Survivor needs to go back to 16 castaway format

Survivor fans have grown accustomed to the show having 18 or 20 castaways, but in the early years of the show, it was 16 castaways. Those were the days.

For the first seven seasons of Survivor, the show went with the 16 castaway format, and that was perfect. The contestants were split into two tribes of eight with the merge occurring when there were ten players left and the jury beginning with the second Tribal Council after the merge.

That meant six players didn’t make it to the merge, and there would only be seven jury members. This was also back when the show went with the Final Two format with the Final Three being introduced in the 13th season (Cook Islands, 2006).

Another pro when the show had 16 contestants, it was a much quicker paced season, and it was also easier to get to know everyone. Of course, there were still invisible players, but not nearly as much as the current setup.

Ghost Island had 20 players, and it was difficult to keep up with everyone, not to mention giving them all airtime. Chelsea Townsend had just four confessionals yet made it all the way to the Final Eight. Angela Perkins survived through the finale, and her screentime was minimal, as well. Four fewer contestants to start the season would create more airtime for everyone, but especially underedited characters.

Survivor hasn’t had 16 contestants since season 18 (Tocantins, which aired in 2009) and it’s unlikely they’ll go back to that formant any time soon. Having more contestants means more Tribal Councils, which means more drama and it also means there can be more twists throughout the season.

The 18 castaway format first started up in the first All-Stars season, which aired back in 2004. That season it was okay to have more contestants because the producers wanted to get more returning players back, but the format stuck for virtually every season after that.

The first 20 contestant season came during Palau, the show’s tenth season. In that season, however, two castaways were eliminated right off the bat, so it was an 18-player season for all intents and purpose.

Ghost Island was an entertaining season, but there were several non-entity players, and that starts with putting 20 contestants on the show. The jury is also pretty much the entire cast, which seems unnecessary. Editor’s note: The less said about Edge of Extinction and its 13-person jury, the better. A seven-member jury was perfect, and it’s a shame the show has moved away from that.