While Fiji is still on the table for Survivor 41 and 42, the show is looking into the Caribbean as a backup option.
Normally we’d be enjoying a season of Survivor right now, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed life as we all knew it. While everyone’s lives were turned upside down with the novel virus, it was also difficult for television shows to continue filming as normal.
Survivor fell into that category, as they normally shoot their upcoming seasons in the spring and then spend the summer editing both seasons. Season 41 should have been airing right now while season 42 would be our spring season. Instead, the show won’t be filming until the spring, at least that’s the plan.
Martin Holmes of Inside Survivor reported that while Fiji is still the plan as far as the location goes for the next two seasons, the show is looking into a backup plan of the Caribbean.
"The Dominican Republic was recently used as the location for Survivor Mexico, which was filmed throughout July and August. The country has also been used as the location for various other international Survivor seasons in the past.Even though there is a Level 3 Travel Advisory recommending U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to the Dominican Republic, the country is open to international visitors with no negative COVID-19 test required to enter. Meanwhile, there remains a ban on international visitors in Fiji, with possible exceptions for those arriving by sea."
Survivor has filmed in Fiji since season 33, but it looks like they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get filming underway this spring, even if that means changing locations.
Personally, I’m all for a change of scenery. I miss the days of Survivor when it was centered around the location and we had challenges that reflected the culture. These days we get a lot of seasons with corny themes surrounding it (Game Changers, Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers, do I need to continue?) and it’s just not the same.
As far as casting goes, Holmes mentions that the show had wrapped up casting earlier this year, but had to get back into action with the new diversity rules set by CBS.
To really get the show back on track, Survivor is aiming to film three seasons in 2021 and if this did end up happening, airing one season in the summer is a strong possibility. Survivor hasn’t had a new season in the summer since the very first season back in 2000.
After not having new episodes of Survivor since May, I’m totally down with three new seasons in the year 2021.