We knew that Survivor was likely headed for a 35th and 36th season, but CBS makes it official today by renewing the show into the 2017-2018 seasons.
Ahead of pilot season, CBS has submitted a press release that officially announces the renewal of 16 shows for the 2017-2018 television season. In addition to five series that made their debut this past year, the longest-running reality show on television, Survivor, will also be renewed.
For Survivor to be guaranteed additional seasons this early in the year is a no-brainer, as CBS has been casting for the two upcoming seasons late in 2016 and may even be finalizing the Survivor season 36 cast as we speak. The crew needs to film two seasons almost back-to-back, meaning it would be pretty evident that the show wasn’t going to be picked up a lot earlier than today.
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Regardless, it still speaks to the strength of Survivor heading into its 18th straight year on television. It has outwitted, outplayed and, most importantly, outlasted all other non-newsmagazine programs renewed today, with scripted drama NCIS the second-oldest non-informative program renewed by CBS.
Survivor Game Changers has had some ratings, and viewership hits in the early going but still holds its mid-teens spot in the weekly rankings. Simply, Survivor sits roughly in the 15th-best spot for the week, each week, on a show that is relatively cheap to broadcast dramas and comedies that require huge budgets and bigger payrolls. The show, if Jeff Probst wants it, can go on for a while now.
Next: Survivor Game Changers: Ranking All 33 Previous Seasons
Survivor Game Changers Episode 5, “Dirty Deed,” will air next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.