Richard Hatch On Survivor AMA: ‘I’d Love To Play Again’

While not spending a ridiculous half-day answering questions, the original Survivor game changer, Richard Hatch, answered AMA questions last night.

The online Survivor community has been lucky, recently. In the span of two nights, we’ve had two introspective Q&A periods with past winners. Leading the way with a Survivor AMA was the most recent winner, Adam Klein of Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X. The second came last night in the very first winner, as Richard Hatch spent a few hours answering questions in an AMA over on the Survivor subreddit.

It’s been more than a decade since Hatch has played (or even legally available to play) the game of Survivor, so it’s not like he was providing a keen insight into the game that we’ve never seen before. Regardless, it’s not like he’s got a boring personality, answering bluntly that he has “no idea” where Colleen Haskell is, noting how crazy it was that Pagong stupidly, morally against alliances, and refusing to pick a number between one and ten.

We even got to see Adam Klein jump in again on this AMA, relating how Richard Hatch changed his life.

"I was 9 years old when I watched my first episode of Survivor – your finale – along with 55 million other people. I was instantly hooked. Many people had to work incredibly hard to create Survivor the show and Survivor the social experiment, but in many ways you created Survivor the game, and I believe that every strategic evolution of the game originally comes from you and the first ever alliance. I never thought that I would one day actually get to sit on those stumps at a final tribal council and hear my name read out, but it happened sure enough. Thank you for paving the way!!! Hope to meet you soon!"

Of course, seeing how it’s been so long that Hatch has played, questions naturally shifted towards his return. Apparently, if CBS wants to bring him back, he can. That bodes well for whatever legal problems Richard was facing that prevented him from participating in recent Survivor seasons. “I’d love to play again with a bevy of really strategic players,” he insists, practically begging to be placed on a season like Survivor Game Changers.

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If he did come back, it probably wouldn’t be in a Blood vs. Water season, as Richard Hatch insists his husband, Emiliano, is “utterly guileless.”

While the timing of the AMA could be purely coincidental, the rumor on the horizon is that Season 36 of Survivor, or beyond, will be yet another returnee season. Whether it’s a Fans vs. Favorites gameplay structure or not, or just a subtle reminder that an actual game changer for Survivor isn’t a part of the upcoming season, Richard Hatch holding his first AMA weeks before a new season only has me asking more questions.

Regardless of the intentions, and regardless of if this has any ulterior motive, I’m glad to hear Hatch provide some insight on the game of Survivor and the personalities of one of the wackiest, most earnest casts the show will ever see.

Next: Survivor: Game Changers Cast Assessment: Sandra Diaz-Twine

By creating an alliance to knock others out strategically, no matter the consequences, Richard Hatch fundamentally changed Survivor from a game focused on survival to one about strategic, cunning, and guile. There’s no doubt he made the show a powerhouse capable of sticking around for a whopping 34 seasons, and we’re all the merrier for it.