We’ll Probably See Carolyn Rivera on Survivor Again

Survivor always keeps an eye on players who should probably return, and it sounds like Carolyn Rivera is on that shortlist.

Survivor shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to bringing players back for their second, third, or even fourth try. (Hey there, Ozzy and Cirie on Game Changers.) Does it surprise that there’s a shortlist somewhere out there? In fact, host Jeff Probst basically confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Worlds Apart player Carolyn Rivera is on that shortlist.

Here’s how he put it, talking about the casting for Game Changers:

"“And I’m not going to say who was on which side, but she was in the running. Which is good for Carolyn because it means we will get her back out there again […] I fully think Carolyn will be back.”"

Look, Carolyn has the kind of resume that pretty much warrants a return. She made it to the end of Worlds Apart, then lost to Mike Holloway, showing some pretty keen strategic sense. She found a Hidden Immunity Idol without anything more than some observation. Those two points alone are pretty solid.

Additionally, it already looks like Survivor will continue taking returnees from the pool of people who didn’t make the Cambodia cast. Remember, Probst told people live on air whether or not they’d be going, and both Carolyn and Troyzan (who’s on Game Changers this year) were in that group of people. (EW did note that Carolyn missed the cut on Cambodia.)

If that’s so, I’d love to see Teresa “T-bird” Cooper, who was on Africa, come back as well. Pulling more retro Survivor players into the modern game is fun to watch, whether it be with Jeff Varner in Australia, then in Cambodia and now in Game Changers, or with Gervase Peterson of Borneo and Blood vs. Water.

Besides, it sounds like Carolyn has the support of Probst, who has already spoken about how he had to make the case for Varner this season. Who’s to say he won’t make the case for Carolyn to play on season 35 or 36 or whenever we’ll see the next returnee season?

Next: Who are Early Targets in Game Changers?

Let us know if you’d like to see Carolyn play Survivor again in the comments below.