Though we’re roughly two months away from the 2019 Survivor offseason coming to a close, filming for Survivor season 40 has likely just ended.
We’re at an odd stage of Survivor fandom where the official information about the production of seasons has crept in earlier and earlier than before (albeit in different stages). There are, of course, unofficial sources of information out there, but it was definitely surprising to see the most prominent reporter, EW’s Dalton Ross, tweet out the start date for the 40th season.
By being allowed to reveal the start of Survivor season 40 filming on May 22, we now know that as of reaching June 30 (in Fijian local time), 39 days of competition has concluded. Barring some super secret throwback to The Australian Outback, the game should be over. A 39th or (if there are returning players) 38th person has joined the winners’ circle.
The history of Survivor filming periods is interesting, especially if you’re like me and have only paid attention to those details in recent memory. For example, most years have seen production film a full season in six or so weeks back to back with a few weeks in between. However, sometimes the first filming block starts in March and other years’ second season starts in November.
It’s on. #Survivor
— Dalton Ross (@DaltonRoss) May 22, 2019
If production gets its way, however, we will see consistency with filming in Fiji. Odd-numbered seasons in modern Fiji have traditionally started filming in late March or early April, ending early or in the middle of May. Following the television airing of the previous cycle’s even-numbered season, production will start to set up filming for the next cycle’s even-numbered season.
Basically, Survivor season 40 started filming just after Chris Underwood was named the winner of Edge of Extinction on television, and now it should be all over. Unless it’s a close race, there’s a millionaire in the making that will have to wait more than 46 weeks to wear their crown.