie and tell her new
castmates she did not win season 49. Right until she was about to board
the plane for season 50.
"I literally got a message as I was about to board the plane that was
like, 'Hey, I talked to someone who is from the New Era, and they know
X, Y, and Z about your game. And it was at that point where I'm like,
'Crap, I gotta pivot.'"
That pivot includes coming clean about her win and how she got there.
Plus, as she notes, "Rizo is here, and he is going to be a fact checker"
rCo something Russell Hantz never had to worry about.
But even beyond the mystery entities going back-to-back, there is one
player who could emerge as the ultimate X factor: A surprise returnee
coming straight from the Pineapple Suite.
Return of a Goliath
"I cannot believe that Mike White is out here playing Survivor again,"
says Charlie, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. "That's just bonkers."
Mike was certainly famous the first time he played the game back in
2018, having written and starred in beloved films like Chuck & Buck and School of Rock. But there is famous, and there is famous. And with the writer-director three seasons into the cultural juggernaut that is The
White Lotus, why in the name of brotherly incest would he want to go
sleep out in the rain while starving himself for money he does not even need? Call it a serious case of FOMO.
"I feel like it was an exclusive invite. I was like, 'Yeah, this is a
party that I feel like I don't want to miss.' Mike explains in his
trademark slow drawl. "Something about it being 50 felt like, 'Yeah,
this is epic. This is bigger than me. This is definitely cooler than me.
I am not going to be too cool for school for that. It just feels iconic.'"
The opportunity to be cut off from civilization was also a big draw for
the Hollywood insider.
"I need to stop thinking about The White Lotus," he explains. "I love
it, but I also feel like it's a fire hose into my mouth of feedback on
the [season] coming up."
Plus, the HBO showrunner feels like he may take new inspiration from his reality story into his scripted one.
"I want the next season [of The White Lotus] to be inspired. I want it
to really be great, and I think the only way it can be that is if I
really get a reset. I know it sounds totally insane, but Survivor is so immersive, and it's this just thing where I can't really think about something else. If I take a little vacation or whatever, I'm going to be talking on the phone and thinking about the show the whole time."
Once the timing lined up (location scouting for season 4 of The White
Lotus began in July, right after Survivor 50 wrapped), the David vs
Goliath runner-up was all in. But is everyone all in on Mike White being here?
"I was very frustrated," Geneveive says of sharing a season with her celebrity castmate. "Because if the odds of me going home early are very high, the odds of him going home early are slim to none."
When asked why that is, Geneveive says the quiet part out loud: "Because
I think everyone wants a cameo on White Lotus. I specifically did not
want to watch it before coming out here because I don't want to fall
into the glow of Mike White. So yeah, I was very frustrated to see that
he was out here."
Would people already willing to put their physical, mental, and
emotional health on the line for the mere chance to be on network
television actually factor a potential HBO guest starring role into
their gameplay? That's like asking: Does Jeff Probst like orange hats?
And the potential for more Survivor to White Lotus crossover is very
real. Mike's practice of adding reality TV castmates to his shows goes
back further than most people realize. Long before he put six David vs. Goliath players on The White Lotus, Mike handed out roles to his fellow
The Amazing Race castmates on his previous HBO series, Enlightened.
So are tribemates going to be auditioning for their first acting job in
real time on the beaches of Fiji?
"Everyone's going to want a cameo on The White Lotus," sighs Aubry. "I really hope people don't fawn so hard over him that he can't have a
Survivor experience. He's here to escape L.A. and the production land,
so just let him be and Survivor around. Give him some wine!"
But several players insist that game will trump fame.
"I'm sure there are people who are auditioning for The White Lotus
already," Savannah says. "But if I'm on the same tribe as Mike White and he's making us lose challenges and go to Tribal Council, I do not care
what his name is. I do not care about what he's accomplished or about
the dollars that are attached to his name. I will vote him out happily
if it means that I can avoid Tribal Council."
Speaking of whichrCa
Endgame
It's evening number three of the game, and in mere moments the first
torch of Survivor 50 will be snuffed. Hovering over the proceedings are several giant phoenix statues dotted across the imposing temple-themed Tribal Council set. But there will be no rebirth in the game via
Redemption Island or the Edge of Extinction for whoever's fire is about
to be extinguished tonight.
Jeff Probst has called for the customary break in filming just prior to voting to remind those who have been away from the game for a while how
the process will work. He thoroughly explains the intricacies of the
Shot in the Dark for those who have never played with the New Era twist, demonstrates proper talking volume while voting so others cannot hear
you, and shows contestants exactly where to stand if and when it is
their turn to be snuffed.
Logistics completed, the host has one final off-camera message for the all-stars sitting before him.
"I'm going to say what I've always said, which is, 'Sad to have anybody voted out,'" Probst begins, making intense direct eye contact. "I mean
it, looking to every one of you in the eyes. Sad to have any of you
voted out."
And even sadder than usual.
"This season more than others is very special," Probst tells the tribe.
"I know how much it takes to get here. We all know what sacrifices you
all made, and all your loved ones and everything. I also know without
these stakes, who gives a f---? This is why Survivor is interesting, is because it's life or death all the time. So just know when I'm snuffing
your torch, my heart?" The host touches his chest. "But my head? It's
the f---ing game you signed up for, right?"
The tribe nods in the affirmative.
"All right," says Probst.
And then, the bleeding begins. And, for some, the bleeding could signal
the end for more than just this season. After all, it's hard to imagine 55-year-old Mike White putting his career on hold again to compete for a
pot and a machete. Fifty-five-year-old Cirie informs EW that win or
lose, this is definitely her last time on the island. Fifty-one-year-old Colby says the same.
"I know this is my last run at it," he says. "If I get a call in five
years, let's face it, the old body won't still be holding up in five
years. So I know this is truly my last run."
Of course, Survivor is all about change. New players, new twists, new technology rCo like camera drones, which did not exist when the series started filming, and have dramatically altered the look of the show. In
many ways, the difference between 2000 and 2026 jumps off the screen if
you go back and watch season 1, Survivor: Borneo. Which is exactly what
the man who first brought the program to America did recently. And he
came to a very different conclusion.
"Within the last year, I sat down and watched quite a few episodes of
season 1," says Mark Burnett, who remains an executive producer on the program but has handed over all the day-to-day control to his host/showrunner. "And it just felt like I was there with those dangerous snakes, those giant lizards, all the crazy creatures."
And what does he make of the evolution between then rCo when Probst had to sit next to a giant truck of fake cash at Tribal Council rCo and now?
"The technology has evolved to add some more scale and certain things, I suppose," Burnett notes. "And the game has changed. But think about what hasn't changed at all. If you're talking about the visual beauty, I
remember when I was first pitching it, I said I wanted to allow moments
like if the rain is dropping off the leaves into a puddle, or the spider
in the spider's web rCo all these sort of moments, to let it breathe. And that will always remain that way."
And it's not just the look, but the original feel of the show that has endured.
"It's a vicarious adventure travel experience," Burnett says. "Like
Swiss Family Robinson, or classic books like Lord of the Flies. I
remember when I was first thinking about Survivor, before I even sold
it, I thought to myself: Pretend you're on a plane right now, and this
plane goes down and there's 16 or 20 people that survived the entire
plane crash. There's a CEO billionaire, and that person over there is a waitress. But who's got more value on the island? Because you haven't
got any money anyway. You went to Princeton, but can you make a fire? So
the complete value proposition of society is different on the island.
That core value is really important."
But how long can that core value continue? With Survivor now reaching
the milestone 50th season, there is naturally the question of how many
more milestones remain for America's first hit reality competition program.
"I don't know that everyone loves it, but I do sometimes bring up season 60," says Van Wagenen."
A lot of the longevity question depends on how much longer Probst rCo who says he remains in for as long as he remains excited and engaged rCo wants to do it. And he is currently very engaged.
"I love where the show is," the host says. "I love our crew. I love the
type of people that are applying."
Burnett credits old seasons showing up on streamers like Netflix during
the COVID-19 lockdowns with creating the next generation of Survivor
fans. pup"Ten years ago, if you asked me how long this show could go,
I'd be like 'I don't know, a couple more years.' I wasn't sure. But now,
I wouldn't ever predict its end."
Okay, but how long can the reality TV puppet master convince his face of
the franchise to stick around with it? Burnett pauses, considers the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.
"I think Jeff's got another 25 years in him," he says in such a way that it's hard to tell if the man is kidding. And then Burnett goes and says
it out loud, likely for the first time ever. "Season 100."
Source: https://ew.com/survivor-50-exclusive-all-access-first-look-cover-story-11879057
On 1/7/2026 11:25 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
One of the biggest surprises of this article is that MB was in Fiji
for at least the pregame of S50. And pregame was nearly a week long!
There's a ton of good stuff in this article including Dalton letting
us know that the first IC isn't until Day 3 and the first TC is that
night. I thought for sure people would be booted on Day 1.
________________________________________________________________________
On the beach for Survivor 50: An exclusive, all-access first look at
the biggest season ever
EW joined players, producers, and Jeff Probst in Fiji to get the
inside scoop on the anniversary installment.
By Dalton Ross
January 7, 2026 12:00 p.m. ET
Jeff Probst can't see anything. The host and showrunner of the most
influential reality competition show in television history is moments
away from kicking off the once-unthinkable anniversary season of
Survivor 50, yet he can't even lift his head up to welcome the
returning all-stars.
A nasty rain and heavy wind combo platter on this June morning is
smacking him right in the face as he assumes his starting position
next to a tray of buffs on the sandy Fijian shores of Monuriki island,
the same location where Tom Hanks once became BFFs with a volleyball
in Cast Away. And the weather is not just an issue for the master of
ceremonies. Even as the contestants arrive to begin the season, an
important rowing portion of today's marooning challenge remains up in
the air due to tumultuous swells.
"Holy s---!" Probst exclaims as he literally weathers the storm and
tries to shelter his face with the trademark Survivor baseball cap
seemingly permanently affixed to his head. "Wow!"
The host removes the hat to adjust the tightness in the back before
returning it atop his well-coiffed dome. Nope, not good enough.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. He adjusts the lid again
and prays for the best. Cameras begin rolling and Probst officially
kicks off Survivor 50: "Bring in the barge!"
Video placeholder image
Off in the distance, a massive silver ship rCo with two Survivor 50
flags flapping in the ample breeze and a giant 50 logo square in the
middle rCo slowly makes its way to shore, exit ramp already descended.
The wind slightly abating, Probst stands on his mark and admires the
approaching vessel and its 24 well-known passengers.
"Awesome," he says to himself while clapping four times. "A beautiful
sight."
One by one, legends of the game step off the ramp, onto the beach, and
up towards the man that has greeted them once, twice, three, and
sometimes even four times before. Charlie walks up first, followed by
Stephenie, then Jenna, Dee, and Savannah. A mix of Old Era icons and
New Era upstarts ready to do battle on the ultimate stage. Colby
stands next to Coach rCo the two combatants from a furious Day 1
challenge exactly 30 seasons ago. Angelina rubs elbows with Q, a
commotion corner if ever there was one. "Black Widow" Cirie is
stationed next to "Honor and Integrity" Joe rCo a symbolic yin and yang
to the entire franchise ethos.
As all 24 all-stars line up single file, their host bellows out those
magical words: "WelcomerCa to Survivor 50!"
Cheers explode alongside arms raised in air, fist pumps, rabid
applause, and cries of "Wooooooooo!" (They're either giving a
coordinated shout-out to the Survivor: Cagayan runner-up or are super
excited to be there. Possibly both.)
And so begins the battle for ultimate Survivor bragging rights on the
franchise's biggest season yet (which will premiere Feb. 25 on CBS).
And what was going through Jeff Probst's mind as all the history and
pageantry of 50 seasons culminated in this epic moment that nobody
could have predicted 25 years ago?
"Honestly? I hope my hat doesn't fly off," the host recalls two days
later back at a production base camp reception area that also doubles
as space for everything from crew yoga to CPR training.
But, while Probst was locked in on his hosting duties as the
contestants reached the shore, he did allow himself one brief moment
of reflection.
"Watching that barge come inrCa. It took a while, so I was looking at
it, and I was looking at the logo, and I was thinking, Man, we did it.
We got to 50. We built a show that's lasted so long, we are on our
50th iteration of it. And that was cool."
Probst is one of only four people who have been working day-to-day on
Survivor for all 50 seasons, dating back to the year 2000. Challenge
producer John Kirhoffer is another.
"Of course, when you're celebrating a milestone like 50, you think
back to season 1," says the man who has put every single Survivor
challenge on the screen. "And I remember so clearly being on the boat,
leaving Pulau Tiga [after season 1] thinking, Oh, please God, just one
more. Let me do one more of these. This is such a cool group and this
is such a cool show. I just want to do one more. I'd never been on a
show that went multiple seasons. I kept getting on things that get
canceled or just end. So this has been the craziest."
If Probst and Kirhoffer are thankful to still be around for season 50,
it's nothing compared to the 24 players selected to return for the
landmark season rCo and that was very much by design.
"In our casting, we wanted people who were joyful," explains executive
producer Matt Van Wagenen, who started on the show back on season 14.
"We've had some seasons in the past where some players play some
pretty dark, brooding games. This time, we wanted a joyful celebration
and wanted joyful people to celebrate with us."
One of the easiest ways to find people who truly wanted to play was to
go against the reality TV grain and limit the exorbitant appearance
fees that have become commonplace on shows like The Traitors, Deal or
No Deal Island, and House of Villains.
While even Survivor offered some premium guarantees for certain
players to return for season 40's Winners at War, this time, the show
went back to its original All-Stars payment model from season 8, with
the first person voted out receiving $25,000, plus a $10,000 reunion
show fee. (The reunion payment has continued even in the reunion-less
New Era. although the live event could very well return for season 50,
if fans voted the show back onto rCo or, in this case, off rCo the island >> as one of the 11 categories viewers could weigh in on as part of the
"In the Hands of the Fans" campaign.)
"With this season, there was not going to be any big appearance fees,"
Probst says. "The prize money is slightly higher than normal, and
that's it. We were very clear when we called each player: 'These are
non-negotiable terms. You're going to be out here for 26 days and
here's the money. This isn't a leverage situation. If the prize money
is what you're here for, then maybe 50 is not for you. We want people
who want to be here to be a part of 50.'"
Of course, fans rCo and naturally, many disappointed former players rCo
immediately found nits to pick with the final list.
"I know we took some flack on some of our choices," Van Wagenen
acknowledges. "We were never going make all the fans happy."
While some high-profile absentee fan favorites like Jerri Manthey and
Carolyn Wiger publicly expressed their dismay over being passed over,
there were others who simply couldn't or wouldn't make the trip.
"The group we put together for 50 will please some people and upset
other people," Probst concedes. "There's no way to satisfy everyone. I
do remind the fans: You do have to trust us a little bit that we know
who wanted to play and who didn't want to play. We know who wished
they could play, but the scheduling didn't work out. There were a lot
of things going on behind the scenes."
"There were people who I would love to have seen play who said no,"
adds Van Wagenen. "I probably asked John Cochran to play about 15
times, and he turned me down every time. So we couldn't get everyone
we wanted, and we couldn't fit in everyone who wanted to be in there.
So that's a tough position to be in."
As for complaints that the list of players contains too many
contestants from recent seasons, with 11 of the 24 returnees being
from the five most recent installments, that actually closely mirrors
what the franchise has done in the past with all-star seasons like
Heroes vs Villains, Cambodia, and Game Changers, which were heavily
loaded with recent competitors.
Van Wagenen also notes another reason for the recency bias: "I think
part of it is there's an age thing. It's got to be the oldest cast
we've ever had. So we wanted some younger players as well."
The game before the game
Just because the players picked to represent season 50 are joyful and
seem almost programmed to work in the word "fun" while talking to
Entertainment Weekly out in Fiji just days before the marooning, that
does not mean there is an absence of game face. In fact, some folks
began playing their season 50 game well before they got the official
invite to return.
"The day after I lost South Pacific, I started playing this game,"
says Benjamin Wade (a.k.a. Coach, a.k.a. the Dragonslayer). "In the
chance that I was going to come back here, every single interview I've
ever given, I've sandbagged it, saying 'I can't win this game' while
at the same time thinking about the mistakes that I made and how I
could play this game differently. I've never stopped playing."
That has included venturing out of his zen den to make the social rounds.
"I don't like most people. I don't like Boston Rob and any of these
people where this has become their identity. Their whole identity is
caught up in this bulls---. So I don't like most people, but I talk to
all of them because I know that it's going to give me a foothold."
Coach is not the only one who played the long con.
Kamilla Karthigesu discloses that she and Joe Hunter actually worked
very closely together during Survivor 48 but, "I intentionally didn't
talk about it in my exit press because I had a feeling Joe would be
here, and I wanted to see if we could play that up that Joe hates me."
But leave it to the mad professor to pull off the biggest ruse of them
all.
"Six weeks ago, we had a baby," David vs. Goliath fan favorite
Christian Hubicki reveals. "His name is Michael."
Even more amazing than the new bundle of joy is the fact that the
robotics educator rCo who is otherwise very active on social media rCo has >> kept the child's existence completely classified, not posting or
telling anyone about the pregnancy or birth.
"He's my secret weapon," says Christian, who was debating whether to
reveal the baby's existence should he make it all the way to final
Tribal Council. "These people don't know I have a child. Everyone
knows that Angelina has these two beautiful children she loves dearly
and will do anything for. People think I'm a goofy robotics professor
who can't open up bottles in front of Colby."
If you really want to see Survivor 50 contestants fumble around
awkwardly, watch them try to squirm out of answering the uncomfortable
question of how much pregaming they did with other competitors.
Players making off-island alliances with other potential returnees
before leaving for Fiji is strictly forbidden. It's also highly
unenforceable. Producers and players both know it happens, but most
don't like to actually admit to doing it.
"I don't talk about that," four-timer Aubry Bracco says while avoiding
eye contact. "We're not supposed to do that."
What about you, Genevieve Mushaluk? "I can honestly tell you on my
life I have not reached out to a single player that is here,rCY says
season 47's wily lawyer. And did anybody reach out to you? "I am not
saying people have not spoken to me."
How about Chrissy Hofbeck? "Oh, I did not pregame at all," the Heroes
v. Healers v. Hustlers runner-up says in mock exaggerated tones while
staring at the ground.
Cut to David vs. Goliath's Angelina Keeley: "I talked to Chrissy a
lot! I'll be honest about that. We met six years ago, totally hit it
off. It was right after Thanksgiving and she was like, 'I wanted to
wait till the new year, but I didn't want to miss my opportunity. I
really want to play with you and go deep and have a secret alliance
that no one knows about.' And I said, 'I love it!'"
Pinpointing who has actually made alliances with whom can often feel
like connecting threads on a giant FBI bulletin board, as several
contestants rCo like season 45 winner Dee Valladares, who cops to
speaking with Emily Flippen, Charlie Davis, and Kyle Fraser rCo admit to
chatting with a small, select group of individuals.
But there can be downsides to working the proverbial room as well. The
most popular Survivor player to never win, Cirie Fields, claims she
does not do as much pregaming as others because "I got ears to the
ground, even though I don't go out. So I don't have to be out there. I
have soldiers, and they bring a lot of information, even information
about some of my so-called allies."
One alleged ally in particular is Cirie's former Heroes vs. Villains,
Snake in the Grass, and Traitors castmate, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick.
"Word on the street is that Stephenie's a little worried about me,"
Cirie explains. "She was saying verbatim that 'Cirie is my kryptonite
in these games.' And I'm like, 'What the f---? I'm actually your
closest ally. I don't know why you don't see it that way.' I heard it
from several different people that 'Stephenie's out to get you.' I'm
like, 'Why, my dog? Damn, what happened?' We fell out. I thought we
was cool.'"
"Cirie's f---ing deadly," Stephenie tells EW on the same day. "My goal
is to use her as long as I can, but I've got to get rid of her before
she has a chance to get rid of me."
That's not the only drama.
"I heard Colby told someone 'That Angelina girl seems chaotic,'" says,
yes, Angelina. "First of all, we don't refer to women in 2025 as that.
Second of all, okay, yeah, my edit was a bit chaotic, sorCa fair. But in
real life, I'm a lot more reasonable. He'll find out soon enough."
But does any of the off-island pregaming actually work on the island?
Players who have been through it before have their doubts.
"There was so much of that happening for Australian Survivor," says
Cirie, who ended up in fourth place on the recently aired
international edition. "Not one ounce of it worked out. The people
that were supposed to be aligned to doing this and that were voted out
so far before they even got to the merge that there was nothing to be
done."
"I was there for the very first iteration of bringing people back,"
says Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, from season 1 and Survivor: All-Stars. She
notes that making pregame alliances can backfire, in that people rCo and
potential future jury members rCo take things way more personally when
pre-existing promises are made among friendsrCa and then broken. "When
you took someone down, it wasn't like, 'Oh dude, you got me.' It was a
murder. It was a murder and there was blood on your hands and people
hated you. There are relationships that have never been healed from
All-Stars."
First (and worst) impressions
If the game of Survivor 50 began back in the United States (and
Winnipeg. We see you, Genevieve), it truly kicked into high gear once
the contestants arrived in Fiji for an almost weeklong pregame filled
with interviews; photo shoots; marketing and social media tasks; and,
wellrCa a lot of sitting around. But even that can be strategic, as in-
person impressions that can completely alter the game are made. Rick
Devens assumed an entirely new identity for his stay at Ponderosa,
where contestants live both before the game and after they are voted
off. Instead of "Devens," as he was known on Edge of Extinction, the
former newscaster transformed into zany Uncle Rick, courtesy of a
carefully choreographed wardrobe.
"Every shirt I have is strategic to play into the fact that I'm just a
goofball out here and not much of a threat," Rick says while wearing a
"Superdad" T-shirt. "I showed up with a Lion King shirt, and I have a
Dead Coconut Club shirt from Halloween Horror Nights, and a Hawaiian
vacation shirt. I also have these bright-pink gecko shorts that I wear
around. I go out of my way to be fascinated with the birds and geckos,
with this dumb look on my face. Anything I can do to put that in their
head that, 'Oh my God, this is like my Uncle Rick, I'm into it!'"
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Not everyone is into it.
"Rick is rubbing me the wrong way," says Dee. "He's smirking at
everybody, and it's just like, 'Dude, it's too much.' He's trying too
hard, and he can't contain his emotions. I think he's going to go out
swinging too hard too soon and he's going to be out."
Proving herself the ultimate Goldilocks contestant, Dee also worries
in the opposite direction. "I'm wary of Aubry. I can't read her. You
know how Rick is too excited? Aubry is the opposite. She's walking
around with her head down and just not making eye contact with anyone.
So Rick is making too much eye contact and Aubry's not making enough."
Christian believes one of his former David vs. Goliath tribemates has
been coming on too strong. "Angelina is making goo-goo eyes at every
person she passes by around here. I don't think the charm is working
on people, and I think the way that she is acquitting herself around
Ponderosa, it could put her to be an easy pickoff." (He also notes
that "I'm in adjoining rooms with Angelina, which is hilarious. She
asked the hotel staff to murder all the hornets in her room.")
Angelina has already made Survivor 49 champ Savannah Louie's hit list.
"She laughs a lot and then will make eye contact with different
people," the Survivor 49 winner notes. "She made eye contact with Q,
and I saw them laughing about something on the boat yesterday. I don't
even know what it was, but I'm like, 'If you're laughing and you're
not looking at me, you got to go.'"
Ponderosa pregame also turned a potential Savannah ally into an
adversary. "Initially, when I heard Jonathan [Young] was on this cast,
I'm like, 'I need to be on the same tribe as Jonathan. He's so strong.
He's literally going to carry me to merge," she reveals of the season
42 challenge beast. "But the more I spend time with this guy, the more
I'm like: We cannot be on the same tribe. He is just someone who's
very loud. He likes to hear himself talk. We're in the car on the way
to the boat dock today rCo it's like 4:30 in the morning rCo and there's
the radio playing and Jonathan starts singing along, and I'm like,
'Why are you singing at 4:30 in the morning? This is unnecessary. You
don't need to be doing that.' So that annoyed me."
At least she knew who Jonathan was. "I didn't even know which one was
Jenna Lewis," Coach admits. "I thought that she was Genevieve! I never
watched Genevieve play and I don't know Jenna Lewis, so I saw her and
I was just like, 'Oh, so that's what Genevieve looks like.' And then
one day I saw her bag and it said Jenna. I'm just like, you moron!'
Perhaps not surprisingly, the player making the biggest pregame
impression has been the Dragonslayer himself. It seems everybody has a
story regarding Coach, and they are universally hilarious.
"Before we come out to Fiji, we get sequestered at a hotel in Los
Angeles," explains (the real) Genevieve. "There's a producer meeting
where no one can speak, but this is the first time you lay eyes on who
is in the zoo. And Coach was one of the last people to come in. He
comes in this fully lit conference room with his ponytail, sunglasses
on, chest puffed out, walking up the aisle from the back of the room
to take a seat at the front. Picture the most Top Gun diva-ish bride
walking down the aisle. That was the vibe, and I was just like, 'Wow,
how is there not a TV screen between me and this man? This is cool as
hell!'"
Uncle Rick recounts the same story. "Coach comes walking in with
sunglasses on looking like the Terminator. Just walks straight by all
of us to the front row and sits down and I'm just like, This is the
dude! This is the guy I dreamed of!"
Season 49 fourth place finisher Rizo Velovic remembers the moment he
was first slayed. "I'm going through LAX and Coach is just randomly
doing Tai Chi and I'm like, Dude, he's actually like this! I thought
it was a joke. RizGod is a joke. He's actuallyrCa I don't know what the
word is. He's insane. He's crazy. What you see is actually what you
get with him. It's f---ing unreal!"
And then there is the tent story. During the pregame portion of the
game, contestants will often be held in tents with no talking for
hours on end as they get taken out one at a time for an interview or
photo shoot. It can get hot. And it can definitely get tedious.
"I remember this really scared me a little bit," says Christian. "I
wanted to get out of the tent, but Coach had his feet up right in
front of the entire entrance. I go up to get out, and he doesn't budge
a millimeter. I'm like, Oh my God. But then, five minutes later, he
started to go, 'I can't take it anymore! If I had anxiety, I would run
out of this tent right now! I'd run off into the forest right now!'"
"Coach was losing his mind the first day," Kamilla concurs. "He was
asking one of the handlers, 'Has anyone ever ran out of the tents
because they lost their mind?' And she's like, 'No.' And he turned to
me and is like, 'I'm about to do it.' I'm like, What the f--- is going
on, Coach?"
Coach brings up Tentgate himself to EW. "This sh--- here wouldn't have
flown with some of the old schoolers. They would've been like, 'F---
this. We're talking.' I said out loud to the handler, 'Has anybody
ever just gone f---ing crazy and just run out of the tent?' We were
there for 11 or 12 hours. There were times when we were on seasons and
me and Boston Rob and Tyson, we'd be like, 'F--- that. Open the door.
We got to go pee. This is bulls---!'"
As unpredictable and volatile as Coach can be, he's easily the name
that comes up the most when contestants are asked who they wanted to
play Survivor 50 with. Call it the Cult of Coach.
"What if I can be the mini-Dragonslayer next to the big Dragonslayer
and we can go and slay all the dragons together?" asks Kamilla.
Even the usually mild-mannered Geneveive wants to buy whatever Coach
is selling. "It is enthralling to see someone who appears to just be
so comfortable in their own skin doing and saying whatever the hell
they want at any given moment, social norms be damned."
Plus, the ponytailed wonder has a tender side.
"The longer I've seen him around at Ponderosa and pregame, the more I
realized Coach seems like he has a really big heart," says Savannah.
"He let me go ahead of him and get the very last chicken curry last
night, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, you didn't have to do that.' He had
no chicken curry when I got up there."
Slaying dragons and hearts simultaneously.
Getting the bands back together
Jeff Probst is snapping his fingers. It's Day 3 of Survivor 50 and the
host is in position waiting for the all-clear signal to bring the
players in for their first immunity challenge rCo a classic Survivor
obstacle course concluding with a 50-piece puzzle rCo that will send one
team to Tribal Council later that evening.
It's a beautiful sunny morning, with no sign of the rain and wind from
48 hours prior.
"Rolling, quiet please!" barks out senior producer Riley Ranftle to
the crew.
A few moments of silence and then director David Dryden (with the show
since season 2) says calmly, "Over to Jeff."
This leads to the host's familiar "Come on in!" that cues the players
to begin their entrance. They walk in, one tribe at a time, finding
their proper positions and filling the camera-line gaps between each
other, as these reality TV veterans are so well trained to do. Once
they are all situated, Probst immediately goes to his oldest foil.
"Colby, out of the gate, I see intensity on your face. Everybody else
is smiling and you are in the locker room, ready to go."
The response from the Survivor: The Australian Outback fan favorite is
curt and to the point. "I'm having fun. We're good."
Probst can't help but laugh at the intense feeling of d|-j|a vu washing
over him.
"Oh my God! We're back to 15 years ago. I asked Colby a simple
question and the response I get is, 'We're good. Carry on, Probst.'"
"Sorry. No, I should smile," responds Colby. "I'm having fun. That's
an honest answer."
"There's no sorrys," Probst counters. "This is the banter of 50. When
you've known each other this long, this is what makes it so fun."
That back-and-forth is a callback to the pair mixing it up on Heroes
vs. Villains 30 seasons ago, when Colby refused a free piece of pre-
challenge chocolate saying "Don't need it, let's go" rCo leading the
host to respond, "I got the message, brother. We'll go when I'm ready."
But the history between Probst and Colby is nothing compared to the
connections between some of the players on the cast rCo connections that
could make or break games. With apologies to both Schoolhouse Rock and
De Le Soul, three is definitely the magic number when it comes to
Survivor 50.
There are three seasons that have three players each on Survivor 50:
David vs. Goliath's Angelina, Christian, and Mike White; season 46's
Charlie, Q Burdette, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin; and season 48's
Kamilla, Kyle, and Joe. And there are also three people (Chrissy,
Genevieve, and Jonathan) who have not played with any of their new
castmates, three former winners (Dee, Kyle, and Savannah), and even
three former On Fire With Jeff Probst podcast cohosts (Rick, Dee, and
Charlie).
But some trios seem more willing and natural to work with each other
than others. Correctly or not, the David vs. Goliath alums are viewed
as super tight rCo especially after Mike gave Angelina and Christian
cameos on his Emmy-winning series The White Lotus.
"We're going to have to mitigate it," Angelina concedes of the obvious
connection. "If we have to sacrifice Christian, we gotta sacrifice
Christian. Of the three of us, I'm with Mike. But we want to keep
Christian as long as possible."
Charlie makes the case that when it comes to the season 46ers, "As far
as trios go, we are probably the least bit a monolith. I blindsided
Tiffany, I blindsided Q, Q tried to blindside me. Neither of them
voted for me to win the game. There was a lot of bad blood." (You
didn't actually think he was getting through this story without a T-
Swift reference, did you?)
While it's possible others will not see that throuple as a threat,
there is no denying Q's reputation for utter chaos makes a lot of
players very nervous entering the game. ("I'm really wary of Q," notes
five-time player and challenge beast Ozzy Lusth. "He really tried to
run his season.")
Even Q himself is hoping to see a less volatile version of Q the
second time around. When asked about his biggest weakness as a player,
he answers simply: "Getting bored."
And why exactly is that? "When I get bored, I do stupid s---. When I
get bored, you see the A, B, C game. You see hide and seek. When I get
bored, you see the Q skirt, and I don't need to get bored to where one
of those moments happen and it reminds everybody That's the Q we
thought we would get. That's the Entertainment Q. That's the Chaotic
Q. That's the one we can't predict. I have to stay in a state of being
okay being bored, because when I get bored, stupid s--- happens."
Talking to Q is anything but boring, like when he boasts that his
competitors should completely clear their calendars back home.
"This season here is going to be more than Christmas canceled. If you
got a wedding that's on the back of this season, you can cancel it if
you think you're going to win. If you got a date you're planning when
you get back home because you think you're going to have a good time
and you're going to win this one, you can cancel your date. Ladies,
you got a hair appointment? Cancel it. It's not going to happen. I
will literally target people for anything rCo literally anything."
Don't believe him? Try this one on forrCa ahem, size.
"I saw Dee. Dee is nice. I want to work with Dee up until the point to
where I don't want to work with Dee. But I saw Dee's big toe. Dee's
big toe is bigger than all her other toes. And I'm thinking, like, I'm
a feet guy. I can't play Little Bitty Piggy with those! You know what
I mean?" (UhhhrCa not really.)
There is one player from a trio season that was decidedly unhappy to
see a fellow player joining her back in Fiji.
"My biggest weakness in this game is the fact that Kyle is here," says
Kamilla. Not only does the fourth-place finisher insist she had no
idea her previous partner in crime was part of the cast, but she says
she would not have come had she known rCo especially since season 48
finished airing less than two weeks before players left for season 50.
"I feel like that's something that Jeff should have disclosed to me
when he asked me if I wanted to come back for 50," Kamilla says.
"Because if I knew, I'd be like, 'Okay, let Kyle have this season.
Call me back for 51, 52, 53, whatever.' Because everyone just saw us
play together on 48. We talked about having a secret alliance pretty
much every episode. It's in their minds, it's very fresh. I don't like
it."
So what does she do about it? "I do what I do best, and that is throw
other people under the bus. I'll be like, 'Well, there's two people
from 49. We don't know what happened on their season!"
There's no doubt that if pregame chatter is to believed, back-to-
backers Savannah and Rizo rCo who had around 10 days home in between
being in Fiji for 49 and 50 rCo are in serious trouble.
"I can't believe I'm playing Survivor with someone who calls himself
the RizGod," says Charlie. And he's not the only one.
"I get a weird look from Rizo, but Rizo puts me off anyway," says
Cirie, shaking her head. "Anybody with a name like Rizo, you can't be
trusted. And definitely the devil you know is better than the devil
you don't know."
In fact, the only thing players do know about the R-I-Z-G-O-D RizGod
Baby is what they saw in the Survivor 49 promo that aired at the end
of the season 48 finale.
"I don't recall a time someone ever name-dropped themselves in the
preview,'" says Rizo of the sudden notoriety among his castmates. "I
did my whole shtick and I'm like, 'This is great!' But then I was
like, 'F---, all these people that are going to be on 50 are going to
know that I call myself this!'"
The fear of the season 49 unknown is an almost constant theme when
chatting with the new cast.
"I'm having flashbacks of Russell Hantz being at Ponderosa [for Heroes
vs. Villains], and we didn't know how he played," recalls Coach. "I am
literally to the point of wanting to write notes to people saying,
'The 49 people have got to go.' They scare me because they have a
distinct advantage on us."
"I don't like it at all," concurs Kyle. "Savannah rCo she's locked the
freak in, and she looks like she's ready to play the game. If I'm
being completely honest with you, it's very hard to build consensus
votes on these returning seasons. So if one of them are on my tribe,
this theme of 'we don't know anything about them' is exactly what I
would try to employ. Just get him out of here. I mean, we got JT
writing love letters to Russell Hantz because they don't know who he
is. Why let that happen again?"
It's not just the uncertainty that scares Dee, the widely considered
best player from the New Era. The former winner sees the 49ers as
already being in midseason form while the others are still working
themselves back into Survivor shape.
"They haven't had time to decompress in the real world, which means
they're still in game mode," Dee explains. "I know that from firsthand
experience, you need a whole year to decompress from game mode. So I
don't like 'em. I want them out." (It should be noted that when this
reporter was in Samoa for Heroes vs. Villains, the contestant that
players were most worried about before the game was Parvati Shallow rCo
and she still made it all 39 days.)
For her part, Savannah (described by multiple 50 players as a "mini-
Parvati") was originally planning to lie and tell her new castmates
she did not win season 49. Right until she was about to board the
plane for season 50.
"I literally got a message as I was about to board the plane that was
like, 'Hey, I talked to someone who is from the New Era, and they know
X, Y, and Z about your game. And it was at that point where I'm like,
'Crap, I gotta pivot.'"
That pivot includes coming clean about her win and how she got there.
Plus, as she notes, "Rizo is here, and he is going to be a fact
checker" rCo something Russell Hantz never had to worry about.
But even beyond the mystery entities going back-to-back, there is one
player who could emerge as the ultimate X factor: A surprise returnee
coming straight from the Pineapple Suite.
Return of a Goliath
"I cannot believe that Mike White is out here playing Survivor again,"
says Charlie, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. "That's
just bonkers."
Mike was certainly famous the first time he played the game back in
2018, having written and starred in beloved films like Chuck & Buck
and School of Rock. But there is famous, and there is famous. And with
the writer-director three seasons into the cultural juggernaut that is
The White Lotus, why in the name of brotherly incest would he want to
go sleep out in the rain while starving himself for money he does not
even need? Call it a serious case of FOMO.
"I feel like it was an exclusive invite. I was like, 'Yeah, this is a
party that I feel like I don't want to miss.' Mike explains in his
trademark slow drawl. "Something about it being 50 felt like, 'Yeah,
this is epic. This is bigger than me. This is definitely cooler than
me. I am not going to be too cool for school for that. It just feels
iconic.'"
The opportunity to be cut off from civilization was also a big draw
for the Hollywood insider.
"I need to stop thinking about The White Lotus," he explains. "I love
it, but I also feel like it's a fire hose into my mouth of feedback on
the [season] coming up."
Plus, the HBO showrunner feels like he may take new inspiration from
his reality story into his scripted one.
"I want the next season [of The White Lotus] to be inspired. I want it
to really be great, and I think the only way it can be that is if I
really get a reset. I know it sounds totally insane, but Survivor is
so immersive, and it's this just thing where I can't really think
about something else. If I take a little vacation or whatever, I'm
going to be talking on the phone and thinking about the show the whole
time."
Once the timing lined up (location scouting for season 4 of The White
Lotus began in July, right after Survivor 50 wrapped), the David vs
Goliath runner-up was all in. But is everyone all in on Mike White
being here?
"I was very frustrated," Geneveive says of sharing a season with her
celebrity castmate. "Because if the odds of me going home early are
very high, the odds of him going home early are slim to none."
When asked why that is, Geneveive says the quiet part out loud:
"Because I think everyone wants a cameo on White Lotus. I specifically
did not want to watch it before coming out here because I don't want
to fall into the glow of Mike White. So yeah, I was very frustrated to
see that he was out here."
Would people already willing to put their physical, mental, and
emotional health on the line for the mere chance to be on network
television actually factor a potential HBO guest starring role into
their gameplay? That's like asking: Does Jeff Probst like orange hats?
And the potential for more Survivor to White Lotus crossover is very
real. Mike's practice of adding reality TV castmates to his shows goes
back further than most people realize. Long before he put six David
vs. Goliath players on The White Lotus, Mike handed out roles to his
fellow The Amazing Race castmates on his previous HBO series,
Enlightened.
So are tribemates going to be auditioning for their first acting job
in real time on the beaches of Fiji?
"Everyone's going to want a cameo on The White Lotus," sighs Aubry. "I
really hope people don't fawn so hard over him that he can't have a
Survivor experience. He's here to escape L.A. and the production land,
so just let him be and Survivor around. Give him some wine!"
But several players insist that game will trump fame.
"I'm sure there are people who are auditioning for The White Lotus
already," Savannah says. "But if I'm on the same tribe as Mike White
and he's making us lose challenges and go to Tribal Council, I do not
care what his name is. I do not care about what he's accomplished or
about the dollars that are attached to his name. I will vote him out
happily if it means that I can avoid Tribal Council."
Speaking of whichrCa
Endgame
It's evening number three of the game, and in mere moments the first
torch of Survivor 50 will be snuffed. Hovering over the proceedings
are several giant phoenix statues dotted across the imposing temple-
themed Tribal Council set. But there will be no rebirth in the game
via Redemption Island or the Edge of Extinction for whoever's fire is
about to be extinguished tonight.
Jeff Probst has called for the customary break in filming just prior
to voting to remind those who have been away from the game for a while
how the process will work. He thoroughly explains the intricacies of
the Shot in the Dark for those who have never played with the New Era
twist, demonstrates proper talking volume while voting so others
cannot hear you, and shows contestants exactly where to stand if and
when it is their turn to be snuffed.
Logistics completed, the host has one final off-camera message for the
all-stars sitting before him.
"I'm going to say what I've always said, which is, 'Sad to have
anybody voted out,'" Probst begins, making intense direct eye contact.
"I mean it, looking to every one of you in the eyes. Sad to have any
of you voted out."
And even sadder than usual.
"This season more than others is very special," Probst tells the
tribe. "I know how much it takes to get here. We all know what
sacrifices you all made, and all your loved ones and everything. I
also know without these stakes, who gives a f---? This is why Survivor
is interesting, is because it's life or death all the time. So just
know when I'm snuffing your torch, my heart?" The host touches his
chest. "But my head? It's the f---ing game you signed up for, right?"
The tribe nods in the affirmative.
"All right," says Probst.
And then, the bleeding begins. And, for some, the bleeding could
signal the end for more than just this season. After all, it's hard to
imagine 55-year-old Mike White putting his career on hold again to
compete for a pot and a machete. Fifty-five-year-old Cirie informs EW
that win or lose, this is definitely her last time on the island.
Fifty-one-year-old Colby says the same.
"I know this is my last run at it," he says. "If I get a call in five
years, let's face it, the old body won't still be holding up in five
years. So I know this is truly my last run."
Of course, Survivor is all about change. New players, new twists, new
technology rCo like camera drones, which did not exist when the series
started filming, and have dramatically altered the look of the show.
In many ways, the difference between 2000 and 2026 jumps off the
screen if you go back and watch season 1, Survivor: Borneo. Which is
exactly what the man who first brought the program to America did
recently. And he came to a very different conclusion.
"Within the last year, I sat down and watched quite a few episodes of
season 1," says Mark Burnett, who remains an executive producer on the
program but has handed over all the day-to-day control to his host/
showrunner. "And it just felt like I was there with those dangerous
snakes, those giant lizards, all the crazy creatures."
And what does he make of the evolution between then rCo when Probst had
to sit next to a giant truck of fake cash at Tribal Council rCo and now?
"The technology has evolved to add some more scale and certain things,
I suppose," Burnett notes. "And the game has changed. But think about
what hasn't changed at all. If you're talking about the visual beauty,
I remember when I was first pitching it, I said I wanted to allow
moments like if the rain is dropping off the leaves into a puddle, or
the spider in the spider's web rCo all these sort of moments, to let it
breathe. And that will always remain that way."
And it's not just the look, but the original feel of the show that has
endured.
"It's a vicarious adventure travel experience," Burnett says. "Like
Swiss Family Robinson, or classic books like Lord of the Flies. I
remember when I was first thinking about Survivor, before I even sold
it, I thought to myself: Pretend you're on a plane right now, and this
plane goes down and there's 16 or 20 people that survived the entire
plane crash. There's a CEO billionaire, and that person over there is
a waitress. But who's got more value on the island? Because you
haven't got any money anyway. You went to Princeton, but can you make
a fire? So the complete value proposition of society is different on
the island. That core value is really important."
But how long can that core value continue? With Survivor now reaching
the milestone 50th season, there is naturally the question of how many
more milestones remain for America's first hit reality competition
program.
"I don't know that everyone loves it, but I do sometimes bring up
season 60," says Van Wagenen."
A lot of the longevity question depends on how much longer Probst rCo
who says he remains in for as long as he remains excited and engaged rCo
wants to do it. And he is currently very engaged.
"I love where the show is," the host says. "I love our crew. I love
the type of people that are applying."
Burnett credits old seasons showing up on streamers like Netflix
during the COVID-19 lockdowns with creating the next generation of
Survivor fans. pup"Ten years ago, if you asked me how long this show
could go, I'd be like 'I don't know, a couple more years.' I wasn't
sure. But now, I wouldn't ever predict its end."
Okay, but how long can the reality TV puppet master convince his face
of the franchise to stick around with it? Burnett pauses, considers
the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.
"I think Jeff's got another 25 years in him," he says in such a way
that it's hard to tell if the man is kidding. And then Burnett goes
and says it out loud, likely for the first time ever. "Season 100."
Source: https://ew.com/survivor-50-exclusive-all-access-first-look-
cover-story-11879057
There is definitely a lot of good stuff here, and I'm a little surprised
CBS allowed Dalton to disclose so much.-a To-a your point about no first
day boot, I think that might have been something I would have preferred
not to be spoiled about.-a If they are not going to do oddball non-TC eliminations, then I'll stick with my guess that both losing teams will
go to TC and we'll have two elims for most of the pre-merge.
The article confirms a number of things we've speculated about,
including the extent to which players may suck up to Mike White hoping
to be cast in White Lotus, and the fact that Jeff wanted "joyful"
players who came across as enjoying the game, which explains why people
like Abi Maria were rejected.-a It also confirms that Savannah apparently did indeed reveal she had won S49, in part because she couldn't control
what Rizo might say but also because people in contact with S49 players apparently already told her they knew she won.-a So much for NDA agreements,-a I also liked the comparison of Savannah to Parvati, though
for me it's more of a physical resemblance than that their games are
that similar.
The reference to S60 is interesting because I hadn't even been thinking about that, and I realize that's now only five years in the future.-a-a I wonder if they will do another Winners at War with winners only from the
New Era?
On 1/9/2026 12:35 PM, Rick wrote:
On 1/7/2026 11:25 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
One of the biggest surprises of this article is that MB was in Fiji
for at least the pregame of S50. And pregame was nearly a week long!
There's a ton of good stuff in this article including Dalton letting
us know that the first IC isn't until Day 3 and the first TC is that
night. I thought for sure people would be booted on Day 1.
________________________________________________________________________ >>>
On the beach for Survivor 50: An exclusive, all-access first look at
the biggest season ever
EW joined players, producers, and Jeff Probst in Fiji to get the
inside scoop on the anniversary installment.
By Dalton Ross
January 7, 2026 12:00 p.m. ET
Jeff Probst can't see anything. The host and showrunner of the most
influential reality competition show in television history is moments
away from kicking off the once-unthinkable anniversary season of
Survivor 50, yet he can't even lift his head up to welcome the
returning all-stars.
A nasty rain and heavy wind combo platter on this June morning is
smacking him right in the face as he assumes his starting position
next to a tray of buffs on the sandy Fijian shores of Monuriki
island, the same location where Tom Hanks once became BFFs with a
volleyball in Cast Away. And the weather is not just an issue for the
master of ceremonies. Even as the contestants arrive to begin the
season, an important rowing portion of today's marooning challenge
remains up in the air due to tumultuous swells.
"Holy s---!" Probst exclaims as he literally weathers the storm and
tries to shelter his face with the trademark Survivor baseball cap
seemingly permanently affixed to his head. "Wow!"
The host removes the hat to adjust the tightness in the back before
returning it atop his well-coiffed dome. Nope, not good enough.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. He adjusts the lid again
and prays for the best. Cameras begin rolling and Probst officially
kicks off Survivor 50: "Bring in the barge!"
Video placeholder image
Off in the distance, a massive silver ship rCo with two Survivor 50
flags flapping in the ample breeze and a giant 50 logo square in the
middle rCo slowly makes its way to shore, exit ramp already descended.
The wind slightly abating, Probst stands on his mark and admires the
approaching vessel and its 24 well-known passengers.
"Awesome," he says to himself while clapping four times. "A beautiful
sight."
One by one, legends of the game step off the ramp, onto the beach,
and up towards the man that has greeted them once, twice, three, and
sometimes even four times before. Charlie walks up first, followed by
Stephenie, then Jenna, Dee, and Savannah. A mix of Old Era icons and
New Era upstarts ready to do battle on the ultimate stage. Colby
stands next to Coach rCo the two combatants from a furious Day 1
challenge exactly 30 seasons ago. Angelina rubs elbows with Q, a
commotion corner if ever there was one. "Black Widow" Cirie is
stationed next to "Honor and Integrity" Joe rCo a symbolic yin and yang >>> to the entire franchise ethos.
As all 24 all-stars line up single file, their host bellows out those
magical words: "WelcomerCa to Survivor 50!"
Cheers explode alongside arms raised in air, fist pumps, rabid
applause, and cries of "Wooooooooo!" (They're either giving a
coordinated shout-out to the Survivor: Cagayan runner-up or are super
excited to be there. Possibly both.)
And so begins the battle for ultimate Survivor bragging rights on the
franchise's biggest season yet (which will premiere Feb. 25 on CBS).
And what was going through Jeff Probst's mind as all the history and
pageantry of 50 seasons culminated in this epic moment that nobody
could have predicted 25 years ago?
"Honestly? I hope my hat doesn't fly off," the host recalls two days
later back at a production base camp reception area that also doubles
as space for everything from crew yoga to CPR training.
But, while Probst was locked in on his hosting duties as the
contestants reached the shore, he did allow himself one brief moment
of reflection.
"Watching that barge come inrCa. It took a while, so I was looking at
it, and I was looking at the logo, and I was thinking, Man, we did
it. We got to 50. We built a show that's lasted so long, we are on
our 50th iteration of it. And that was cool."
Probst is one of only four people who have been working day-to-day on
Survivor for all 50 seasons, dating back to the year 2000. Challenge
producer John Kirhoffer is another.
"Of course, when you're celebrating a milestone like 50, you think
back to season 1," says the man who has put every single Survivor
challenge on the screen. "And I remember so clearly being on the
boat, leaving Pulau Tiga [after season 1] thinking, Oh, please God,
just one more. Let me do one more of these. This is such a cool group
and this is such a cool show. I just want to do one more. I'd never
been on a show that went multiple seasons. I kept getting on things
that get canceled or just end. So this has been the craziest."
If Probst and Kirhoffer are thankful to still be around for season
50, it's nothing compared to the 24 players selected to return for
the landmark season rCo and that was very much by design.
"In our casting, we wanted people who were joyful," explains
executive producer Matt Van Wagenen, who started on the show back on
season 14. "We've had some seasons in the past where some players
play some pretty dark, brooding games. This time, we wanted a joyful
celebration and wanted joyful people to celebrate with us."
One of the easiest ways to find people who truly wanted to play was
to go against the reality TV grain and limit the exorbitant
appearance fees that have become commonplace on shows like The
Traitors, Deal or No Deal Island, and House of Villains.
While even Survivor offered some premium guarantees for certain
players to return for season 40's Winners at War, this time, the show
went back to its original All-Stars payment model from season 8, with
the first person voted out receiving $25,000, plus a $10,000 reunion
show fee. (The reunion payment has continued even in the reunion-less
New Era. although the live event could very well return for season
50, if fans voted the show back onto rCo or, in this case, off rCo the
island as one of the 11 categories viewers could weigh in on as part
of the "In the Hands of the Fans" campaign.)
"With this season, there was not going to be any big appearance
fees," Probst says. "The prize money is slightly higher than normal,
and that's it. We were very clear when we called each player: 'These
are non-negotiable terms. You're going to be out here for 26 days and
here's the money. This isn't a leverage situation. If the prize money
is what you're here for, then maybe 50 is not for you. We want people
who want to be here to be a part of 50.'"
Of course, fans rCo and naturally, many disappointed former players rCo >>> immediately found nits to pick with the final list.
"I know we took some flack on some of our choices," Van Wagenen
acknowledges. "We were never going make all the fans happy."
While some high-profile absentee fan favorites like Jerri Manthey and
Carolyn Wiger publicly expressed their dismay over being passed over,
there were others who simply couldn't or wouldn't make the trip.
"The group we put together for 50 will please some people and upset
other people," Probst concedes. "There's no way to satisfy everyone.
I do remind the fans: You do have to trust us a little bit that we
know who wanted to play and who didn't want to play. We know who
wished they could play, but the scheduling didn't work out. There
were a lot of things going on behind the scenes."
"There were people who I would love to have seen play who said no,"
adds Van Wagenen. "I probably asked John Cochran to play about 15
times, and he turned me down every time. So we couldn't get everyone
we wanted, and we couldn't fit in everyone who wanted to be in there.
So that's a tough position to be in."
As for complaints that the list of players contains too many
contestants from recent seasons, with 11 of the 24 returnees being
from the five most recent installments, that actually closely mirrors
what the franchise has done in the past with all-star seasons like
Heroes vs Villains, Cambodia, and Game Changers, which were heavily
loaded with recent competitors.
Van Wagenen also notes another reason for the recency bias: "I think
part of it is there's an age thing. It's got to be the oldest cast
we've ever had. So we wanted some younger players as well."
The game before the game
Just because the players picked to represent season 50 are joyful and
seem almost programmed to work in the word "fun" while talking to
Entertainment Weekly out in Fiji just days before the marooning, that
does not mean there is an absence of game face. In fact, some folks
began playing their season 50 game well before they got the official
invite to return.
"The day after I lost South Pacific, I started playing this game,"
says Benjamin Wade (a.k.a. Coach, a.k.a. the Dragonslayer). "In the
chance that I was going to come back here, every single interview
I've ever given, I've sandbagged it, saying 'I can't win this game'
while at the same time thinking about the mistakes that I made and
how I could play this game differently. I've never stopped playing."
That has included venturing out of his zen den to make the social
rounds.
"I don't like most people. I don't like Boston Rob and any of these
people where this has become their identity. Their whole identity is
caught up in this bulls---. So I don't like most people, but I talk
to all of them because I know that it's going to give me a foothold."
Coach is not the only one who played the long con.
Kamilla Karthigesu discloses that she and Joe Hunter actually worked
very closely together during Survivor 48 but, "I intentionally didn't
talk about it in my exit press because I had a feeling Joe would be
here, and I wanted to see if we could play that up that Joe hates me."
But leave it to the mad professor to pull off the biggest ruse of
them all.
"Six weeks ago, we had a baby," David vs. Goliath fan favorite
Christian Hubicki reveals. "His name is Michael."
Even more amazing than the new bundle of joy is the fact that the
robotics educator rCo who is otherwise very active on social media rCo
has kept the child's existence completely classified, not posting or
telling anyone about the pregnancy or birth.
"He's my secret weapon," says Christian, who was debating whether to
reveal the baby's existence should he make it all the way to final
Tribal Council. "These people don't know I have a child. Everyone
knows that Angelina has these two beautiful children she loves dearly
and will do anything for. People think I'm a goofy robotics professor
who can't open up bottles in front of Colby."
If you really want to see Survivor 50 contestants fumble around
awkwardly, watch them try to squirm out of answering the
uncomfortable question of how much pregaming they did with other
competitors. Players making off-island alliances with other potential
returnees before leaving for Fiji is strictly forbidden. It's also
highly unenforceable. Producers and players both know it happens, but
most don't like to actually admit to doing it.
"I don't talk about that," four-timer Aubry Bracco says while
avoiding eye contact. "We're not supposed to do that."
What about you, Genevieve Mushaluk? "I can honestly tell you on my
life I have not reached out to a single player that is here,rCY says
season 47's wily lawyer. And did anybody reach out to you? "I am not
saying people have not spoken to me."
How about Chrissy Hofbeck? "Oh, I did not pregame at all," the Heroes
v. Healers v. Hustlers runner-up says in mock exaggerated tones while
staring at the ground.
Cut to David vs. Goliath's Angelina Keeley: "I talked to Chrissy a
lot! I'll be honest about that. We met six years ago, totally hit it
off. It was right after Thanksgiving and she was like, 'I wanted to
wait till the new year, but I didn't want to miss my opportunity. I
really want to play with you and go deep and have a secret alliance
that no one knows about.' And I said, 'I love it!'"
Pinpointing who has actually made alliances with whom can often feel
like connecting threads on a giant FBI bulletin board, as several
contestants rCo like season 45 winner Dee Valladares, who cops to
speaking with Emily Flippen, Charlie Davis, and Kyle Fraser rCo admit
to chatting with a small, select group of individuals.
But there can be downsides to working the proverbial room as well.
The most popular Survivor player to never win, Cirie Fields, claims
she does not do as much pregaming as others because "I got ears to
the ground, even though I don't go out. So I don't have to be out
there. I have soldiers, and they bring a lot of information, even
information about some of my so-called allies."
One alleged ally in particular is Cirie's former Heroes vs. Villains,
Snake in the Grass, and Traitors castmate, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick.
"Word on the street is that Stephenie's a little worried about me,"
Cirie explains. "She was saying verbatim that 'Cirie is my kryptonite
in these games.' And I'm like, 'What the f---? I'm actually your
closest ally. I don't know why you don't see it that way.' I heard it
from several different people that 'Stephenie's out to get you.' I'm
like, 'Why, my dog? Damn, what happened?' We fell out. I thought we
was cool.'"
"Cirie's f---ing deadly," Stephenie tells EW on the same day. "My
goal is to use her as long as I can, but I've got to get rid of her
before she has a chance to get rid of me."
That's not the only drama.
"I heard Colby told someone 'That Angelina girl seems chaotic,'"
says, yes, Angelina. "First of all, we don't refer to women in 2025
as that. Second of all, okay, yeah, my edit was a bit chaotic, sorCa
fair. But in real life, I'm a lot more reasonable. He'll find out
soon enough."
But does any of the off-island pregaming actually work on the island?
Players who have been through it before have their doubts.
"There was so much of that happening for Australian Survivor," says
Cirie, who ended up in fourth place on the recently aired
international edition. "Not one ounce of it worked out. The people
that were supposed to be aligned to doing this and that were voted
out so far before they even got to the merge that there was nothing
to be done."
"I was there for the very first iteration of bringing people back,"
says Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, from season 1 and Survivor: All-Stars.
She notes that making pregame alliances can backfire, in that people
rCo and potential future jury members rCo take things way more personally >>> when pre-existing promises are made among friendsrCa and then broken.
"When you took someone down, it wasn't like, 'Oh dude, you got me.'
It was a murder. It was a murder and there was blood on your hands
and people hated you. There are relationships that have never been
healed from All-Stars."
First (and worst) impressions
If the game of Survivor 50 began back in the United States (and
Winnipeg. We see you, Genevieve), it truly kicked into high gear once
the contestants arrived in Fiji for an almost weeklong pregame filled
with interviews; photo shoots; marketing and social media tasks; and,
wellrCa a lot of sitting around. But even that can be strategic, as in- >>> person impressions that can completely alter the game are made. Rick
Devens assumed an entirely new identity for his stay at Ponderosa,
where contestants live both before the game and after they are voted
off. Instead of "Devens," as he was known on Edge of Extinction, the
former newscaster transformed into zany Uncle Rick, courtesy of a
carefully choreographed wardrobe.
"Every shirt I have is strategic to play into the fact that I'm just
a goofball out here and not much of a threat," Rick says while
wearing a "Superdad" T-shirt. "I showed up with a Lion King shirt,
and I have a Dead Coconut Club shirt from Halloween Horror Nights,
and a Hawaiian vacation shirt. I also have these bright-pink gecko
shorts that I wear around. I go out of my way to be fascinated with
the birds and geckos, with this dumb look on my face. Anything I can
do to put that in their head that, 'Oh my God, this is like my Uncle
Rick, I'm into it!'"
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Not everyone is into it.
"Rick is rubbing me the wrong way," says Dee. "He's smirking at
everybody, and it's just like, 'Dude, it's too much.' He's trying too
hard, and he can't contain his emotions. I think he's going to go out
swinging too hard too soon and he's going to be out."
Proving herself the ultimate Goldilocks contestant, Dee also worries
in the opposite direction. "I'm wary of Aubry. I can't read her. You
know how Rick is too excited? Aubry is the opposite. She's walking
around with her head down and just not making eye contact with
anyone. So Rick is making too much eye contact and Aubry's not making
enough."
Christian believes one of his former David vs. Goliath tribemates has
been coming on too strong. "Angelina is making goo-goo eyes at every
person she passes by around here. I don't think the charm is working
on people, and I think the way that she is acquitting herself around
Ponderosa, it could put her to be an easy pickoff." (He also notes
that "I'm in adjoining rooms with Angelina, which is hilarious. She
asked the hotel staff to murder all the hornets in her room.")
Angelina has already made Survivor 49 champ Savannah Louie's hit
list. "She laughs a lot and then will make eye contact with different
people," the Survivor 49 winner notes. "She made eye contact with Q,
and I saw them laughing about something on the boat yesterday. I
don't even know what it was, but I'm like, 'If you're laughing and
you're not looking at me, you got to go.'"
Ponderosa pregame also turned a potential Savannah ally into an
adversary. "Initially, when I heard Jonathan [Young] was on this
cast, I'm like, 'I need to be on the same tribe as Jonathan. He's so
strong. He's literally going to carry me to merge," she reveals of
the season 42 challenge beast. "But the more I spend time with this
guy, the more I'm like: We cannot be on the same tribe. He is just
someone who's very loud. He likes to hear himself talk. We're in the
car on the way to the boat dock today rCo it's like 4:30 in the morning >>> rCo and there's the radio playing and Jonathan starts singing along,
and I'm like, 'Why are you singing at 4:30 in the morning? This is
unnecessary. You don't need to be doing that.' So that annoyed me."
At least she knew who Jonathan was. "I didn't even know which one was
Jenna Lewis," Coach admits. "I thought that she was Genevieve! I
never watched Genevieve play and I don't know Jenna Lewis, so I saw
her and I was just like, 'Oh, so that's what Genevieve looks like.'
And then one day I saw her bag and it said Jenna. I'm just like, you
moron!'
Perhaps not surprisingly, the player making the biggest pregame
impression has been the Dragonslayer himself. It seems everybody has
a story regarding Coach, and they are universally hilarious.
"Before we come out to Fiji, we get sequestered at a hotel in Los
Angeles," explains (the real) Genevieve. "There's a producer meeting
where no one can speak, but this is the first time you lay eyes on
who is in the zoo. And Coach was one of the last people to come in.
He comes in this fully lit conference room with his ponytail,
sunglasses on, chest puffed out, walking up the aisle from the back
of the room to take a seat at the front. Picture the most Top Gun
diva-ish bride walking down the aisle. That was the vibe, and I was
just like, 'Wow, how is there not a TV screen between me and this
man? This is cool as hell!'"
Uncle Rick recounts the same story. "Coach comes walking in with
sunglasses on looking like the Terminator. Just walks straight by all
of us to the front row and sits down and I'm just like, This is the
dude! This is the guy I dreamed of!"
Season 49 fourth place finisher Rizo Velovic remembers the moment he
was first slayed. "I'm going through LAX and Coach is just randomly
doing Tai Chi and I'm like, Dude, he's actually like this! I thought
it was a joke. RizGod is a joke. He's actuallyrCa I don't know what the >>> word is. He's insane. He's crazy. What you see is actually what you
get with him. It's f---ing unreal!"
And then there is the tent story. During the pregame portion of the
game, contestants will often be held in tents with no talking for
hours on end as they get taken out one at a time for an interview or
photo shoot. It can get hot. And it can definitely get tedious.
"I remember this really scared me a little bit," says Christian. "I
wanted to get out of the tent, but Coach had his feet up right in
front of the entire entrance. I go up to get out, and he doesn't
budge a millimeter. I'm like, Oh my God. But then, five minutes
later, he started to go, 'I can't take it anymore! If I had anxiety,
I would run out of this tent right now! I'd run off into the forest
right now!'"
"Coach was losing his mind the first day," Kamilla concurs. "He was
asking one of the handlers, 'Has anyone ever ran out of the tents
because they lost their mind?' And she's like, 'No.' And he turned to
me and is like, 'I'm about to do it.' I'm like, What the f--- is
going on, Coach?"
Coach brings up Tentgate himself to EW. "This sh--- here wouldn't
have flown with some of the old schoolers. They would've been like,
'F--- this. We're talking.' I said out loud to the handler, 'Has
anybody ever just gone f---ing crazy and just run out of the tent?'
We were there for 11 or 12 hours. There were times when we were on
seasons and me and Boston Rob and Tyson, we'd be like, 'F--- that.
Open the door. We got to go pee. This is bulls---!'"
As unpredictable and volatile as Coach can be, he's easily the name
that comes up the most when contestants are asked who they wanted to
play Survivor 50 with. Call it the Cult of Coach.
"What if I can be the mini-Dragonslayer next to the big Dragonslayer
and we can go and slay all the dragons together?" asks Kamilla.
Even the usually mild-mannered Geneveive wants to buy whatever Coach
is selling. "It is enthralling to see someone who appears to just be
so comfortable in their own skin doing and saying whatever the hell
they want at any given moment, social norms be damned."
Plus, the ponytailed wonder has a tender side.
"The longer I've seen him around at Ponderosa and pregame, the more I
realized Coach seems like he has a really big heart," says Savannah.
"He let me go ahead of him and get the very last chicken curry last
night, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, you didn't have to do that.' He had
no chicken curry when I got up there."
Slaying dragons and hearts simultaneously.
Getting the bands back together
Jeff Probst is snapping his fingers. It's Day 3 of Survivor 50 and
the host is in position waiting for the all-clear signal to bring the
players in for their first immunity challenge rCo a classic Survivor
obstacle course concluding with a 50-piece puzzle rCo that will send
one team to Tribal Council later that evening.
It's a beautiful sunny morning, with no sign of the rain and wind
from 48 hours prior.
"Rolling, quiet please!" barks out senior producer Riley Ranftle to
the crew.
A few moments of silence and then director David Dryden (with the
show since season 2) says calmly, "Over to Jeff."
This leads to the host's familiar "Come on in!" that cues the players
to begin their entrance. They walk in, one tribe at a time, finding
their proper positions and filling the camera-line gaps between each
other, as these reality TV veterans are so well trained to do. Once
they are all situated, Probst immediately goes to his oldest foil.
"Colby, out of the gate, I see intensity on your face. Everybody else
is smiling and you are in the locker room, ready to go."
The response from the Survivor: The Australian Outback fan favorite
is curt and to the point. "I'm having fun. We're good."
Probst can't help but laugh at the intense feeling of d|-j|a vu washing >>> over him.
"Oh my God! We're back to 15 years ago. I asked Colby a simple
question and the response I get is, 'We're good. Carry on, Probst.'"
"Sorry. No, I should smile," responds Colby. "I'm having fun. That's
an honest answer."
"There's no sorrys," Probst counters. "This is the banter of 50. When
you've known each other this long, this is what makes it so fun."
That back-and-forth is a callback to the pair mixing it up on Heroes
vs. Villains 30 seasons ago, when Colby refused a free piece of pre-
challenge chocolate saying "Don't need it, let's go" rCo leading the
host to respond, "I got the message, brother. We'll go when I'm ready."
But the history between Probst and Colby is nothing compared to the
connections between some of the players on the cast rCo connections
that could make or break games. With apologies to both Schoolhouse
Rock and De Le Soul, three is definitely the magic number when it
comes to Survivor 50.
There are three seasons that have three players each on Survivor 50:
David vs. Goliath's Angelina, Christian, and Mike White; season 46's
Charlie, Q Burdette, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin; and season 48's
Kamilla, Kyle, and Joe. And there are also three people (Chrissy,
Genevieve, and Jonathan) who have not played with any of their new
castmates, three former winners (Dee, Kyle, and Savannah), and even
three former On Fire With Jeff Probst podcast cohosts (Rick, Dee, and
Charlie).
But some trios seem more willing and natural to work with each other
than others. Correctly or not, the David vs. Goliath alums are viewed
as super tight rCo especially after Mike gave Angelina and Christian
cameos on his Emmy-winning series The White Lotus.
"We're going to have to mitigate it," Angelina concedes of the
obvious connection. "If we have to sacrifice Christian, we gotta
sacrifice Christian. Of the three of us, I'm with Mike. But we want
to keep Christian as long as possible."
Charlie makes the case that when it comes to the season 46ers, "As
far as trios go, we are probably the least bit a monolith. I
blindsided Tiffany, I blindsided Q, Q tried to blindside me. Neither
of them voted for me to win the game. There was a lot of bad blood."
(You didn't actually think he was getting through this story without
a T- Swift reference, did you?)
While it's possible others will not see that throuple as a threat,
there is no denying Q's reputation for utter chaos makes a lot of
players very nervous entering the game. ("I'm really wary of Q,"
notes five-time player and challenge beast Ozzy Lusth. "He really
tried to run his season.")
Even Q himself is hoping to see a less volatile version of Q the
second time around. When asked about his biggest weakness as a
player, he answers simply: "Getting bored."
And why exactly is that? "When I get bored, I do stupid s---. When I
get bored, you see the A, B, C game. You see hide and seek. When I
get bored, you see the Q skirt, and I don't need to get bored to
where one of those moments happen and it reminds everybody That's the
Q we thought we would get. That's the Entertainment Q. That's the
Chaotic Q. That's the one we can't predict. I have to stay in a state
of being okay being bored, because when I get bored, stupid s---
happens."
Talking to Q is anything but boring, like when he boasts that his
competitors should completely clear their calendars back home.
"This season here is going to be more than Christmas canceled. If you
got a wedding that's on the back of this season, you can cancel it if
you think you're going to win. If you got a date you're planning when
you get back home because you think you're going to have a good time
and you're going to win this one, you can cancel your date. Ladies,
you got a hair appointment? Cancel it. It's not going to happen. I
will literally target people for anything rCo literally anything."
Don't believe him? Try this one on forrCa ahem, size.
"I saw Dee. Dee is nice. I want to work with Dee up until the point
to where I don't want to work with Dee. But I saw Dee's big toe.
Dee's big toe is bigger than all her other toes. And I'm thinking,
like, I'm a feet guy. I can't play Little Bitty Piggy with those! You
know what I mean?" (UhhhrCa not really.)
There is one player from a trio season that was decidedly unhappy to
see a fellow player joining her back in Fiji.
"My biggest weakness in this game is the fact that Kyle is here,"
says Kamilla. Not only does the fourth-place finisher insist she had
no idea her previous partner in crime was part of the cast, but she
says she would not have come had she known rCo especially since season
48 finished airing less than two weeks before players left for season
50.
"I feel like that's something that Jeff should have disclosed to me
when he asked me if I wanted to come back for 50," Kamilla says.
"Because if I knew, I'd be like, 'Okay, let Kyle have this season.
Call me back for 51, 52, 53, whatever.' Because everyone just saw us
play together on 48. We talked about having a secret alliance pretty
much every episode. It's in their minds, it's very fresh. I don't
like it."
So what does she do about it? "I do what I do best, and that is throw
other people under the bus. I'll be like, 'Well, there's two people
from 49. We don't know what happened on their season!"
There's no doubt that if pregame chatter is to believed, back-to-
backers Savannah and Rizo rCo who had around 10 days home in between
being in Fiji for 49 and 50 rCo are in serious trouble.
"I can't believe I'm playing Survivor with someone who calls himself
the RizGod," says Charlie. And he's not the only one.
"I get a weird look from Rizo, but Rizo puts me off anyway," says
Cirie, shaking her head. "Anybody with a name like Rizo, you can't be
trusted. And definitely the devil you know is better than the devil
you don't know."
In fact, the only thing players do know about the R-I-Z-G-O-D RizGod
Baby is what they saw in the Survivor 49 promo that aired at the end
of the season 48 finale.
"I don't recall a time someone ever name-dropped themselves in the
preview,'" says Rizo of the sudden notoriety among his castmates. "I
did my whole shtick and I'm like, 'This is great!' But then I was
like, 'F---, all these people that are going to be on 50 are going to
know that I call myself this!'"
The fear of the season 49 unknown is an almost constant theme when
chatting with the new cast.
"I'm having flashbacks of Russell Hantz being at Ponderosa [for
Heroes vs. Villains], and we didn't know how he played," recalls
Coach. "I am literally to the point of wanting to write notes to
people saying, 'The 49 people have got to go.' They scare me because
they have a distinct advantage on us."
"I don't like it at all," concurs Kyle. "Savannah rCo she's locked the
freak in, and she looks like she's ready to play the game. If I'm
being completely honest with you, it's very hard to build consensus
votes on these returning seasons. So if one of them are on my tribe,
this theme of 'we don't know anything about them' is exactly what I
would try to employ. Just get him out of here. I mean, we got JT
writing love letters to Russell Hantz because they don't know who he
is. Why let that happen again?"
It's not just the uncertainty that scares Dee, the widely considered
best player from the New Era. The former winner sees the 49ers as
already being in midseason form while the others are still working
themselves back into Survivor shape.
"They haven't had time to decompress in the real world, which means
they're still in game mode," Dee explains. "I know that from
firsthand experience, you need a whole year to decompress from game
mode. So I don't like 'em. I want them out." (It should be noted that
when this reporter was in Samoa for Heroes vs. Villains, the
contestant that players were most worried about before the game was
Parvati Shallow rCo and she still made it all 39 days.)
For her part, Savannah (described by multiple 50 players as a "mini-
Parvati") was originally planning to lie and tell her new castmates
she did not win season 49. Right until she was about to board the
plane for season 50.
"I literally got a message as I was about to board the plane that was
like, 'Hey, I talked to someone who is from the New Era, and they
know X, Y, and Z about your game. And it was at that point where I'm
like, 'Crap, I gotta pivot.'"
That pivot includes coming clean about her win and how she got there.
Plus, as she notes, "Rizo is here, and he is going to be a fact
checker" rCo something Russell Hantz never had to worry about.
But even beyond the mystery entities going back-to-back, there is one
player who could emerge as the ultimate X factor: A surprise returnee
coming straight from the Pineapple Suite.
Return of a Goliath
"I cannot believe that Mike White is out here playing Survivor
again," says Charlie, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
"That's just bonkers."
Mike was certainly famous the first time he played the game back in
2018, having written and starred in beloved films like Chuck & Buck
and School of Rock. But there is famous, and there is famous. And
with the writer-director three seasons into the cultural juggernaut
that is The White Lotus, why in the name of brotherly incest would he
want to go sleep out in the rain while starving himself for money he
does not even need? Call it a serious case of FOMO.
"I feel like it was an exclusive invite. I was like, 'Yeah, this is a
party that I feel like I don't want to miss.' Mike explains in his
trademark slow drawl. "Something about it being 50 felt like, 'Yeah,
this is epic. This is bigger than me. This is definitely cooler than
me. I am not going to be too cool for school for that. It just feels
iconic.'"
The opportunity to be cut off from civilization was also a big draw
for the Hollywood insider.
"I need to stop thinking about The White Lotus," he explains. "I love
it, but I also feel like it's a fire hose into my mouth of feedback
on the [season] coming up."
Plus, the HBO showrunner feels like he may take new inspiration from
his reality story into his scripted one.
"I want the next season [of The White Lotus] to be inspired. I want
it to really be great, and I think the only way it can be that is if
I really get a reset. I know it sounds totally insane, but Survivor
is so immersive, and it's this just thing where I can't really think
about something else. If I take a little vacation or whatever, I'm
going to be talking on the phone and thinking about the show the
whole time."
Once the timing lined up (location scouting for season 4 of The White
Lotus began in July, right after Survivor 50 wrapped), the David vs
Goliath runner-up was all in. But is everyone all in on Mike White
being here?
"I was very frustrated," Geneveive says of sharing a season with her
celebrity castmate. "Because if the odds of me going home early are
very high, the odds of him going home early are slim to none."
When asked why that is, Geneveive says the quiet part out loud:
"Because I think everyone wants a cameo on White Lotus. I
specifically did not want to watch it before coming out here because
I don't want to fall into the glow of Mike White. So yeah, I was very
frustrated to see that he was out here."
Would people already willing to put their physical, mental, and
emotional health on the line for the mere chance to be on network
television actually factor a potential HBO guest starring role into
their gameplay? That's like asking: Does Jeff Probst like orange hats?
And the potential for more Survivor to White Lotus crossover is very
real. Mike's practice of adding reality TV castmates to his shows
goes back further than most people realize. Long before he put six
David vs. Goliath players on The White Lotus, Mike handed out roles
to his fellow The Amazing Race castmates on his previous HBO series,
Enlightened.
So are tribemates going to be auditioning for their first acting job
in real time on the beaches of Fiji?
"Everyone's going to want a cameo on The White Lotus," sighs Aubry.
"I really hope people don't fawn so hard over him that he can't have
a Survivor experience. He's here to escape L.A. and the production
land, so just let him be and Survivor around. Give him some wine!"
But several players insist that game will trump fame.
"I'm sure there are people who are auditioning for The White Lotus
already," Savannah says. "But if I'm on the same tribe as Mike White
and he's making us lose challenges and go to Tribal Council, I do not
care what his name is. I do not care about what he's accomplished or
about the dollars that are attached to his name. I will vote him out
happily if it means that I can avoid Tribal Council."
Speaking of whichrCa
Endgame
It's evening number three of the game, and in mere moments the first
torch of Survivor 50 will be snuffed. Hovering over the proceedings
are several giant phoenix statues dotted across the imposing temple-
themed Tribal Council set. But there will be no rebirth in the game
via Redemption Island or the Edge of Extinction for whoever's fire is
about to be extinguished tonight.
Jeff Probst has called for the customary break in filming just prior
to voting to remind those who have been away from the game for a
while how the process will work. He thoroughly explains the
intricacies of the Shot in the Dark for those who have never played
with the New Era twist, demonstrates proper talking volume while
voting so others cannot hear you, and shows contestants exactly where
to stand if and when it is their turn to be snuffed.
Logistics completed, the host has one final off-camera message for
the all-stars sitting before him.
"I'm going to say what I've always said, which is, 'Sad to have
anybody voted out,'" Probst begins, making intense direct eye
contact. "I mean it, looking to every one of you in the eyes. Sad to
have any of you voted out."
And even sadder than usual.
"This season more than others is very special," Probst tells the
tribe. "I know how much it takes to get here. We all know what
sacrifices you all made, and all your loved ones and everything. I
also know without these stakes, who gives a f---? This is why
Survivor is interesting, is because it's life or death all the time.
So just know when I'm snuffing your torch, my heart?" The host
touches his chest. "But my head? It's the f---ing game you signed up
for, right?"
The tribe nods in the affirmative.
"All right," says Probst.
And then, the bleeding begins. And, for some, the bleeding could
signal the end for more than just this season. After all, it's hard
to imagine 55-year-old Mike White putting his career on hold again to
compete for a pot and a machete. Fifty-five-year-old Cirie informs EW
that win or lose, this is definitely her last time on the island.
Fifty-one-year-old Colby says the same.
"I know this is my last run at it," he says. "If I get a call in five
years, let's face it, the old body won't still be holding up in five
years. So I know this is truly my last run."
Of course, Survivor is all about change. New players, new twists, new
technology rCo like camera drones, which did not exist when the series
started filming, and have dramatically altered the look of the show.
In many ways, the difference between 2000 and 2026 jumps off the
screen if you go back and watch season 1, Survivor: Borneo. Which is
exactly what the man who first brought the program to America did
recently. And he came to a very different conclusion.
"Within the last year, I sat down and watched quite a few episodes of
season 1," says Mark Burnett, who remains an executive producer on
the program but has handed over all the day-to-day control to his
host/ showrunner. "And it just felt like I was there with those
dangerous snakes, those giant lizards, all the crazy creatures."
And what does he make of the evolution between then rCo when Probst had >>> to sit next to a giant truck of fake cash at Tribal Council rCo and now? >>>
"The technology has evolved to add some more scale and certain
things, I suppose," Burnett notes. "And the game has changed. But
think about what hasn't changed at all. If you're talking about the
visual beauty, I remember when I was first pitching it, I said I
wanted to allow moments like if the rain is dropping off the leaves
into a puddle, or the spider in the spider's web rCo all these sort of
moments, to let it breathe. And that will always remain that way."
And it's not just the look, but the original feel of the show that
has endured.
"It's a vicarious adventure travel experience," Burnett says. "Like
Swiss Family Robinson, or classic books like Lord of the Flies. I
remember when I was first thinking about Survivor, before I even sold
it, I thought to myself: Pretend you're on a plane right now, and
this plane goes down and there's 16 or 20 people that survived the
entire plane crash. There's a CEO billionaire, and that person over
there is a waitress. But who's got more value on the island? Because
you haven't got any money anyway. You went to Princeton, but can you
make a fire? So the complete value proposition of society is
different on the island. That core value is really important."
But how long can that core value continue? With Survivor now reaching
the milestone 50th season, there is naturally the question of how
many more milestones remain for America's first hit reality
competition program.
"I don't know that everyone loves it, but I do sometimes bring up
season 60," says Van Wagenen."
A lot of the longevity question depends on how much longer Probst rCo
who says he remains in for as long as he remains excited and engaged
rCo wants to do it. And he is currently very engaged.
"I love where the show is," the host says. "I love our crew. I love
the type of people that are applying."
Burnett credits old seasons showing up on streamers like Netflix
during the COVID-19 lockdowns with creating the next generation of
Survivor fans. pup"Ten years ago, if you asked me how long this show
could go, I'd be like 'I don't know, a couple more years.' I wasn't
sure. But now, I wouldn't ever predict its end."
Okay, but how long can the reality TV puppet master convince his face
of the franchise to stick around with it? Burnett pauses, considers
the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.
"I think Jeff's got another 25 years in him," he says in such a way
that it's hard to tell if the man is kidding. And then Burnett goes
and says it out loud, likely for the first time ever. "Season 100."
Source: https://ew.com/survivor-50-exclusive-all-access-first-look-
cover-story-11879057
There is definitely a lot of good stuff here, and I'm a little
surprised CBS allowed Dalton to disclose so much.-a To-a your point
about no first day boot, I think that might have been something I
would have preferred not to be spoiled about.-a If they are not going
to do oddball non-TC eliminations, then I'll stick with my guess that
both losing teams will go to TC and we'll have two elims for most of
the pre-merge.
Don't forget the premiere is three-hours long. We'll probably get two
boots that night. I fear most of the premiere is going to be a lot of
fluff. It'll start off with a 30 minute intro of the players, followed
by another 30+ minutes of celeb promos. I fully expect to see MrBeast promoting his empire for at least 10 minutes.
The article confirms a number of things we've speculated about,
including the extent to which players may suck up to Mike White hoping
to be cast in White Lotus, and the fact that Jeff wanted "joyful"
players who came across as enjoying the game, which explains why
people like Abi Maria were rejected.-a It also confirms that Savannah
apparently did indeed reveal she had won S49, in part because she
couldn't control what Rizo might say but also because people in
contact with S49 players apparently already told her they knew she
won.-a So much for NDA agreements,-a I also liked the comparison of
Savannah to Parvati, though for me it's more of a physical resemblance
than that their games are that similar.
Gen seems concerned about Mike White. Watch her end up on something he produces! Her story about how they all saw each other in LA during the producer meeting was interesting. That means they got to start
strategizing about the game knowing who and how many would be playing
even before they left for Fiji. I wonder just how well they are kept
apart on the flight to Fiji?
The reference to S60 is interesting because I hadn't even been
thinking about that, and I realize that's now only five years in the
future.-a-a I wonder if they will do another Winners at War with winners
only from the New Era?
MB thinks Jeff has another 25 years in him. I'm more interested in what
S100 will be assuming I live that long. S60 is too soon for another
Winners at War. S60 will probably be a normal season like S30 was. By
the S60s Boston Rob's two oldest girls should be old enough to play. I
can see Jeff and Boston Rob both wanting to cash in on that.
On 1/9/2026 3:45 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
On 1/9/2026 12:35 PM, Rick wrote:
On 1/7/2026 11:25 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
One of the biggest surprises of this article is that MB was in Fiji
for at least the pregame of S50. And pregame was nearly a week long!
There's a ton of good stuff in this article including Dalton letting
us know that the first IC isn't until Day 3 and the first TC is that
night. I thought for sure people would be booted on Day 1.
________________________________________________________________________ >>>>
On the beach for Survivor 50: An exclusive, all-access first look at
the biggest season ever
EW joined players, producers, and Jeff Probst in Fiji to get the
inside scoop on the anniversary installment.
By Dalton Ross
January 7, 2026 12:00 p.m. ET
Jeff Probst can't see anything. The host and showrunner of the most
influential reality competition show in television history is
moments away from kicking off the once-unthinkable anniversary
season of Survivor 50, yet he can't even lift his head up to welcome
the returning all-stars.
A nasty rain and heavy wind combo platter on this June morning is
smacking him right in the face as he assumes his starting position
next to a tray of buffs on the sandy Fijian shores of Monuriki
island, the same location where Tom Hanks once became BFFs with a
volleyball in Cast Away. And the weather is not just an issue for
the master of ceremonies. Even as the contestants arrive to begin
the season, an important rowing portion of today's marooning
challenge remains up in the air due to tumultuous swells.
"Holy s---!" Probst exclaims as he literally weathers the storm and
tries to shelter his face with the trademark Survivor baseball cap
seemingly permanently affixed to his head. "Wow!"
The host removes the hat to adjust the tightness in the back before
returning it atop his well-coiffed dome. Nope, not good enough.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. He adjusts the lid
again and prays for the best. Cameras begin rolling and Probst
officially kicks off Survivor 50: "Bring in the barge!"
Video placeholder image
Off in the distance, a massive silver ship rCo with two Survivor 50
flags flapping in the ample breeze and a giant 50 logo square in the
middle rCo slowly makes its way to shore, exit ramp already descended. >>>> The wind slightly abating, Probst stands on his mark and admires the
approaching vessel and its 24 well-known passengers.
"Awesome," he says to himself while clapping four times. "A
beautiful sight."
One by one, legends of the game step off the ramp, onto the beach,
and up towards the man that has greeted them once, twice, three, and
sometimes even four times before. Charlie walks up first, followed
by Stephenie, then Jenna, Dee, and Savannah. A mix of Old Era icons
and New Era upstarts ready to do battle on the ultimate stage. Colby
stands next to Coach rCo the two combatants from a furious Day 1
challenge exactly 30 seasons ago. Angelina rubs elbows with Q, a
commotion corner if ever there was one. "Black Widow" Cirie is
stationed next to "Honor and Integrity" Joe rCo a symbolic yin and
yang to the entire franchise ethos.
As all 24 all-stars line up single file, their host bellows out
those magical words: "WelcomerCa to Survivor 50!"
Cheers explode alongside arms raised in air, fist pumps, rabid
applause, and cries of "Wooooooooo!" (They're either giving a
coordinated shout-out to the Survivor: Cagayan runner-up or are
super excited to be there. Possibly both.)
And so begins the battle for ultimate Survivor bragging rights on
the franchise's biggest season yet (which will premiere Feb. 25 on
CBS). And what was going through Jeff Probst's mind as all the
history and pageantry of 50 seasons culminated in this epic moment
that nobody could have predicted 25 years ago?
"Honestly? I hope my hat doesn't fly off," the host recalls two days
later back at a production base camp reception area that also
doubles as space for everything from crew yoga to CPR training.
But, while Probst was locked in on his hosting duties as the
contestants reached the shore, he did allow himself one brief moment
of reflection.
"Watching that barge come inrCa. It took a while, so I was looking at >>>> it, and I was looking at the logo, and I was thinking, Man, we did
it. We got to 50. We built a show that's lasted so long, we are on
our 50th iteration of it. And that was cool."
Probst is one of only four people who have been working day-to-day
on Survivor for all 50 seasons, dating back to the year 2000.
Challenge producer John Kirhoffer is another.
"Of course, when you're celebrating a milestone like 50, you think
back to season 1," says the man who has put every single Survivor
challenge on the screen. "And I remember so clearly being on the
boat, leaving Pulau Tiga [after season 1] thinking, Oh, please God,
just one more. Let me do one more of these. This is such a cool
group and this is such a cool show. I just want to do one more. I'd
never been on a show that went multiple seasons. I kept getting on
things that get canceled or just end. So this has been the craziest."
If Probst and Kirhoffer are thankful to still be around for season
50, it's nothing compared to the 24 players selected to return for
the landmark season rCo and that was very much by design.
"In our casting, we wanted people who were joyful," explains
executive producer Matt Van Wagenen, who started on the show back on
season 14. "We've had some seasons in the past where some players
play some pretty dark, brooding games. This time, we wanted a joyful
celebration and wanted joyful people to celebrate with us."
One of the easiest ways to find people who truly wanted to play was
to go against the reality TV grain and limit the exorbitant
appearance fees that have become commonplace on shows like The
Traitors, Deal or No Deal Island, and House of Villains.
While even Survivor offered some premium guarantees for certain
players to return for season 40's Winners at War, this time, the
show went back to its original All-Stars payment model from season
8, with the first person voted out receiving $25,000, plus a $10,000
reunion show fee. (The reunion payment has continued even in the
reunion-less New Era. although the live event could very well return
for season 50, if fans voted the show back onto rCo or, in this case, >>>> off rCo the island as one of the 11 categories viewers could weigh in >>>> on as part of the "In the Hands of the Fans" campaign.)
"With this season, there was not going to be any big appearance
fees," Probst says. "The prize money is slightly higher than normal,
and that's it. We were very clear when we called each player: 'These
are non-negotiable terms. You're going to be out here for 26 days
and here's the money. This isn't a leverage situation. If the prize
money is what you're here for, then maybe 50 is not for you. We want
people who want to be here to be a part of 50.'"
Of course, fans rCo and naturally, many disappointed former players rCo >>>> immediately found nits to pick with the final list.
"I know we took some flack on some of our choices," Van Wagenen
acknowledges. "We were never going make all the fans happy."
While some high-profile absentee fan favorites like Jerri Manthey
and Carolyn Wiger publicly expressed their dismay over being passed
over, there were others who simply couldn't or wouldn't make the trip. >>>>
"The group we put together for 50 will please some people and upset
other people," Probst concedes. "There's no way to satisfy everyone.
I do remind the fans: You do have to trust us a little bit that we
know who wanted to play and who didn't want to play. We know who
wished they could play, but the scheduling didn't work out. There
were a lot of things going on behind the scenes."
"There were people who I would love to have seen play who said no,"
adds Van Wagenen. "I probably asked John Cochran to play about 15
times, and he turned me down every time. So we couldn't get everyone
we wanted, and we couldn't fit in everyone who wanted to be in
there. So that's a tough position to be in."
As for complaints that the list of players contains too many
contestants from recent seasons, with 11 of the 24 returnees being
from the five most recent installments, that actually closely
mirrors what the franchise has done in the past with all-star
seasons like Heroes vs Villains, Cambodia, and Game Changers, which
were heavily loaded with recent competitors.
Van Wagenen also notes another reason for the recency bias: "I think
part of it is there's an age thing. It's got to be the oldest cast
we've ever had. So we wanted some younger players as well."
The game before the game
Just because the players picked to represent season 50 are joyful
and seem almost programmed to work in the word "fun" while talking
to Entertainment Weekly out in Fiji just days before the marooning,
that does not mean there is an absence of game face. In fact, some
folks began playing their season 50 game well before they got the
official invite to return.
"The day after I lost South Pacific, I started playing this game,"
says Benjamin Wade (a.k.a. Coach, a.k.a. the Dragonslayer). "In the
chance that I was going to come back here, every single interview
I've ever given, I've sandbagged it, saying 'I can't win this game'
while at the same time thinking about the mistakes that I made and
how I could play this game differently. I've never stopped playing."
That has included venturing out of his zen den to make the social
rounds.
"I don't like most people. I don't like Boston Rob and any of these
people where this has become their identity. Their whole identity is
caught up in this bulls---. So I don't like most people, but I talk
to all of them because I know that it's going to give me a foothold."
Coach is not the only one who played the long con.
Kamilla Karthigesu discloses that she and Joe Hunter actually worked
very closely together during Survivor 48 but, "I intentionally
didn't talk about it in my exit press because I had a feeling Joe
would be here, and I wanted to see if we could play that up that Joe
hates me."
But leave it to the mad professor to pull off the biggest ruse of
them all.
"Six weeks ago, we had a baby," David vs. Goliath fan favorite
Christian Hubicki reveals. "His name is Michael."
Even more amazing than the new bundle of joy is the fact that the
robotics educator rCo who is otherwise very active on social media rCo >>>> has kept the child's existence completely classified, not posting or
telling anyone about the pregnancy or birth.
"He's my secret weapon," says Christian, who was debating whether to
reveal the baby's existence should he make it all the way to final
Tribal Council. "These people don't know I have a child. Everyone
knows that Angelina has these two beautiful children she loves
dearly and will do anything for. People think I'm a goofy robotics
professor who can't open up bottles in front of Colby."
If you really want to see Survivor 50 contestants fumble around
awkwardly, watch them try to squirm out of answering the
uncomfortable question of how much pregaming they did with other
competitors. Players making off-island alliances with other
potential returnees before leaving for Fiji is strictly forbidden.
It's also highly unenforceable. Producers and players both know it
happens, but most don't like to actually admit to doing it.
"I don't talk about that," four-timer Aubry Bracco says while
avoiding eye contact. "We're not supposed to do that."
What about you, Genevieve Mushaluk? "I can honestly tell you on my
life I have not reached out to a single player that is here,rCY says
season 47's wily lawyer. And did anybody reach out to you? "I am not
saying people have not spoken to me."
How about Chrissy Hofbeck? "Oh, I did not pregame at all," the
Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers runner-up says in mock exaggerated
tones while staring at the ground.
Cut to David vs. Goliath's Angelina Keeley: "I talked to Chrissy a
lot! I'll be honest about that. We met six years ago, totally hit it
off. It was right after Thanksgiving and she was like, 'I wanted to
wait till the new year, but I didn't want to miss my opportunity. I
really want to play with you and go deep and have a secret alliance
that no one knows about.' And I said, 'I love it!'"
Pinpointing who has actually made alliances with whom can often feel
like connecting threads on a giant FBI bulletin board, as several
contestants rCo like season 45 winner Dee Valladares, who cops to
speaking with Emily Flippen, Charlie Davis, and Kyle Fraser rCo admit >>>> to chatting with a small, select group of individuals.
But there can be downsides to working the proverbial room as well.
The most popular Survivor player to never win, Cirie Fields, claims
she does not do as much pregaming as others because "I got ears to
the ground, even though I don't go out. So I don't have to be out
there. I have soldiers, and they bring a lot of information, even
information about some of my so-called allies."
One alleged ally in particular is Cirie's former Heroes vs.
Villains, Snake in the Grass, and Traitors castmate, Stephenie
LaGrossa Kendrick.
"Word on the street is that Stephenie's a little worried about me,"
Cirie explains. "She was saying verbatim that 'Cirie is my
kryptonite in these games.' And I'm like, 'What the f---? I'm
actually your closest ally. I don't know why you don't see it that
way.' I heard it from several different people that 'Stephenie's out
to get you.' I'm like, 'Why, my dog? Damn, what happened?' We fell
out. I thought we was cool.'"
"Cirie's f---ing deadly," Stephenie tells EW on the same day. "My
goal is to use her as long as I can, but I've got to get rid of her
before she has a chance to get rid of me."
That's not the only drama.
"I heard Colby told someone 'That Angelina girl seems chaotic,'"
says, yes, Angelina. "First of all, we don't refer to women in 2025
as that. Second of all, okay, yeah, my edit was a bit chaotic, sorCa
fair. But in real life, I'm a lot more reasonable. He'll find out
soon enough."
But does any of the off-island pregaming actually work on the
island? Players who have been through it before have their doubts.
"There was so much of that happening for Australian Survivor," says
Cirie, who ended up in fourth place on the recently aired
international edition. "Not one ounce of it worked out. The people
that were supposed to be aligned to doing this and that were voted
out so far before they even got to the merge that there was nothing
to be done."
"I was there for the very first iteration of bringing people back,"
says Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, from season 1 and Survivor: All-Stars.
She notes that making pregame alliances can backfire, in that people
rCo and potential future jury members rCo take things way more
personally when pre-existing promises are made among friendsrCa and
then broken. "When you took someone down, it wasn't like, 'Oh dude,
you got me.' It was a murder. It was a murder and there was blood on
your hands and people hated you. There are relationships that have
never been healed from All-Stars."
First (and worst) impressions
If the game of Survivor 50 began back in the United States (and
Winnipeg. We see you, Genevieve), it truly kicked into high gear
once the contestants arrived in Fiji for an almost weeklong pregame
filled with interviews; photo shoots; marketing and social media
tasks; and, wellrCa a lot of sitting around. But even that can be
strategic, as in- person impressions that can completely alter the
game are made. Rick Devens assumed an entirely new identity for his
stay at Ponderosa, where contestants live both before the game and
after they are voted off. Instead of "Devens," as he was known on
Edge of Extinction, the former newscaster transformed into zany
Uncle Rick, courtesy of a carefully choreographed wardrobe.
"Every shirt I have is strategic to play into the fact that I'm just
a goofball out here and not much of a threat," Rick says while
wearing a "Superdad" T-shirt. "I showed up with a Lion King shirt,
and I have a Dead Coconut Club shirt from Halloween Horror Nights,
and a Hawaiian vacation shirt. I also have these bright-pink gecko
shorts that I wear around. I go out of my way to be fascinated with
the birds and geckos, with this dumb look on my face. Anything I can
do to put that in their head that, 'Oh my God, this is like my Uncle
Rick, I'm into it!'"
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Not everyone is into it.
"Rick is rubbing me the wrong way," says Dee. "He's smirking at
everybody, and it's just like, 'Dude, it's too much.' He's trying
too hard, and he can't contain his emotions. I think he's going to
go out swinging too hard too soon and he's going to be out."
Proving herself the ultimate Goldilocks contestant, Dee also worries
in the opposite direction. "I'm wary of Aubry. I can't read her. You
know how Rick is too excited? Aubry is the opposite. She's walking
around with her head down and just not making eye contact with
anyone. So Rick is making too much eye contact and Aubry's not
making enough."
Christian believes one of his former David vs. Goliath tribemates
has been coming on too strong. "Angelina is making goo-goo eyes at
every person she passes by around here. I don't think the charm is
working on people, and I think the way that she is acquitting
herself around Ponderosa, it could put her to be an easy
pickoff." (He also notes that "I'm in adjoining rooms with Angelina,
which is hilarious. She asked the hotel staff to murder all the
hornets in her room.")
Angelina has already made Survivor 49 champ Savannah Louie's hit
list. "She laughs a lot and then will make eye contact with
different people," the Survivor 49 winner notes. "She made eye
contact with Q, and I saw them laughing about something on the boat
yesterday. I don't even know what it was, but I'm like, 'If you're
laughing and you're not looking at me, you got to go.'"
Ponderosa pregame also turned a potential Savannah ally into an
adversary. "Initially, when I heard Jonathan [Young] was on this
cast, I'm like, 'I need to be on the same tribe as Jonathan. He's so
strong. He's literally going to carry me to merge," she reveals of
the season 42 challenge beast. "But the more I spend time with this
guy, the more I'm like: We cannot be on the same tribe. He is just
someone who's very loud. He likes to hear himself talk. We're in the
car on the way to the boat dock today rCo it's like 4:30 in the
morning rCo and there's the radio playing and Jonathan starts singing >>>> along, and I'm like, 'Why are you singing at 4:30 in the morning?
This is unnecessary. You don't need to be doing that.' So that
annoyed me."
At least she knew who Jonathan was. "I didn't even know which one
was Jenna Lewis," Coach admits. "I thought that she was Genevieve! I
never watched Genevieve play and I don't know Jenna Lewis, so I saw
her and I was just like, 'Oh, so that's what Genevieve looks like.'
And then one day I saw her bag and it said Jenna. I'm just like, you
moron!'
Perhaps not surprisingly, the player making the biggest pregame
impression has been the Dragonslayer himself. It seems everybody has
a story regarding Coach, and they are universally hilarious.
"Before we come out to Fiji, we get sequestered at a hotel in Los
Angeles," explains (the real) Genevieve. "There's a producer meeting
where no one can speak, but this is the first time you lay eyes on
who is in the zoo. And Coach was one of the last people to come in.
He comes in this fully lit conference room with his ponytail,
sunglasses on, chest puffed out, walking up the aisle from the back
of the room to take a seat at the front. Picture the most Top Gun
diva-ish bride walking down the aisle. That was the vibe, and I was
just like, 'Wow, how is there not a TV screen between me and this
man? This is cool as hell!'"
Uncle Rick recounts the same story. "Coach comes walking in with
sunglasses on looking like the Terminator. Just walks straight by
all of us to the front row and sits down and I'm just like, This is
the dude! This is the guy I dreamed of!"
Season 49 fourth place finisher Rizo Velovic remembers the moment he
was first slayed. "I'm going through LAX and Coach is just randomly
doing Tai Chi and I'm like, Dude, he's actually like this! I thought
it was a joke. RizGod is a joke. He's actuallyrCa I don't know what
the word is. He's insane. He's crazy. What you see is actually what
you get with him. It's f---ing unreal!"
And then there is the tent story. During the pregame portion of the
game, contestants will often be held in tents with no talking for
hours on end as they get taken out one at a time for an interview or
photo shoot. It can get hot. And it can definitely get tedious.
"I remember this really scared me a little bit," says Christian. "I
wanted to get out of the tent, but Coach had his feet up right in
front of the entire entrance. I go up to get out, and he doesn't
budge a millimeter. I'm like, Oh my God. But then, five minutes
later, he started to go, 'I can't take it anymore! If I had anxiety,
I would run out of this tent right now! I'd run off into the forest
right now!'"
"Coach was losing his mind the first day," Kamilla concurs. "He was
asking one of the handlers, 'Has anyone ever ran out of the tents
because they lost their mind?' And she's like, 'No.' And he turned
to me and is like, 'I'm about to do it.' I'm like, What the f--- is
going on, Coach?"
Coach brings up Tentgate himself to EW. "This sh--- here wouldn't
have flown with some of the old schoolers. They would've been like,
'F--- this. We're talking.' I said out loud to the handler, 'Has
anybody ever just gone f---ing crazy and just run out of the tent?'
We were there for 11 or 12 hours. There were times when we were on
seasons and me and Boston Rob and Tyson, we'd be like, 'F--- that.
Open the door. We got to go pee. This is bulls---!'"
As unpredictable and volatile as Coach can be, he's easily the name
that comes up the most when contestants are asked who they wanted to
play Survivor 50 with. Call it the Cult of Coach.
"What if I can be the mini-Dragonslayer next to the big Dragonslayer
and we can go and slay all the dragons together?" asks Kamilla.
Even the usually mild-mannered Geneveive wants to buy whatever Coach
is selling. "It is enthralling to see someone who appears to just be
so comfortable in their own skin doing and saying whatever the hell
they want at any given moment, social norms be damned."
Plus, the ponytailed wonder has a tender side.
"The longer I've seen him around at Ponderosa and pregame, the more
I realized Coach seems like he has a really big heart," says
Savannah. "He let me go ahead of him and get the very last chicken
curry last night, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, you didn't have to do
that.' He had no chicken curry when I got up there."
Slaying dragons and hearts simultaneously.
Getting the bands back together
Jeff Probst is snapping his fingers. It's Day 3 of Survivor 50 and
the host is in position waiting for the all-clear signal to bring
the players in for their first immunity challenge rCo a classic
Survivor obstacle course concluding with a 50-piece puzzle rCo that
will send one team to Tribal Council later that evening.
It's a beautiful sunny morning, with no sign of the rain and wind
from 48 hours prior.
"Rolling, quiet please!" barks out senior producer Riley Ranftle to
the crew.
A few moments of silence and then director David Dryden (with the
show since season 2) says calmly, "Over to Jeff."
This leads to the host's familiar "Come on in!" that cues the
players to begin their entrance. They walk in, one tribe at a time,
finding their proper positions and filling the camera-line gaps
between each other, as these reality TV veterans are so well trained
to do. Once they are all situated, Probst immediately goes to his
oldest foil.
"Colby, out of the gate, I see intensity on your face. Everybody
else is smiling and you are in the locker room, ready to go."
The response from the Survivor: The Australian Outback fan favorite
is curt and to the point. "I'm having fun. We're good."
Probst can't help but laugh at the intense feeling of d|-j|a vu
washing over him.
"Oh my God! We're back to 15 years ago. I asked Colby a simple
question and the response I get is, 'We're good. Carry on, Probst.'"
"Sorry. No, I should smile," responds Colby. "I'm having fun. That's
an honest answer."
"There's no sorrys," Probst counters. "This is the banter of 50.
When you've known each other this long, this is what makes it so fun." >>>>
That back-and-forth is a callback to the pair mixing it up on Heroes
vs. Villains 30 seasons ago, when Colby refused a free piece of pre-
challenge chocolate saying "Don't need it, let's go" rCo leading the
host to respond, "I got the message, brother. We'll go when I'm ready." >>>>
But the history between Probst and Colby is nothing compared to the
connections between some of the players on the cast rCo connections
that could make or break games. With apologies to both Schoolhouse
Rock and De Le Soul, three is definitely the magic number when it
comes to Survivor 50.
There are three seasons that have three players each on Survivor 50:
David vs. Goliath's Angelina, Christian, and Mike White; season 46's
Charlie, Q Burdette, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin; and season 48's
Kamilla, Kyle, and Joe. And there are also three people (Chrissy,
Genevieve, and Jonathan) who have not played with any of their new
castmates, three former winners (Dee, Kyle, and Savannah), and even
three former On Fire With Jeff Probst podcast cohosts (Rick, Dee,
and Charlie).
But some trios seem more willing and natural to work with each other
than others. Correctly or not, the David vs. Goliath alums are
viewed as super tight rCo especially after Mike gave Angelina and
Christian cameos on his Emmy-winning series The White Lotus.
"We're going to have to mitigate it," Angelina concedes of the
obvious connection. "If we have to sacrifice Christian, we gotta
sacrifice Christian. Of the three of us, I'm with Mike. But we want
to keep Christian as long as possible."
Charlie makes the case that when it comes to the season 46ers, "As
far as trios go, we are probably the least bit a monolith. I
blindsided Tiffany, I blindsided Q, Q tried to blindside me. Neither
of them voted for me to win the game. There was a lot of bad
blood." (You didn't actually think he was getting through this story
without a T- Swift reference, did you?)
While it's possible others will not see that throuple as a threat,
there is no denying Q's reputation for utter chaos makes a lot of
players very nervous entering the game. ("I'm really wary of Q,"
notes five-time player and challenge beast Ozzy Lusth. "He really
tried to run his season.")
Even Q himself is hoping to see a less volatile version of Q the
second time around. When asked about his biggest weakness as a
player, he answers simply: "Getting bored."
And why exactly is that? "When I get bored, I do stupid s---. When I
get bored, you see the A, B, C game. You see hide and seek. When I
get bored, you see the Q skirt, and I don't need to get bored to
where one of those moments happen and it reminds everybody That's
the Q we thought we would get. That's the Entertainment Q. That's
the Chaotic Q. That's the one we can't predict. I have to stay in a
state of being okay being bored, because when I get bored, stupid
s--- happens."
Talking to Q is anything but boring, like when he boasts that his
competitors should completely clear their calendars back home.
"This season here is going to be more than Christmas canceled. If
you got a wedding that's on the back of this season, you can cancel
it if you think you're going to win. If you got a date you're
planning when you get back home because you think you're going to
have a good time and you're going to win this one, you can cancel
your date. Ladies, you got a hair appointment? Cancel it. It's not
going to happen. I will literally target people for anything rCo
literally anything."
Don't believe him? Try this one on forrCa ahem, size.
"I saw Dee. Dee is nice. I want to work with Dee up until the point
to where I don't want to work with Dee. But I saw Dee's big toe.
Dee's big toe is bigger than all her other toes. And I'm thinking,
like, I'm a feet guy. I can't play Little Bitty Piggy with those!
You know what I mean?" (UhhhrCa not really.)
There is one player from a trio season that was decidedly unhappy to
see a fellow player joining her back in Fiji.
"My biggest weakness in this game is the fact that Kyle is here,"
says Kamilla. Not only does the fourth-place finisher insist she had
no idea her previous partner in crime was part of the cast, but she
says she would not have come had she known rCo especially since season >>>> 48 finished airing less than two weeks before players left for
season 50.
"I feel like that's something that Jeff should have disclosed to me
when he asked me if I wanted to come back for 50," Kamilla says.
"Because if I knew, I'd be like, 'Okay, let Kyle have this season.
Call me back for 51, 52, 53, whatever.' Because everyone just saw us
play together on 48. We talked about having a secret alliance pretty
much every episode. It's in their minds, it's very fresh. I don't
like it."
So what does she do about it? "I do what I do best, and that is
throw other people under the bus. I'll be like, 'Well, there's two
people from 49. We don't know what happened on their season!"
There's no doubt that if pregame chatter is to believed, back-to-
backers Savannah and Rizo rCo who had around 10 days home in between
being in Fiji for 49 and 50 rCo are in serious trouble.
"I can't believe I'm playing Survivor with someone who calls himself
the RizGod," says Charlie. And he's not the only one.
"I get a weird look from Rizo, but Rizo puts me off anyway," says
Cirie, shaking her head. "Anybody with a name like Rizo, you can't
be trusted. And definitely the devil you know is better than the
devil you don't know."
In fact, the only thing players do know about the R-I-Z-G-O-D RizGod
Baby is what they saw in the Survivor 49 promo that aired at the end
of the season 48 finale.
"I don't recall a time someone ever name-dropped themselves in the
preview,'" says Rizo of the sudden notoriety among his castmates. "I
did my whole shtick and I'm like, 'This is great!' But then I was
like, 'F---, all these people that are going to be on 50 are going
to know that I call myself this!'"
The fear of the season 49 unknown is an almost constant theme when
chatting with the new cast.
"I'm having flashbacks of Russell Hantz being at Ponderosa [for
Heroes vs. Villains], and we didn't know how he played," recalls
Coach. "I am literally to the point of wanting to write notes to
people saying, 'The 49 people have got to go.' They scare me because
they have a distinct advantage on us."
"I don't like it at all," concurs Kyle. "Savannah rCo she's locked the >>>> freak in, and she looks like she's ready to play the game. If I'm
being completely honest with you, it's very hard to build consensus
votes on these returning seasons. So if one of them are on my tribe,
this theme of 'we don't know anything about them' is exactly what I
would try to employ. Just get him out of here. I mean, we got JT
writing love letters to Russell Hantz because they don't know who he
is. Why let that happen again?"
It's not just the uncertainty that scares Dee, the widely considered
best player from the New Era. The former winner sees the 49ers as
already being in midseason form while the others are still working
themselves back into Survivor shape.
"They haven't had time to decompress in the real world, which means
they're still in game mode," Dee explains. "I know that from
firsthand experience, you need a whole year to decompress from game
mode. So I don't like 'em. I want them out." (It should be noted
that when this reporter was in Samoa for Heroes vs. Villains, the
contestant that players were most worried about before the game was
Parvati Shallow rCo and she still made it all 39 days.)
For her part, Savannah (described by multiple 50 players as a "mini-
Parvati") was originally planning to lie and tell her new castmates
she did not win season 49. Right until she was about to board the
plane for season 50.
"I literally got a message as I was about to board the plane that
was like, 'Hey, I talked to someone who is from the New Era, and
they know X, Y, and Z about your game. And it was at that point
where I'm like, 'Crap, I gotta pivot.'"
That pivot includes coming clean about her win and how she got
there. Plus, as she notes, "Rizo is here, and he is going to be a
fact checker" rCo something Russell Hantz never had to worry about.
But even beyond the mystery entities going back-to-back, there is
one player who could emerge as the ultimate X factor: A surprise
returnee coming straight from the Pineapple Suite.
Return of a Goliath
"I cannot believe that Mike White is out here playing Survivor
again," says Charlie, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
"That's just bonkers."
Mike was certainly famous the first time he played the game back in
2018, having written and starred in beloved films like Chuck & Buck
and School of Rock. But there is famous, and there is famous. And
with the writer-director three seasons into the cultural juggernaut
that is The White Lotus, why in the name of brotherly incest would
he want to go sleep out in the rain while starving himself for money
he does not even need? Call it a serious case of FOMO.
"I feel like it was an exclusive invite. I was like, 'Yeah, this is
a party that I feel like I don't want to miss.' Mike explains in his
trademark slow drawl. "Something about it being 50 felt like, 'Yeah,
this is epic. This is bigger than me. This is definitely cooler than
me. I am not going to be too cool for school for that. It just feels
iconic.'"
The opportunity to be cut off from civilization was also a big draw
for the Hollywood insider.
"I need to stop thinking about The White Lotus," he explains. "I
love it, but I also feel like it's a fire hose into my mouth of
feedback on the [season] coming up."
Plus, the HBO showrunner feels like he may take new inspiration from
his reality story into his scripted one.
"I want the next season [of The White Lotus] to be inspired. I want
it to really be great, and I think the only way it can be that is if
I really get a reset. I know it sounds totally insane, but Survivor
is so immersive, and it's this just thing where I can't really think
about something else. If I take a little vacation or whatever, I'm
going to be talking on the phone and thinking about the show the
whole time."
Once the timing lined up (location scouting for season 4 of The
White Lotus began in July, right after Survivor 50 wrapped), the
David vs Goliath runner-up was all in. But is everyone all in on
Mike White being here?
"I was very frustrated," Geneveive says of sharing a season with her
celebrity castmate. "Because if the odds of me going home early are
very high, the odds of him going home early are slim to none."
When asked why that is, Geneveive says the quiet part out loud:
"Because I think everyone wants a cameo on White Lotus. I
specifically did not want to watch it before coming out here because
I don't want to fall into the glow of Mike White. So yeah, I was
very frustrated to see that he was out here."
Would people already willing to put their physical, mental, and
emotional health on the line for the mere chance to be on network
television actually factor a potential HBO guest starring role into
their gameplay? That's like asking: Does Jeff Probst like orange hats? >>>>
And the potential for more Survivor to White Lotus crossover is very
real. Mike's practice of adding reality TV castmates to his shows
goes back further than most people realize. Long before he put six
David vs. Goliath players on The White Lotus, Mike handed out roles
to his fellow The Amazing Race castmates on his previous HBO series,
Enlightened.
So are tribemates going to be auditioning for their first acting job
in real time on the beaches of Fiji?
"Everyone's going to want a cameo on The White Lotus," sighs Aubry.
"I really hope people don't fawn so hard over him that he can't have
a Survivor experience. He's here to escape L.A. and the production
land, so just let him be and Survivor around. Give him some wine!"
But several players insist that game will trump fame.
"I'm sure there are people who are auditioning for The White Lotus
already," Savannah says. "But if I'm on the same tribe as Mike White
and he's making us lose challenges and go to Tribal Council, I do
not care what his name is. I do not care about what he's
accomplished or about the dollars that are attached to his name. I
will vote him out happily if it means that I can avoid Tribal Council." >>>>
Speaking of whichrCa
Endgame
It's evening number three of the game, and in mere moments the first
torch of Survivor 50 will be snuffed. Hovering over the proceedings
are several giant phoenix statues dotted across the imposing temple-
themed Tribal Council set. But there will be no rebirth in the game
via Redemption Island or the Edge of Extinction for whoever's fire
is about to be extinguished tonight.
Jeff Probst has called for the customary break in filming just prior
to voting to remind those who have been away from the game for a
while how the process will work. He thoroughly explains the
intricacies of the Shot in the Dark for those who have never played
with the New Era twist, demonstrates proper talking volume while
voting so others cannot hear you, and shows contestants exactly
where to stand if and when it is their turn to be snuffed.
Logistics completed, the host has one final off-camera message for
the all-stars sitting before him.
"I'm going to say what I've always said, which is, 'Sad to have
anybody voted out,'" Probst begins, making intense direct eye
contact. "I mean it, looking to every one of you in the eyes. Sad to
have any of you voted out."
And even sadder than usual.
"This season more than others is very special," Probst tells the
tribe. "I know how much it takes to get here. We all know what
sacrifices you all made, and all your loved ones and everything. I
also know without these stakes, who gives a f---? This is why
Survivor is interesting, is because it's life or death all the time.
So just know when I'm snuffing your torch, my heart?" The host
touches his chest. "But my head? It's the f---ing game you signed up
for, right?"
The tribe nods in the affirmative.
"All right," says Probst.
And then, the bleeding begins. And, for some, the bleeding could
signal the end for more than just this season. After all, it's hard
to imagine 55-year-old Mike White putting his career on hold again
to compete for a pot and a machete. Fifty-five-year-old Cirie
informs EW that win or lose, this is definitely her last time on the
island. Fifty-one-year-old Colby says the same.
"I know this is my last run at it," he says. "If I get a call in
five years, let's face it, the old body won't still be holding up in
five years. So I know this is truly my last run."
Of course, Survivor is all about change. New players, new twists,
new technology rCo like camera drones, which did not exist when the
series started filming, and have dramatically altered the look of
the show. In many ways, the difference between 2000 and 2026 jumps
off the screen if you go back and watch season 1, Survivor: Borneo.
Which is exactly what the man who first brought the program to
America did recently. And he came to a very different conclusion.
"Within the last year, I sat down and watched quite a few episodes
of season 1," says Mark Burnett, who remains an executive producer
on the program but has handed over all the day-to-day control to his
host/ showrunner. "And it just felt like I was there with those
dangerous snakes, those giant lizards, all the crazy creatures."
And what does he make of the evolution between then rCo when Probst
had to sit next to a giant truck of fake cash at Tribal Council rCo
and now?
"The technology has evolved to add some more scale and certain
things, I suppose," Burnett notes. "And the game has changed. But
think about what hasn't changed at all. If you're talking about the
visual beauty, I remember when I was first pitching it, I said I
wanted to allow moments like if the rain is dropping off the leaves
into a puddle, or the spider in the spider's web rCo all these sort of >>>> moments, to let it breathe. And that will always remain that way."
And it's not just the look, but the original feel of the show that
has endured.
"It's a vicarious adventure travel experience," Burnett says. "Like
Swiss Family Robinson, or classic books like Lord of the Flies. I
remember when I was first thinking about Survivor, before I even
sold it, I thought to myself: Pretend you're on a plane right now,
and this plane goes down and there's 16 or 20 people that survived
the entire plane crash. There's a CEO billionaire, and that person
over there is a waitress. But who's got more value on the island?
Because you haven't got any money anyway. You went to Princeton, but
can you make a fire? So the complete value proposition of society is
different on the island. That core value is really important."
But how long can that core value continue? With Survivor now
reaching the milestone 50th season, there is naturally the question
of how many more milestones remain for America's first hit reality
competition program.
"I don't know that everyone loves it, but I do sometimes bring up
season 60," says Van Wagenen."
A lot of the longevity question depends on how much longer Probst rCo >>>> who says he remains in for as long as he remains excited and engaged
rCo wants to do it. And he is currently very engaged.
"I love where the show is," the host says. "I love our crew. I love
the type of people that are applying."
Burnett credits old seasons showing up on streamers like Netflix
during the COVID-19 lockdowns with creating the next generation of
Survivor fans. pup"Ten years ago, if you asked me how long this show
could go, I'd be like 'I don't know, a couple more years.' I wasn't
sure. But now, I wouldn't ever predict its end."
Okay, but how long can the reality TV puppet master convince his
face of the franchise to stick around with it? Burnett pauses,
considers the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.
"I think Jeff's got another 25 years in him," he says in such a way
that it's hard to tell if the man is kidding. And then Burnett goes
and says it out loud, likely for the first time ever. "Season 100."
Source: https://ew.com/survivor-50-exclusive-all-access-first-look-
cover-story-11879057
There is definitely a lot of good stuff here, and I'm a little
surprised CBS allowed Dalton to disclose so much.-a To-a your point
about no first day boot, I think that might have been something I
would have preferred not to be spoiled about.-a If they are not going
to do oddball non-TC eliminations, then I'll stick with my guess that
both losing teams will go to TC and we'll have two elims for most of
the pre-merge.
Don't forget the premiere is three-hours long. We'll probably get two
boots that night. I fear most of the premiere is going to be a lot of
fluff. It'll start off with a 30 minute intro of the players, followed
by another 30+ minutes of celeb promos. I fully expect to see MrBeast
promoting his empire for at least 10 minutes.
The article confirms a number of things we've speculated about,
including the extent to which players may suck up to Mike White
hoping to be cast in White Lotus, and the fact that Jeff wanted
"joyful" players who came across as enjoying the game, which explains
why people like Abi Maria were rejected.-a It also confirms that
Savannah apparently did indeed reveal she had won S49, in part
because she couldn't control what Rizo might say but also because
people in contact with S49 players apparently already told her they
knew she won.-a So much for NDA agreements,-a I also liked the
comparison of Savannah to Parvati, though for me it's more of a
physical resemblance than that their games are that similar.
Gen seems concerned about Mike White. Watch her end up on something he
produces! Her story about how they all saw each other in LA during the
producer meeting was interesting. That means they got to start
strategizing about the game knowing who and how many would be playing
even before they left for Fiji. I wonder just how well they are kept
apart on the flight to Fiji?
The reference to S60 is interesting because I hadn't even been
thinking about that, and I realize that's now only five years in the
future.-a-a I wonder if they will do another Winners at War with
winners only from the New Era?
MB thinks Jeff has another 25 years in him. I'm more interested in
what S100 will be assuming I live that long. S60 is too soon for
another Winners at War. S60 will probably be a normal season like S30
was. By the S60s Boston Rob's two oldest girls should be old enough to
play. I can see Jeff and Boston Rob both wanting to cash in on that.
MB must not be good at math. In 25 years Jeff will be pushing 90 and, assuming he lives that long, not too many 90 year olds are hosting
reality shows on desert islands.-a For the record, I'll actually be 100
when and if S100 appears, so I'm not really too concerned about it.
I'm not sure there will be a lot of interest in Rob's kids doing the
show.-a It's worth noting that Sandra's daughter Nina Twine never
appeared on US Survivor but has appeared twice on Australian Survivor,
once with her mom.-a She did apply to appear on US Survivor (David vs. Goliath) but was rejected and was never called back for a subsequent season.-a Thing is, Nina turned out to be a really good player, even
better than her mom in some ways, so the fact that she was never
accepted for the US show tells me the show is not interested in bringing
on kids of iconic players.
I also think in general that Sandra and Boston Rob have been over-
exposed on the franchise, and I really think the show wants to focus on younger players going forward.
On 1/9/2026 2:39 PM, Rick wrote:
On 1/9/2026 3:45 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
On 1/9/2026 12:35 PM, Rick wrote:
On 1/7/2026 11:25 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
One of the biggest surprises of this article is that MB was in Fiji >>>>> for at least the pregame of S50. And pregame was nearly a week
long! There's a ton of good stuff in this article including Dalton
letting us know that the first IC isn't until Day 3 and the first
TC is that night. I thought for sure people would be booted on Day 1. >>>>> ________________________________________________________________________ >>>>>
On the beach for Survivor 50: An exclusive, all-access first look
at the biggest season ever
EW joined players, producers, and Jeff Probst in Fiji to get the
inside scoop on the anniversary installment.
By Dalton Ross
January 7, 2026 12:00 p.m. ET
Jeff Probst can't see anything. The host and showrunner of the most >>>>> influential reality competition show in television history is
moments away from kicking off the once-unthinkable anniversary
season of Survivor 50, yet he can't even lift his head up to
welcome the returning all-stars.
A nasty rain and heavy wind combo platter on this June morning is
smacking him right in the face as he assumes his starting position
next to a tray of buffs on the sandy Fijian shores of Monuriki
island, the same location where Tom Hanks once became BFFs with a
volleyball in Cast Away. And the weather is not just an issue for
the master of ceremonies. Even as the contestants arrive to begin
the season, an important rowing portion of today's marooning
challenge remains up in the air due to tumultuous swells.
"Holy s---!" Probst exclaims as he literally weathers the storm and >>>>> tries to shelter his face with the trademark Survivor baseball cap
seemingly permanently affixed to his head. "Wow!"
The host removes the hat to adjust the tightness in the back before >>>>> returning it atop his well-coiffed dome. Nope, not good enough.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. He adjusts the lid
again and prays for the best. Cameras begin rolling and Probst
officially kicks off Survivor 50: "Bring in the barge!"
Video placeholder image
Off in the distance, a massive silver ship rCo with two Survivor 50 >>>>> flags flapping in the ample breeze and a giant 50 logo square in
the middle rCo slowly makes its way to shore, exit ramp already
descended. The wind slightly abating, Probst stands on his mark and >>>>> admires the approaching vessel and its 24 well-known passengers.
"Awesome," he says to himself while clapping four times. "A
beautiful sight."
One by one, legends of the game step off the ramp, onto the beach,
and up towards the man that has greeted them once, twice, three,
and sometimes even four times before. Charlie walks up first,
followed by Stephenie, then Jenna, Dee, and Savannah. A mix of Old
Era icons and New Era upstarts ready to do battle on the ultimate
stage. Colby stands next to Coach rCo the two combatants from a
furious Day 1 challenge exactly 30 seasons ago. Angelina rubs
elbows with Q, a commotion corner if ever there was one. "Black
Widow" Cirie is stationed next to "Honor and Integrity" Joe rCo a
symbolic yin and yang to the entire franchise ethos.
As all 24 all-stars line up single file, their host bellows out
those magical words: "WelcomerCa to Survivor 50!"
Cheers explode alongside arms raised in air, fist pumps, rabid
applause, and cries of "Wooooooooo!" (They're either giving a
coordinated shout-out to the Survivor: Cagayan runner-up or are
super excited to be there. Possibly both.)
And so begins the battle for ultimate Survivor bragging rights on
the franchise's biggest season yet (which will premiere Feb. 25 on
CBS). And what was going through Jeff Probst's mind as all the
history and pageantry of 50 seasons culminated in this epic moment
that nobody could have predicted 25 years ago?
"Honestly? I hope my hat doesn't fly off," the host recalls two
days later back at a production base camp reception area that also
doubles as space for everything from crew yoga to CPR training.
But, while Probst was locked in on his hosting duties as the
contestants reached the shore, he did allow himself one brief
moment of reflection.
"Watching that barge come inrCa. It took a while, so I was looking at >>>>> it, and I was looking at the logo, and I was thinking, Man, we did
it. We got to 50. We built a show that's lasted so long, we are on
our 50th iteration of it. And that was cool."
Probst is one of only four people who have been working day-to-day
on Survivor for all 50 seasons, dating back to the year 2000.
Challenge producer John Kirhoffer is another.
"Of course, when you're celebrating a milestone like 50, you think
back to season 1," says the man who has put every single Survivor
challenge on the screen. "And I remember so clearly being on the
boat, leaving Pulau Tiga [after season 1] thinking, Oh, please God, >>>>> just one more. Let me do one more of these. This is such a cool
group and this is such a cool show. I just want to do one more. I'd >>>>> never been on a show that went multiple seasons. I kept getting on
things that get canceled or just end. So this has been the craziest." >>>>>
If Probst and Kirhoffer are thankful to still be around for season
50, it's nothing compared to the 24 players selected to return for
the landmark season rCo and that was very much by design.
"In our casting, we wanted people who were joyful," explains
executive producer Matt Van Wagenen, who started on the show back
on season 14. "We've had some seasons in the past where some
players play some pretty dark, brooding games. This time, we wanted >>>>> a joyful celebration and wanted joyful people to celebrate with us." >>>>>
One of the easiest ways to find people who truly wanted to play was >>>>> to go against the reality TV grain and limit the exorbitant
appearance fees that have become commonplace on shows like The
Traitors, Deal or No Deal Island, and House of Villains.
While even Survivor offered some premium guarantees for certain
players to return for season 40's Winners at War, this time, the
show went back to its original All-Stars payment model from season
8, with the first person voted out receiving $25,000, plus a
$10,000 reunion show fee. (The reunion payment has continued even
in the reunion-less New Era. although the live event could very
well return for season 50, if fans voted the show back onto rCo or, >>>>> in this case, off rCo the island as one of the 11 categories viewers >>>>> could weigh in on as part of the "In the Hands of the Fans" campaign.) >>>>>
"With this season, there was not going to be any big appearance
fees," Probst says. "The prize money is slightly higher than
normal, and that's it. We were very clear when we called each
player: 'These are non-negotiable terms. You're going to be out
here for 26 days and here's the money. This isn't a leverage
situation. If the prize money is what you're here for, then maybe
50 is not for you. We want people who want to be here to be a part
of 50.'"
Of course, fans rCo and naturally, many disappointed former players rCo >>>>> immediately found nits to pick with the final list.
"I know we took some flack on some of our choices," Van Wagenen
acknowledges. "We were never going make all the fans happy."
While some high-profile absentee fan favorites like Jerri Manthey
and Carolyn Wiger publicly expressed their dismay over being passed >>>>> over, there were others who simply couldn't or wouldn't make the trip. >>>>>
"The group we put together for 50 will please some people and upset >>>>> other people," Probst concedes. "There's no way to satisfy
everyone. I do remind the fans: You do have to trust us a little
bit that we know who wanted to play and who didn't want to play. We >>>>> know who wished they could play, but the scheduling didn't work
out. There were a lot of things going on behind the scenes."
"There were people who I would love to have seen play who said no," >>>>> adds Van Wagenen. "I probably asked John Cochran to play about 15
times, and he turned me down every time. So we couldn't get
everyone we wanted, and we couldn't fit in everyone who wanted to
be in there. So that's a tough position to be in."
As for complaints that the list of players contains too many
contestants from recent seasons, with 11 of the 24 returnees being
from the five most recent installments, that actually closely
mirrors what the franchise has done in the past with all-star
seasons like Heroes vs Villains, Cambodia, and Game Changers, which >>>>> were heavily loaded with recent competitors.
Van Wagenen also notes another reason for the recency bias: "I
think part of it is there's an age thing. It's got to be the oldest >>>>> cast we've ever had. So we wanted some younger players as well."
The game before the game
Just because the players picked to represent season 50 are joyful
and seem almost programmed to work in the word "fun" while talking
to Entertainment Weekly out in Fiji just days before the marooning, >>>>> that does not mean there is an absence of game face. In fact, some
folks began playing their season 50 game well before they got the
official invite to return.
"The day after I lost South Pacific, I started playing this game,"
says Benjamin Wade (a.k.a. Coach, a.k.a. the Dragonslayer). "In the >>>>> chance that I was going to come back here, every single interview
I've ever given, I've sandbagged it, saying 'I can't win this game' >>>>> while at the same time thinking about the mistakes that I made and
how I could play this game differently. I've never stopped playing." >>>>>
That has included venturing out of his zen den to make the social
rounds.
"I don't like most people. I don't like Boston Rob and any of these >>>>> people where this has become their identity. Their whole identity
is caught up in this bulls---. So I don't like most people, but I
talk to all of them because I know that it's going to give me a
foothold."
Coach is not the only one who played the long con.
Kamilla Karthigesu discloses that she and Joe Hunter actually
worked very closely together during Survivor 48 but, "I
intentionally didn't talk about it in my exit press because I had a >>>>> feeling Joe would be here, and I wanted to see if we could play
that up that Joe hates me."
But leave it to the mad professor to pull off the biggest ruse of
them all.
"Six weeks ago, we had a baby," David vs. Goliath fan favorite
Christian Hubicki reveals. "His name is Michael."
Even more amazing than the new bundle of joy is the fact that the
robotics educator rCo who is otherwise very active on social media rCo >>>>> has kept the child's existence completely classified, not posting
or telling anyone about the pregnancy or birth.
"He's my secret weapon," says Christian, who was debating whether
to reveal the baby's existence should he make it all the way to
final Tribal Council. "These people don't know I have a child.
Everyone knows that Angelina has these two beautiful children she
loves dearly and will do anything for. People think I'm a goofy
robotics professor who can't open up bottles in front of Colby."
If you really want to see Survivor 50 contestants fumble around
awkwardly, watch them try to squirm out of answering the
uncomfortable question of how much pregaming they did with other
competitors. Players making off-island alliances with other
potential returnees before leaving for Fiji is strictly forbidden.
It's also highly unenforceable. Producers and players both know it
happens, but most don't like to actually admit to doing it.
"I don't talk about that," four-timer Aubry Bracco says while
avoiding eye contact. "We're not supposed to do that."
What about you, Genevieve Mushaluk? "I can honestly tell you on my
life I have not reached out to a single player that is here,rCY says >>>>> season 47's wily lawyer. And did anybody reach out to you? "I am
not saying people have not spoken to me."
How about Chrissy Hofbeck? "Oh, I did not pregame at all," the
Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers runner-up says in mock exaggerated
tones while staring at the ground.
Cut to David vs. Goliath's Angelina Keeley: "I talked to Chrissy a
lot! I'll be honest about that. We met six years ago, totally hit
it off. It was right after Thanksgiving and she was like, 'I wanted >>>>> to wait till the new year, but I didn't want to miss my
opportunity. I really want to play with you and go deep and have a
secret alliance that no one knows about.' And I said, 'I love it!'"
Pinpointing who has actually made alliances with whom can often
feel like connecting threads on a giant FBI bulletin board, as
several contestants rCo like season 45 winner Dee Valladares, who
cops to speaking with Emily Flippen, Charlie Davis, and Kyle Fraser >>>>> rCo admit to chatting with a small, select group of individuals.
But there can be downsides to working the proverbial room as well.
The most popular Survivor player to never win, Cirie Fields, claims >>>>> she does not do as much pregaming as others because "I got ears to
the ground, even though I don't go out. So I don't have to be out
there. I have soldiers, and they bring a lot of information, even
information about some of my so-called allies."
One alleged ally in particular is Cirie's former Heroes vs.
Villains, Snake in the Grass, and Traitors castmate, Stephenie
LaGrossa Kendrick.
"Word on the street is that Stephenie's a little worried about me," >>>>> Cirie explains. "She was saying verbatim that 'Cirie is my
kryptonite in these games.' And I'm like, 'What the f---? I'm
actually your closest ally. I don't know why you don't see it that
way.' I heard it from several different people that 'Stephenie's
out to get you.' I'm like, 'Why, my dog? Damn, what happened?' We
fell out. I thought we was cool.'"
"Cirie's f---ing deadly," Stephenie tells EW on the same day. "My
goal is to use her as long as I can, but I've got to get rid of her >>>>> before she has a chance to get rid of me."
That's not the only drama.
"I heard Colby told someone 'That Angelina girl seems chaotic,'"
says, yes, Angelina. "First of all, we don't refer to women in 2025 >>>>> as that. Second of all, okay, yeah, my edit was a bit chaotic, sorCa >>>>> fair. But in real life, I'm a lot more reasonable. He'll find out
soon enough."
But does any of the off-island pregaming actually work on the
island? Players who have been through it before have their doubts.
"There was so much of that happening for Australian Survivor," says >>>>> Cirie, who ended up in fourth place on the recently aired
international edition. "Not one ounce of it worked out. The people
that were supposed to be aligned to doing this and that were voted
out so far before they even got to the merge that there was nothing >>>>> to be done."
"I was there for the very first iteration of bringing people back," >>>>> says Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, from season 1 and Survivor: All-Stars.
She notes that making pregame alliances can backfire, in that
people rCo and potential future jury members rCo take things way more >>>>> personally when pre-existing promises are made among friendsrCa and >>>>> then broken. "When you took someone down, it wasn't like, 'Oh dude, >>>>> you got me.' It was a murder. It was a murder and there was blood
on your hands and people hated you. There are relationships that
have never been healed from All-Stars."
First (and worst) impressions
If the game of Survivor 50 began back in the United States (and
Winnipeg. We see you, Genevieve), it truly kicked into high gear
once the contestants arrived in Fiji for an almost weeklong pregame >>>>> filled with interviews; photo shoots; marketing and social media
tasks; and, wellrCa a lot of sitting around. But even that can be
strategic, as in- person impressions that can completely alter the
game are made. Rick Devens assumed an entirely new identity for his >>>>> stay at Ponderosa, where contestants live both before the game and
after they are voted off. Instead of "Devens," as he was known on
Edge of Extinction, the former newscaster transformed into zany
Uncle Rick, courtesy of a carefully choreographed wardrobe.
"Every shirt I have is strategic to play into the fact that I'm
just a goofball out here and not much of a threat," Rick says while >>>>> wearing a "Superdad" T-shirt. "I showed up with a Lion King shirt,
and I have a Dead Coconut Club shirt from Halloween Horror Nights,
and a Hawaiian vacation shirt. I also have these bright-pink gecko
shorts that I wear around. I go out of my way to be fascinated with >>>>> the birds and geckos, with this dumb look on my face. Anything I
can do to put that in their head that, 'Oh my God, this is like my
Uncle Rick, I'm into it!'"
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Not everyone is into it.
"Rick is rubbing me the wrong way," says Dee. "He's smirking at
everybody, and it's just like, 'Dude, it's too much.' He's trying
too hard, and he can't contain his emotions. I think he's going to
go out swinging too hard too soon and he's going to be out."
Proving herself the ultimate Goldilocks contestant, Dee also
worries in the opposite direction. "I'm wary of Aubry. I can't read >>>>> her. You know how Rick is too excited? Aubry is the opposite. She's >>>>> walking around with her head down and just not making eye contact
with anyone. So Rick is making too much eye contact and Aubry's not >>>>> making enough."
Christian believes one of his former David vs. Goliath tribemates
has been coming on too strong. "Angelina is making goo-goo eyes at
every person she passes by around here. I don't think the charm is
working on people, and I think the way that she is acquitting
herself around Ponderosa, it could put her to be an easy pickoff."
(He also notes that "I'm in adjoining rooms with Angelina, which is >>>>> hilarious. She asked the hotel staff to murder all the hornets in
her room.")
Angelina has already made Survivor 49 champ Savannah Louie's hit
list. "She laughs a lot and then will make eye contact with
different people," the Survivor 49 winner notes. "She made eye
contact with Q, and I saw them laughing about something on the boat >>>>> yesterday. I don't even know what it was, but I'm like, 'If you're
laughing and you're not looking at me, you got to go.'"
Ponderosa pregame also turned a potential Savannah ally into an
adversary. "Initially, when I heard Jonathan [Young] was on this
cast, I'm like, 'I need to be on the same tribe as Jonathan. He's
so strong. He's literally going to carry me to merge," she reveals
of the season 42 challenge beast. "But the more I spend time with
this guy, the more I'm like: We cannot be on the same tribe. He is
just someone who's very loud. He likes to hear himself talk. We're
in the car on the way to the boat dock today rCo it's like 4:30 in
the morning rCo and there's the radio playing and Jonathan starts
singing along, and I'm like, 'Why are you singing at 4:30 in the
morning? This is unnecessary. You don't need to be doing that.' So
that annoyed me."
At least she knew who Jonathan was. "I didn't even know which one
was Jenna Lewis," Coach admits. "I thought that she was Genevieve!
I never watched Genevieve play and I don't know Jenna Lewis, so I
saw her and I was just like, 'Oh, so that's what Genevieve looks
like.' And then one day I saw her bag and it said Jenna. I'm just
like, you moron!'
Perhaps not surprisingly, the player making the biggest pregame
impression has been the Dragonslayer himself. It seems everybody
has a story regarding Coach, and they are universally hilarious.
"Before we come out to Fiji, we get sequestered at a hotel in Los
Angeles," explains (the real) Genevieve. "There's a producer
meeting where no one can speak, but this is the first time you lay
eyes on who is in the zoo. And Coach was one of the last people to
come in. He comes in this fully lit conference room with his
ponytail, sunglasses on, chest puffed out, walking up the aisle
from the back of the room to take a seat at the front. Picture the
most Top Gun diva-ish bride walking down the aisle. That was the
vibe, and I was just like, 'Wow, how is there not a TV screen
between me and this man? This is cool as hell!'"
Uncle Rick recounts the same story. "Coach comes walking in with
sunglasses on looking like the Terminator. Just walks straight by
all of us to the front row and sits down and I'm just like, This is >>>>> the dude! This is the guy I dreamed of!"
Season 49 fourth place finisher Rizo Velovic remembers the moment
he was first slayed. "I'm going through LAX and Coach is just
randomly doing Tai Chi and I'm like, Dude, he's actually like this! >>>>> I thought it was a joke. RizGod is a joke. He's actuallyrCa I don't >>>>> know what the word is. He's insane. He's crazy. What you see is
actually what you get with him. It's f---ing unreal!"
And then there is the tent story. During the pregame portion of the >>>>> game, contestants will often be held in tents with no talking for
hours on end as they get taken out one at a time for an interview
or photo shoot. It can get hot. And it can definitely get tedious.
"I remember this really scared me a little bit," says Christian. "I >>>>> wanted to get out of the tent, but Coach had his feet up right in
front of the entire entrance. I go up to get out, and he doesn't
budge a millimeter. I'm like, Oh my God. But then, five minutes
later, he started to go, 'I can't take it anymore! If I had
anxiety, I would run out of this tent right now! I'd run off into
the forest right now!'"
"Coach was losing his mind the first day," Kamilla concurs. "He was >>>>> asking one of the handlers, 'Has anyone ever ran out of the tents
because they lost their mind?' And she's like, 'No.' And he turned
to me and is like, 'I'm about to do it.' I'm like, What the f--- is >>>>> going on, Coach?"
Coach brings up Tentgate himself to EW. "This sh--- here wouldn't
have flown with some of the old schoolers. They would've been like, >>>>> 'F--- this. We're talking.' I said out loud to the handler, 'Has
anybody ever just gone f---ing crazy and just run out of the tent?' >>>>> We were there for 11 or 12 hours. There were times when we were on
seasons and me and Boston Rob and Tyson, we'd be like, 'F--- that.
Open the door. We got to go pee. This is bulls---!'"
As unpredictable and volatile as Coach can be, he's easily the name >>>>> that comes up the most when contestants are asked who they wanted
to play Survivor 50 with. Call it the Cult of Coach.
"What if I can be the mini-Dragonslayer next to the big
Dragonslayer and we can go and slay all the dragons together?" asks >>>>> Kamilla.
Even the usually mild-mannered Geneveive wants to buy whatever
Coach is selling. "It is enthralling to see someone who appears to
just be so comfortable in their own skin doing and saying whatever
the hell they want at any given moment, social norms be damned."
Plus, the ponytailed wonder has a tender side.
"The longer I've seen him around at Ponderosa and pregame, the more >>>>> I realized Coach seems like he has a really big heart," says
Savannah. "He let me go ahead of him and get the very last chicken
curry last night, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, you didn't have to do
that.' He had no chicken curry when I got up there."
Slaying dragons and hearts simultaneously.
Getting the bands back together
Jeff Probst is snapping his fingers. It's Day 3 of Survivor 50 and
the host is in position waiting for the all-clear signal to bring
the players in for their first immunity challenge rCo a classic
Survivor obstacle course concluding with a 50-piece puzzle rCo that >>>>> will send one team to Tribal Council later that evening.
It's a beautiful sunny morning, with no sign of the rain and wind
from 48 hours prior.
"Rolling, quiet please!" barks out senior producer Riley Ranftle to >>>>> the crew.
A few moments of silence and then director David Dryden (with the
show since season 2) says calmly, "Over to Jeff."
This leads to the host's familiar "Come on in!" that cues the
players to begin their entrance. They walk in, one tribe at a time, >>>>> finding their proper positions and filling the camera-line gaps
between each other, as these reality TV veterans are so well
trained to do. Once they are all situated, Probst immediately goes
to his oldest foil.
"Colby, out of the gate, I see intensity on your face. Everybody
else is smiling and you are in the locker room, ready to go."
The response from the Survivor: The Australian Outback fan favorite >>>>> is curt and to the point. "I'm having fun. We're good."
Probst can't help but laugh at the intense feeling of d|-j|a vu
washing over him.
"Oh my God! We're back to 15 years ago. I asked Colby a simple
question and the response I get is, 'We're good. Carry on, Probst.'" >>>>>
"Sorry. No, I should smile," responds Colby. "I'm having fun.
That's an honest answer."
"There's no sorrys," Probst counters. "This is the banter of 50.
When you've known each other this long, this is what makes it so fun." >>>>>
That back-and-forth is a callback to the pair mixing it up on
Heroes vs. Villains 30 seasons ago, when Colby refused a free piece >>>>> of pre- challenge chocolate saying "Don't need it, let's go" rCo
leading the host to respond, "I got the message, brother. We'll go
when I'm ready."
But the history between Probst and Colby is nothing compared to the >>>>> connections between some of the players on the cast rCo connections >>>>> that could make or break games. With apologies to both Schoolhouse
Rock and De Le Soul, three is definitely the magic number when it
comes to Survivor 50.
There are three seasons that have three players each on Survivor
50: David vs. Goliath's Angelina, Christian, and Mike White; season >>>>> 46's Charlie, Q Burdette, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin; and season 48's >>>>> Kamilla, Kyle, and Joe. And there are also three people (Chrissy,
Genevieve, and Jonathan) who have not played with any of their new
castmates, three former winners (Dee, Kyle, and Savannah), and even >>>>> three former On Fire With Jeff Probst podcast cohosts (Rick, Dee,
and Charlie).
But some trios seem more willing and natural to work with each
other than others. Correctly or not, the David vs. Goliath alums
are viewed as super tight rCo especially after Mike gave Angelina and >>>>> Christian cameos on his Emmy-winning series The White Lotus.
"We're going to have to mitigate it," Angelina concedes of the
obvious connection. "If we have to sacrifice Christian, we gotta
sacrifice Christian. Of the three of us, I'm with Mike. But we want >>>>> to keep Christian as long as possible."
Charlie makes the case that when it comes to the season 46ers, "As
far as trios go, we are probably the least bit a monolith. I
blindsided Tiffany, I blindsided Q, Q tried to blindside me.
Neither of them voted for me to win the game. There was a lot of
bad blood." (You didn't actually think he was getting through this
story without a T- Swift reference, did you?)
While it's possible others will not see that throuple as a threat,
there is no denying Q's reputation for utter chaos makes a lot of
players very nervous entering the game. ("I'm really wary of Q,"
notes five-time player and challenge beast Ozzy Lusth. "He really
tried to run his season.")
Even Q himself is hoping to see a less volatile version of Q the
second time around. When asked about his biggest weakness as a
player, he answers simply: "Getting bored."
And why exactly is that? "When I get bored, I do stupid s---. When
I get bored, you see the A, B, C game. You see hide and seek. When
I get bored, you see the Q skirt, and I don't need to get bored to
where one of those moments happen and it reminds everybody That's
the Q we thought we would get. That's the Entertainment Q. That's
the Chaotic Q. That's the one we can't predict. I have to stay in a >>>>> state of being okay being bored, because when I get bored, stupid
s--- happens."
Talking to Q is anything but boring, like when he boasts that his
competitors should completely clear their calendars back home.
"This season here is going to be more than Christmas canceled. If
you got a wedding that's on the back of this season, you can cancel >>>>> it if you think you're going to win. If you got a date you're
planning when you get back home because you think you're going to
have a good time and you're going to win this one, you can cancel
your date. Ladies, you got a hair appointment? Cancel it. It's not
going to happen. I will literally target people for anything rCo
literally anything."
Don't believe him? Try this one on forrCa ahem, size.
"I saw Dee. Dee is nice. I want to work with Dee up until the point >>>>> to where I don't want to work with Dee. But I saw Dee's big toe.
Dee's big toe is bigger than all her other toes. And I'm thinking,
like, I'm a feet guy. I can't play Little Bitty Piggy with those!
You know what I mean?" (UhhhrCa not really.)
There is one player from a trio season that was decidedly unhappy
to see a fellow player joining her back in Fiji.
"My biggest weakness in this game is the fact that Kyle is here,"
says Kamilla. Not only does the fourth-place finisher insist she
had no idea her previous partner in crime was part of the cast, but >>>>> she says she would not have come had she known rCo especially since >>>>> season 48 finished airing less than two weeks before players left
for season 50.
"I feel like that's something that Jeff should have disclosed to me >>>>> when he asked me if I wanted to come back for 50," Kamilla says.
"Because if I knew, I'd be like, 'Okay, let Kyle have this season.
Call me back for 51, 52, 53, whatever.' Because everyone just saw
us play together on 48. We talked about having a secret alliance
pretty much every episode. It's in their minds, it's very fresh. I
don't like it."
So what does she do about it? "I do what I do best, and that is
throw other people under the bus. I'll be like, 'Well, there's two
people from 49. We don't know what happened on their season!"
There's no doubt that if pregame chatter is to believed, back-to-
backers Savannah and Rizo rCo who had around 10 days home in between >>>>> being in Fiji for 49 and 50 rCo are in serious trouble.
"I can't believe I'm playing Survivor with someone who calls
himself the RizGod," says Charlie. And he's not the only one.
"I get a weird look from Rizo, but Rizo puts me off anyway," says
Cirie, shaking her head. "Anybody with a name like Rizo, you can't
be trusted. And definitely the devil you know is better than the
devil you don't know."
In fact, the only thing players do know about the R-I-Z-G-O-D
RizGod Baby is what they saw in the Survivor 49 promo that aired at >>>>> the end of the season 48 finale.
"I don't recall a time someone ever name-dropped themselves in the
preview,'" says Rizo of the sudden notoriety among his castmates.
"I did my whole shtick and I'm like, 'This is great!' But then I
was like, 'F---, all these people that are going to be on 50 are
going to know that I call myself this!'"
The fear of the season 49 unknown is an almost constant theme when
chatting with the new cast.
"I'm having flashbacks of Russell Hantz being at Ponderosa [for
Heroes vs. Villains], and we didn't know how he played," recalls
Coach. "I am literally to the point of wanting to write notes to
people saying, 'The 49 people have got to go.' They scare me
because they have a distinct advantage on us."
"I don't like it at all," concurs Kyle. "Savannah rCo she's locked
the freak in, and she looks like she's ready to play the game. If
I'm being completely honest with you, it's very hard to build
consensus votes on these returning seasons. So if one of them are
on my tribe, this theme of 'we don't know anything about them' is
exactly what I would try to employ. Just get him out of here. I
mean, we got JT writing love letters to Russell Hantz because they
don't know who he is. Why let that happen again?"
It's not just the uncertainty that scares Dee, the widely
considered best player from the New Era. The former winner sees the >>>>> 49ers as already being in midseason form while the others are still >>>>> working themselves back into Survivor shape.
"They haven't had time to decompress in the real world, which means >>>>> they're still in game mode," Dee explains. "I know that from
firsthand experience, you need a whole year to decompress from game >>>>> mode. So I don't like 'em. I want them out." (It should be noted
that when this reporter was in Samoa for Heroes vs. Villains, the
contestant that players were most worried about before the game was >>>>> Parvati Shallow rCo and she still made it all 39 days.)
For her part, Savannah (described by multiple 50 players as a
"mini- Parvati") was originally planning to lie and tell her new
castmates she did not win season 49. Right until she was about to
board the plane for season 50.
"I literally got a message as I was about to board the plane that
was like, 'Hey, I talked to someone who is from the New Era, and
they know X, Y, and Z about your game. And it was at that point
where I'm like, 'Crap, I gotta pivot.'"
That pivot includes coming clean about her win and how she got
there. Plus, as she notes, "Rizo is here, and he is going to be a
fact checker" rCo something Russell Hantz never had to worry about.
But even beyond the mystery entities going back-to-back, there is
one player who could emerge as the ultimate X factor: A surprise
returnee coming straight from the Pineapple Suite.
Return of a Goliath
"I cannot believe that Mike White is out here playing Survivor
again," says Charlie, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
"That's just bonkers."
Mike was certainly famous the first time he played the game back in >>>>> 2018, having written and starred in beloved films like Chuck & Buck >>>>> and School of Rock. But there is famous, and there is famous. And
with the writer-director three seasons into the cultural juggernaut >>>>> that is The White Lotus, why in the name of brotherly incest would
he want to go sleep out in the rain while starving himself for
money he does not even need? Call it a serious case of FOMO.
"I feel like it was an exclusive invite. I was like, 'Yeah, this is >>>>> a party that I feel like I don't want to miss.' Mike explains in
his trademark slow drawl. "Something about it being 50 felt like,
'Yeah, this is epic. This is bigger than me. This is definitely
cooler than me. I am not going to be too cool for school for that.
It just feels iconic.'"
The opportunity to be cut off from civilization was also a big draw >>>>> for the Hollywood insider.
"I need to stop thinking about The White Lotus," he explains. "I
love it, but I also feel like it's a fire hose into my mouth of
feedback on the [season] coming up."
Plus, the HBO showrunner feels like he may take new inspiration
from his reality story into his scripted one.
"I want the next season [of The White Lotus] to be inspired. I want >>>>> it to really be great, and I think the only way it can be that is
if I really get a reset. I know it sounds totally insane, but
Survivor is so immersive, and it's this just thing where I can't
really think about something else. If I take a little vacation or
whatever, I'm going to be talking on the phone and thinking about
the show the whole time."
Once the timing lined up (location scouting for season 4 of The
White Lotus began in July, right after Survivor 50 wrapped), the
David vs Goliath runner-up was all in. But is everyone all in on
Mike White being here?
"I was very frustrated," Geneveive says of sharing a season with
her celebrity castmate. "Because if the odds of me going home early >>>>> are very high, the odds of him going home early are slim to none."
When asked why that is, Geneveive says the quiet part out loud:
"Because I think everyone wants a cameo on White Lotus. I
specifically did not want to watch it before coming out here
because I don't want to fall into the glow of Mike White. So yeah,
I was very frustrated to see that he was out here."
Would people already willing to put their physical, mental, and
emotional health on the line for the mere chance to be on network
television actually factor a potential HBO guest starring role into >>>>> their gameplay? That's like asking: Does Jeff Probst like orange hats? >>>>>
And the potential for more Survivor to White Lotus crossover is
very real. Mike's practice of adding reality TV castmates to his
shows goes back further than most people realize. Long before he
put six David vs. Goliath players on The White Lotus, Mike handed
out roles to his fellow The Amazing Race castmates on his previous
HBO series, Enlightened.
So are tribemates going to be auditioning for their first acting
job in real time on the beaches of Fiji?
"Everyone's going to want a cameo on The White Lotus," sighs Aubry. >>>>> "I really hope people don't fawn so hard over him that he can't
have a Survivor experience. He's here to escape L.A. and the
production land, so just let him be and Survivor around. Give him
some wine!"
But several players insist that game will trump fame.
"I'm sure there are people who are auditioning for The White Lotus
already," Savannah says. "But if I'm on the same tribe as Mike
White and he's making us lose challenges and go to Tribal Council,
I do not care what his name is. I do not care about what he's
accomplished or about the dollars that are attached to his name. I
will vote him out happily if it means that I can avoid Tribal
Council."
Speaking of whichrCa
Endgame
It's evening number three of the game, and in mere moments the
first torch of Survivor 50 will be snuffed. Hovering over the
proceedings are several giant phoenix statues dotted across the
imposing temple- themed Tribal Council set. But there will be no
rebirth in the game via Redemption Island or the Edge of Extinction >>>>> for whoever's fire is about to be extinguished tonight.
Jeff Probst has called for the customary break in filming just
prior to voting to remind those who have been away from the game
for a while how the process will work. He thoroughly explains the
intricacies of the Shot in the Dark for those who have never played >>>>> with the New Era twist, demonstrates proper talking volume while
voting so others cannot hear you, and shows contestants exactly
where to stand if and when it is their turn to be snuffed.
Logistics completed, the host has one final off-camera message for
the all-stars sitting before him.
"I'm going to say what I've always said, which is, 'Sad to have
anybody voted out,'" Probst begins, making intense direct eye
contact. "I mean it, looking to every one of you in the eyes. Sad
to have any of you voted out."
And even sadder than usual.
"This season more than others is very special," Probst tells the
tribe. "I know how much it takes to get here. We all know what
sacrifices you all made, and all your loved ones and everything. I
also know without these stakes, who gives a f---? This is why
Survivor is interesting, is because it's life or death all the
time. So just know when I'm snuffing your torch, my heart?" The
host touches his chest. "But my head? It's the f---ing game you
signed up for, right?"
The tribe nods in the affirmative.
"All right," says Probst.
And then, the bleeding begins. And, for some, the bleeding could
signal the end for more than just this season. After all, it's hard >>>>> to imagine 55-year-old Mike White putting his career on hold again
to compete for a pot and a machete. Fifty-five-year-old Cirie
informs EW that win or lose, this is definitely her last time on
the island. Fifty-one-year-old Colby says the same.
"I know this is my last run at it," he says. "If I get a call in
five years, let's face it, the old body won't still be holding up
in five years. So I know this is truly my last run."
Of course, Survivor is all about change. New players, new twists,
new technology rCo like camera drones, which did not exist when the >>>>> series started filming, and have dramatically altered the look of
the show. In many ways, the difference between 2000 and 2026 jumps
off the screen if you go back and watch season 1, Survivor: Borneo. >>>>> Which is exactly what the man who first brought the program to
America did recently. And he came to a very different conclusion.
"Within the last year, I sat down and watched quite a few episodes
of season 1," says Mark Burnett, who remains an executive producer
on the program but has handed over all the day-to-day control to
his host/ showrunner. "And it just felt like I was there with those >>>>> dangerous snakes, those giant lizards, all the crazy creatures."
And what does he make of the evolution between then rCo when Probst >>>>> had to sit next to a giant truck of fake cash at Tribal Council rCo >>>>> and now?
"The technology has evolved to add some more scale and certain
things, I suppose," Burnett notes. "And the game has changed. But
think about what hasn't changed at all. If you're talking about the >>>>> visual beauty, I remember when I was first pitching it, I said I
wanted to allow moments like if the rain is dropping off the leaves >>>>> into a puddle, or the spider in the spider's web rCo all these sort >>>>> of moments, to let it breathe. And that will always remain that way." >>>>>
And it's not just the look, but the original feel of the show that
has endured.
"It's a vicarious adventure travel experience," Burnett says. "Like >>>>> Swiss Family Robinson, or classic books like Lord of the Flies. I
remember when I was first thinking about Survivor, before I even
sold it, I thought to myself: Pretend you're on a plane right now,
and this plane goes down and there's 16 or 20 people that survived
the entire plane crash. There's a CEO billionaire, and that person
over there is a waitress. But who's got more value on the island?
Because you haven't got any money anyway. You went to Princeton,
but can you make a fire? So the complete value proposition of
society is different on the island. That core value is really
important."
But how long can that core value continue? With Survivor now
reaching the milestone 50th season, there is naturally the question >>>>> of how many more milestones remain for America's first hit reality
competition program.
"I don't know that everyone loves it, but I do sometimes bring up
season 60," says Van Wagenen."
A lot of the longevity question depends on how much longer Probst rCo >>>>> who says he remains in for as long as he remains excited and
engaged rCo wants to do it. And he is currently very engaged.
"I love where the show is," the host says. "I love our crew. I love >>>>> the type of people that are applying."
Burnett credits old seasons showing up on streamers like Netflix
during the COVID-19 lockdowns with creating the next generation of
Survivor fans. pup"Ten years ago, if you asked me how long this
show could go, I'd be like 'I don't know, a couple more years.' I
wasn't sure. But now, I wouldn't ever predict its end."
Okay, but how long can the reality TV puppet master convince his
face of the franchise to stick around with it? Burnett pauses,
considers the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.
"I think Jeff's got another 25 years in him," he says in such a way >>>>> that it's hard to tell if the man is kidding. And then Burnett goes >>>>> and says it out loud, likely for the first time ever. "Season 100."
Source: https://ew.com/survivor-50-exclusive-all-access-first-look- >>>>> cover-story-11879057
There is definitely a lot of good stuff here, and I'm a little
surprised CBS allowed Dalton to disclose so much.-a To-a your point
about no first day boot, I think that might have been something I
would have preferred not to be spoiled about.-a If they are not going >>>> to do oddball non-TC eliminations, then I'll stick with my guess
that both losing teams will go to TC and we'll have two elims for
most of the pre-merge.
Don't forget the premiere is three-hours long. We'll probably get two
boots that night. I fear most of the premiere is going to be a lot of
fluff. It'll start off with a 30 minute intro of the players,
followed by another 30+ minutes of celeb promos. I fully expect to
see MrBeast promoting his empire for at least 10 minutes.
The article confirms a number of things we've speculated about,
including the extent to which players may suck up to Mike White
hoping to be cast in White Lotus, and the fact that Jeff wanted
"joyful" players who came across as enjoying the game, which
explains why people like Abi Maria were rejected.-a It also confirms
that Savannah apparently did indeed reveal she had won S49, in part
because she couldn't control what Rizo might say but also because
people in contact with S49 players apparently already told her they
knew she won.-a So much for NDA agreements,-a I also liked the
comparison of Savannah to Parvati, though for me it's more of a
physical resemblance than that their games are that similar.
Gen seems concerned about Mike White. Watch her end up on something
he produces! Her story about how they all saw each other in LA during
the producer meeting was interesting. That means they got to start
strategizing about the game knowing who and how many would be playing
even before they left for Fiji. I wonder just how well they are kept
apart on the flight to Fiji?
The reference to S60 is interesting because I hadn't even been
thinking about that, and I realize that's now only five years in the
future.-a-a I wonder if they will do another Winners at War with
winners only from the New Era?
MB thinks Jeff has another 25 years in him. I'm more interested in
what S100 will be assuming I live that long. S60 is too soon for
another Winners at War. S60 will probably be a normal season like S30
was. By the S60s Boston Rob's two oldest girls should be old enough
to play. I can see Jeff and Boston Rob both wanting to cash in on that.
MB must not be good at math. In 25 years Jeff will be pushing 90 and,
assuming he lives that long, not too many 90 year olds are hosting
reality shows on desert islands.-a For the record, I'll actually be 100
when and if S100 appears, so I'm not really too concerned about it.
If they do another Fans vs. Favorites for S100 you'd have a great case
to as why they should choose you to play. With Jeff's cushy life he
should easily be able to make it to 90. He's 64 now and I've seen no
mention of him talking about retiring.
I'm not sure there will be a lot of interest in Rob's kids doing the
show.-a It's worth noting that Sandra's daughter Nina Twine never
appeared on US Survivor but has appeared twice on Australian Survivor,
once with her mom.-a She did apply to appear on US Survivor (David vs.
Goliath) but was rejected and was never called back for a subsequent
season.-a Thing is, Nina turned out to be a really good player, even
better than her mom in some ways, so the fact that she was never
accepted for the US show tells me the show is not interested in
bringing on kids of iconic players.
Was Sandra's daughter good TV? She might have been rejected by U.S.
Survivor because they didn't think she would be exciting enough for
viewers.
I think there would be a ton of interest in Boston Rob's kids.
We've seen them grow up whereas we knew nothing about Sandra's daughter until she did Survivor Australia.
I also think in general that Sandra and Boston Rob have been over-
exposed on the franchise, and I really think the show wants to focus
on younger players going forward.
That might be true, but Jeff doesn't want to lose the connection to the
past either. Survivor: The Next Generation could be a future theme.
They've done kids before and it worked. I'm not suggesting that Boston
Rob play again with one of his kids. That would not turn out well for
the kid.
On 1/9/2026 3:45 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
On 1/9/2026 12:35 PM, Rick wrote:
On 1/7/2026 11:25 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
One of the biggest surprises of this article is that MB was in Fiji
for at least the pregame of S50. And pregame was nearly a week long!
There's a ton of good stuff in this article including Dalton letting
us know that the first IC isn't until Day 3 and the first TC is that
night. I thought for sure people would be booted on Day 1.
________________________________________________________________________ >>>>
On the beach for Survivor 50: An exclusive, all-access first look at
the biggest season ever
Gen seems concerned about Mike White. Watch her end up on something he
produces! Her story about how they all saw each other in LA during the
producer meeting was interesting. That means they got to start
strategizing about the game knowing who and how many would be playing
even before they left for Fiji. I wonder just how well they are kept
apart on the flight to Fiji?
The reference to S60 is interesting because I hadn't even been
thinking about that, and I realize that's now only five years in the
future.-a-a I wonder if they will do another Winners at War with winners >>> only from the New Era?
MB thinks Jeff has another 25 years in him. I'm more interested in what
S100 will be assuming I live that long. S60 is too soon for another
Winners at War. S60 will probably be a normal season like S30 was. By
the S60s Boston Rob's two oldest girls should be old enough to play. I
can see Jeff and Boston Rob both wanting to cash in on that.
MB must not be good at math. In 25 years Jeff will be pushing 90 and, >assuming he lives that long, not too many 90 year olds are hosting
reality shows on desert islands. For the record, I'll actually be 100
when and if S100 appears, so I'm not really too concerned about it.
I'm not sure there will be a lot of interest in Rob's kids doing the
show. It's worth noting that Sandra's daughter Nina Twine never
appeared on US Survivor but has appeared twice on Australian Survivor,
once with her mom. She did apply to appear on US Survivor (David vs. >Goliath) but was rejected and was never called back for a subsequent
season. Thing is, Nina turned out to be a really good player, even
better than her mom in some ways, so the fact that she was never
accepted for the US show tells me the show is not interested in bringing
on kids of iconic players.
I also think in general that Sandra and Boston Rob have been
over-exposed on the franchise, and I really think the show wants to
focus on younger players going forward.
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