Tonight is the night. Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans premieres on CBS with a three-hour episode, and the 24-person all-returnee cast is the biggest in the show’s history.
Survivor debuted on CBS on May 31, 2000, and nobody really knew what they were watching. A bunch of strangers stranded on an island, voting each other off one by one for a million dollars.
The show pulled 51 million viewers for its Season 1 finale, still one of the most-watched television events in American history. It invented a genre, launched a thousand imitators, and outlasted all of them.
Twenty-five years later it’s airing its 50th season with a cast so stacked that CBS gave the premiere three hours of airtime.
Jeff Probst, who started with the show, is still the host, and still the executive producer. For a 26-year run, the show hasn’t changed much.
The franchise has generated over a billion dollars in revenue for CBS. For a show that was supposed to be a summer novelty in 2000, it has turned into one of the longest-running and most profitable reality franchises in television history.
Are you ready to see some of your favorites from the many years of the show? Here’s who’s walking onto that beach tonight.
Cirie Fields And Ozzy Lusth Make Their Return
Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth each return for a record-tying fifth time, matching Boston Rob’s mark. Cirie is arguably the greatest player to never win. She participated in four seasons, never recording a victory.
She finished fourth on Panama, third on Micronesia, and sixth on Game Changers, surviving longer than almost everyone each time despite struggling with challenges.
Ozzy is the opposite story, a five-time player whose physical dominance just never translated into a title. He’s a challenge winner who finished runner-up on Cook Islands and fourth on South Pacific but could never quite close it out. Both are immediate threats and immediate targets.
Colby Donaldson, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Benjamin “Coach” Wade Return For Survivor 50
Colby Donaldson is back for the first time in over a decade. He’s been off the island since Heroes vs. Villains in 2010, where he finished fifth. The Australian Outback runner-up is one of the show’s original stars, and his return is purely nostalgia-driven.
The question is whether a guy who last played 15 years ago can adjust to a completely different game. Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, a two-time player and Guatemala runner-up, is in the same boat — old-school pedigree, new-era conditions.
Benjamin “Coach” Wade plays for a fourth time. He’s been to three seasons and finished second on South Pacific. Jenna Lewis-Dougherty comes from the very first season in 2000. She’s the most senior player on the cast.
The Winners Return
Three past winners are in the game. Dee Valladares won Season 45. Kyle Fraser won Season 48. Savannah Louie won Season 49. All three carry targets immediately. Louie’s situation is the trickiest. She’s on a tribe with no other winners, and the rest of the cast suspects she won 49. If she confirms it, she could be first out.
Kyle Fraser has the same problem. His win on 48 is fresh in everyone’s memory, and two of his former allies, Joe Hunter and Kamilla Karthigesu, are also on the cast. That’s either an early alliance or an early reason for others to group-target all three of them.
Twelve of the 24 players come from Season 42 or later, which created some fan backlash when the cast was announced. Among the New Era contingent, Charlie Davis finished second on Season 46, betrayed at the final tribal council by his ally Maria.
Emily Flippen finished seventh on Season 45. Q Burdette finished sixth on Season 46 and became famous for asking to be voted out mid-game.. Rick Devens finished fourth on Edge of Extinction and is one of the most beloved players of his era. Genevieve Mushaluk finished fifth on Season 47. Jonathan Young finished fourth on Season 42.
The David vs. Goliath Reunion
Three players from Season 37, Mike White, Christian Hubicki, and Angelina Keeley, are all back together. White, best known as the creator of The White Lotus, finished as a finalist on 37 and is considered one of the wealthiest players ever to compete, which is a liability when others are deciding who “needs” the million.
Hubicki is the robotics professor who became a fan favorite for his analytical game. Keeley finished third on 37. Having three players from the same season on the same beach again is a natural early coalition, and everyone else knows it.
The Format of Survivor 50
For the first time in show history, fans voted on actual game mechanics before filming began. Three tribes of eight, Cila, Kalo, and Vatu, start the season tonight. The premiere episode runs three hours, and the synopsis already teases an injury during the first immunity challenge.
Survivor 50 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
