The Survivor Auction has been a staple since Season 2, but that has changed over the past few years. Why haven’t we seen it for so long?
The last time we saw the classic Survivor Auction was back in season 30: Worlds Apart. At that point in the show’s history, there averaged out to be an auction every other season. It has now been seven straight seasons without having an auction, which is a record. During Christian’s exit interview from Survivor: David vs. Goliath, we learned why the auction has disappeared.
Remember that epic, six-hour Immunity Challenge that saw Christian outlast Alec? A few hours into that challenge, Christian decided to talk to pass the time. So for several hours, Christian told stories, played 20 questions, composed a song with Kara and even asked Jeff questions about Survivor. Christian confirmed in his post-game interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he asked Jeff Probst about the auction!
In Jeff’s opinion, the auction has become more of a waste of time because no one wants to see hungry people fight over food for ten minutes. He doesn’t think there will be an auction ever again! On the other hand, Christian is a fan of the auction and wants it to return.
So that raises the question, do we really want the auction to come back? I think the best answer is yes, but not as often as it used to be. Survivor: David vs. Goliath is a perfect example because there were a few rather pointless and lame Reward Challenges that were flat-out boring to watch. Why not spice things up by replacing one of those challenges with an auction?
The added element of betting for an advantage in the game allowed for the auction to have an impact on the season, which doesn’t happen every Reward Challenge. That being said, having the auction too often will lead to a majority of the castaways being mentally prepared to save their money just for an advantage.
With this news, I definitely wouldn’t expect them to roll out the auction in Edge of Extinction, or even in season 39 or 40. However, since it hasn’t been done in several years, production could surprise us with one more auction before it disappears completely.