Casting is huge when it comes to building a successful Survivor season. What are the best casts in Survivor history?
When looking at some of the best seasons in Survivor history, usually there’s one constant with those top tier seasons and that’s casting. A good cast almost always makes a good season.
So, with that in mind, I thought it’d be fun to look back on the best Survivor casts ever. I got this idea from Idoled Out, a great Survivor YouTube channel that I recommend all of you subscribe to.
The biggest rule here is that these rankings will be with NEW PLAYERS ONLY. No all-returnee seasons will be included on here, otherwise we all know Heroes vs Villains and Winners at War would be at the top of the list.
That being said, I did decide to include seasons with SOME returning players , so seasons with former players serving as captains are eligible to be included.
Let’s dive right in!
Best Survivor Casts – Number 9: Australian Outback (Season 2)
It’s pretty impressive that right off the bat there’s a season from 2019 and another from 2001 that appeared on these rankings, proving that casting has been – for the most part – consistently good.
The first four seasons of the show had some top notch casting with my only true complaint being that it could have used more diversity. With that in mind, however, the world wasn’t as diverse as it is now, and fortunately we’ve seen a lot more diversity on the show in recent years.
Survivor: The Australian Outback gave us these classic names:
- Tina (Winner)
- Colby (Runner-Up)
- Jerri
- Amber
- Elisabeth
- Rodger
- Alicia
- Jeff Varner
- Mike Skupin
- Kimmi
When looking over the cast of The Australian Outback, it’s no wonder why half of the cast has returned in future seasons. Amber has gone on to become one of the biggest names from the show while Tina, Colby, Jerri, and Varner have all returned two more times since their initial stint on the Australian Outback.
Yes, most people dislike Varner and Skupin now (Google Skupin if you are unsure as to why), but the rest of this cast is very good. It was important for Survivor to nail casting with their second season and they did just that with this bunch.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 8: Philippines (Season 25)
After giving us four straight seasons with horrible casts, Survivor got back in the win column with the group they casted for Survivor: Philippines, which aired in the fall of 2012.
The season brought back three former players to serve as captains (one of them being Skupin from season two), but the newbies that season were very memorable, which isn’t usually the case in a captains season. Here were some of the first-time players in Survivor: Philippines:
- Denise (Winner)
- Lisa (Runner-Up)
- Malcolm
- Abi-Maria
- R.C.
- Pete
- Jeff Kent
These were the more memorable names, but even early boots Zane and Angie have gone down in Survivor history with their antics (Zane with wanting to quit and then pretending it was strategy and Angie with her cookies comment).
Denise, Malcolm, and Abi-Maria have all returned to play again (Malcolm has played three times total) and it’d be nice to see anyone from this season return again (except for Skupin).
This was a season where the cast would have been perfectly fine without returning players, but the three who did return added to the kookiness of this cast and fit right in.
In the dark ages of Survivor, Philippines certainly stood above the rest and the cast played a big part in that.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 7: Marquesas (Season 4)
We’re going to jump back into the vault for the next entry on our list with Survivor: Marquesas, the show’s fourth season that aired in the spring of 2002.
I mentioned earlier how the older casts were definitely some of the best in the show’s history and Marquesas is proof of that once again. Here were some of the biggest names from season four:
- Boston Rob
- Kathy
- Sean
- Paschal
- Neleh (Runner-Up)
- John
- Vecepia (Winner)
Marquesas‘ six pre-merge boots were all really fun to watch and it was a bummer that people like Gina and Hunter didn’t make it to the next stage of the game. This season might have had one of the best pre-merges ever honestly.
If nothing else, Marquesas introduced us to Boston Rob, who has gone on to play the game a total of five times and, as of this writing, is the only player to have done so. He didn’t make the jury in Marquesas, getting booted right at the merge (back then, the first player booted at the merge was not included on the jury), but he had his fair share of fireworks in the seven episodes he did appear in.
Marquesas gets forgotten about and part of that might be because Jeff Probst thinks Vecepia – the winner of the season – was more on the boring side. That’s a shame because this season truly gave us some of the most intriguing players ever. Putting it this low really hurt.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 6: Kaoh Rong (Season 32)
Survivor brought back the Brains vs Brauns vs Beauty theme just four seasons after it was implemented and when they do those kind of themes, the cast has to be nearly flawless. Fortunately, that was the case with the Kaoh Rong cast, which was filled with memorable characters.
Here were some of those memorable players:
- Aubry (Runner Up)
- Tai (Second Runner Up)
- Debbie
- Scot
- Jason
- Michele (Winner)
- Cydney
- Julia
- Nick
Truthfully, I didn’t realize how great this cast was until I rewatched the season and it was then that I realized how terrific of a job casting did for season 32. It’s one of the few seasons where both the pre-merge and post merge are wildly entertaining and casting is a big reason as to why.
Kaoh Rong didn’t rely on tons of advantages or twists, but the cast made it a brilliant season. The final three of Michele, Aubry, and Tai have all returned to play one more time and 50+ career Debbie has as well. We had two great villains in Scot and Jason and one of the youngest players ever in Julia, who showed she had game.
The pre-merge also gave us tons of great characters like Alecia (why was she on the brawn tribe again?), Anna, Caleb, and Peter, all of whom helped make the pre-merge portion of the game entertaining.
Do yourself a favor and rewatch Kaoh Rong. You won’t regret it because this cast is awesome.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 5: David vs Goliath (Season 37)
David vs Goliath is one of the most popular new school seasons and came during a streak of some of the worst seasons in the show’s history (it was sandwiched between Ghost Island and Edge of Extinction) and part of why it’s so well perceived is because of the incredible cast.
The theme of David vs Goliath could have easily called for meat head jocks to be put on the Goliath tribe or for scrawny people to be put on the David tribe, but casting went above and beyond. In doing so, we had these people introduced to the Survivor family:
- Nick (Winner)
- Angelina (Runner-Up)
- Mike White (Runner-Up)
- Christian
- Gabby
- Davie
- Dan
- Carl
- Elizabeth
- Allison
- John
While these were some of the big names post-merge, how could anyone forget about Natalie Cole in the pre-merge portion of the game? The classic “Natalie, can I have your jacket?” line from Angelina only happens when the casting is perfect and Survivor nailed it with this group.
David vs Goliath is one of three seasons in the 30s to land on this list and for good reason. Christian is not only a fun player, but could go down as one of the all-time best casting finds. He was a freaking blast to watch!
Angelina was entertaining and was the first woman in her 20s to be casted who was married. Typically, women in their 20s on Survivor are single because, well – That’s television for you.
After a dud of a cast like Ghost Island, the cast we were given for David vs Goliath was an absolute gem and the fact that Island of the Idols was two seasons later and also had a mostly phenomenal cast shows that casting is starting to rebound after some lackluster casting decisions.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 4: China (Season 15)
After a lackluster cast in Fiji, casting got back on track with Survivor: China, one of the best casts ever assembled. Here are the players we got from China:
- Todd (Winner)
- Courtney (Runner-Up)
- Amanda (Third Place)
- James
- Peih Gee
- Jean-Robert
- Jamie
When most people look back on China, there aren’t a ton of all-time WHOA moments (other than James getting voted out with two idols – that was pretty huge), but what helped this season was the tremendous cast.
Todd was an incredible winner and Amanda also made her debut on this season. She was a savvy contestant who did everything right, but couldn’t explain her game in front of the jury.
Courtney is arguably one of the funniest contestants EVER and showed that yes, women can be funny on Survivor. Her one-liners help make China the epic season that it is.
James was another fan favorite and despite him not being as fun to watch in his returning seasons, he was really funny on China. The confessional he has about Jamie holding onto the fake idol and thinking it was real still makes me laugh to this day.
Survivor needed a pick me up after Fiji‘s cast fell flat and they got it right with the group casted for Survivor: China.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 3: Tocantins (Season 18)
Survivor: Tocantins didn’t have a ton of jaw dropping moments, but the cast without a doubt carried this season and made it into the legendary season that it is. Here are some of the names we were introduced to in Tocantins:
- J.T. (Winner)
- Stephen (Runner-Up)
- Coach
- Tyson
- Erinn
- Taj
- Sierra
- Brendan
All of those players listed above made a huge mark on the season and that’s why the post-merge in Tocantins is one of the best ever. If Tocantins didn’t have Coach, it’d have been an entirely different season, but even Tyson with his one-liners and Erinn with her dry sense of humor would have been enough to keep the season afloat.
J.T. is easily one of the most likable winners ever and his alliance with Stephen, Erinn, and Taj goes down as one of the most likable alliances in the show’s history. Tocantins was a part of one of the best streaks in Survivor history as far as consecutive good seasons went and the cast was the biggest reason as to why.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 2: Pearl Islands (Season 7)
Something I find fascinating whenever I go back and rewatch Survivor: Pearl Islands is how much I enjoy watching the season even though it’s a true old school season and there were no advantages to be had. No idols, no stealing votes (despite the pirate theme), and aside from an unpopular Outcasts twist, it’s a near perfect season.
The reason why Pearl Islands holds up almost 20 years later is because of its near flawless cast. Here are the names to emerge from this season:
- Sandra (Winner)
- Rupert
- Jonny FairPlay
- Lil (Runner-Up)
- Burton
- Andrew Savage
Even the minor characters like Darrah, Tijuana, and Christa were entertaining in their own right with Darrah’s “He lies, but also tells the truth sometimes” remark about FairPlay still being quoted by diehard Survivor fans to this day. This cast was so stacked and it’s absolutely why the season is still a fantastic watch so long after its initial airing.
Obviously most people remember Rupert, Sandra, and FairPlay from this season – as they should – but the entire cast had something to offer and a lot of the “lesser characters” on this season would have likely dominated the air time on another season.
It’s telling that Pearl Islands aired in 2003, but is still ranked as one of the best seasons ever. It’s because of that cast, which is the second best Survivor cast of all-time.
Best Survivor Casts – Number 1: Cagayan (Season 28)
It was a tough choice between numbers one and two, but ultimately, for the best Survivor cast ever assembled, I went with Survivor: Cagayan.
We were officially out of the “Dark Ages” of Survivor by the time Cagayan aired, but season 28 signified the start of the next era, which was a better era of the show. The cast resembled that too, giving us these gems:
- Tony (Winner)
- Woo (Runner-Up)
- Kass
- Spencer
- Trish
- Tasha
- Sarah
- Morgan
Oh man, SO many good characters on this season and I could honestly list all of them in the bulleted section above. Even the lesser players like Jefra and L.J. were fun and a part of big moments in the season. The pre-merge boots gave us Lindsey, who quit because she thought Trish was going to beat her up. That’s a REAL thing that happened!
Of course, most will remember Cagayan for introducing us to two-time winner Tony and his Cops’R’Us buddy Sarah, who worked their fellow Winners at War castaways. Even with these two being the highlight of this cast, you can’t go wrong with ANYONE from this group and it’s the reason Cagayan is looked at as one of the best seasons of all-time.
Fantastic casting.
A great cast almost always makes for a great season of Survivor and most of the seasons on here reflect that.
Seasons like the Australian Outback and Marquesas landed on here because they truly had incredible casts even if the seasons didn’t live up to the hype with the cast (Marquesas had a lot of interesting people go home pre-merge/pre-jury, like Boston Rob). Island of the Idols is a lower tier season due to the Dan situation, but without him there, it’d have likely been a really good season.
The other six seasons are regarded as some of the best in the history of the show and their casts are a HUGE reason as to why they’re so popular amongst the fans.
Some might wonder why I limited this list to only new player seasons and for me, that’s simple. If I included all-returnee seasons, Heroes vs Villains would be one and Winners at War would be two because we knew those players already and what they could provide us with entertainment wise. New school seasons are an unknown in that department and it’s fun getting to know the new players.
What do you think, Survivor fans? Which seasons do you think have the best newbie casts of all-time?