Survivor since 2000: Reliving the game’s greatest moments year by year

On May 31, 2000, reality television changed forever with the first airing of Survivor. We look back at some of the show’s most memorable moments.

Happy birthday, Survivor! On May 31, 2000, America first saw 16 castaways fight to outwit, outplay and outlast each other over 39 days of raw survival-based gameplay. Nobody knew what to do, nobody knew where to go, and nobody knew how to vote. One player seemed to have their head on straight, changing what was supposed to be a semi-documentary approach to reality competition into something else entirely.

The game has changed even since season one, so let’s take a look back at some of the fond memories of Survivor going through the years. The corresponding highlights are indicated by the air date, not during the filming dates.

Survivor 2000: “Oh my God. It’s me.”

From the moment he first hit the beach, Richard Hatch’s mind was working. He knew that in order to demonstrate value to his tribe, he would need to fish for them and feed them. That established the early survival gameplay. He acted out in a way that would not paint him as the mastermind while working behind the scenes to provide cover for his threat level. That formed the early social gameplay of the show.

An episode or two before the merge, however, Richard Hatch made the most profound, show-altering move; he formed the first-ever Survivor alliance. Alongside Rudy, Sue and Kelly, they banded together to vote out Gretchen at the merge, while six other players each received a vote.

While everyone else was playing checkers, Hatch was playing chess. Gretchen was the only member of Pagong to see it right away that she was the target due to her gameplay threat level, simply stating, “Oh my God. It’s me.”

Survivor was never the same again.