Are Survivor casting controversies causing cast leak clampdown?
The usual suspects haven’t been posting cast leaks for Survivor season 38 close to two weeks after filming has ended. Are recent cast controversies to blame?
For hardcore fans of Survivor, there’s a certain flow to the offseason, some of which begins before the latest season even finishes. Usually, within days or a week of a season wrapping up filming, a select number of upcoming castaways are leaked by insiders who tap a number of sources to gather forth that information.
With the exception of notable returnees and celebrities, there is usually a process done by those in the know that combine social media investigation with alternative means, although information typically seems to trickle down from a few sources. Martin Holmes of Inside Survivor was able to name wrestler John Morrison and writer/actor/producer Mike White almost immediately while posting the first batch of David vs. Goliath players within a week.
Well, it’s been more than a week since filming for Survivor season 38 has wrapped up, and outside of the four returnee captains (those of which were noticeable for their social media absence, and were gathered during filming), there’s little to no public information about any of the 14 new players. There are only a few guesses made on Sucks, but nothing nearly definitive.
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Considering the recent controversies surrounding two of the David vs. Goliath players, I suspect that CBS is clamping down on their contract clauses surrounding social media. Previously, we saw Alec Merlino reportedly get punished for posting a picture with another castaway. Furthermore, Jessica Peet’s teenaged racist tweets from years ago resurfaced, to which she apologized to media outlets.
The fact that TMZ and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting on events based on future seasons of the show (the latter, of which, has members of the media embargoed for content releases) shows just how much Survivor is under scrutiny. By enforcing players to undergo strict social media policies, it helps both hide who’s being cast in an upcoming season as well as curtailing possible future controversies.
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Though we could see a cast dump as early as later today or as late as in a few weeks (or even months’) time, it’s kind of a relief to know that there’s something about Survivor season 38 that we don’t know. In retrospect, being ignorant about the Island of Extinction theme and its possibility to have the entire cast active by the finale seems downright blissful.