Recent news surrounding Survivor Guatemala’s Rafe Judkins teasing his new series, it got us wondering why nobody from his season ever returned.
Yesterday, when researching a story for our sister blog App Trigger, I came across an article on IGN focusing on a The Wheel of Time script teased by its showrunner. Little did I know that the showrunner in question was Survivor Guatemala’s Rafe Judkins; the third-place final boot of the season and one of the show’s great confessional narrators.
It was quite serendipitous, as I had just finished Survivor Guatemala last week. It was the first season where just two players returned in a group of first-time castaways, making it the perfect research season to re-watch ahead of season 38’s Edge of Extinction. It’s also a great season to experience a brand new landscape for the show, being in stark contrast to modern Fiji-only seasons.
It also got me thinking about a question that has been itching away for years; why has there never been a Survivor Guatemala newcomer who has returned in a future season? I worded the question that way purposefully, as I do not count Stephenie LaGrossa’s cup of tea on Heroes vs. Villains as someone from the show returning.
Let’s make Monday #WheelofTime day? pic.twitter.com/hpBsyiNp2L
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) July 23, 2018
Though Rafe Judkins himself would be a great option to return, being a showrunner seems like a full-time job that won’t give him ~50 days off. However, there are a ton of other great players that could return.
For example, Judd Sergeant was a great character that could easily bring his loudmouth personality and his aggressive gameplay into the modern game. Brian Corridan is another solid choice, as he was a solid strategist in an era where they were few and far between. Amy O’Hara was a competitive beast before injuries slowed her down, and Brandon Bellinger was a great, snarky guy with a Midwest farmer charm to him.
The fact that nobody from Survivor Guatemala except for Stephenie LaGrossa appeared in a future season remains one of the greatest crimes of the show’s history. The fact that Danni Boatwright allegedly came close to being cast for Game Changers remains a bitter pill to swallow, too.