After 40, 39-plus day seasons of game-changing themes with both new and returning players all over the world, a "new era" of Survivor entered the chat.
We've now experienced seven 26-day seasons that have forced players into faster gameplay while introducing twists like the journey and the beware advantage. But, which new era seasons have topped the charts?
We ranked the three best seasons of Survivor's new era!
3. Survivor 46
Outwit: A divisive season featuring many intelligent players who threw us for a loop everywhere except when it came time to vote (until the end, at least). Much of the paranoia didn't actually stem from the gameplay but from moments reminding us that Survivor is, in fact, a reality TV show. Like Bhanu Gopal's immense paranoia and subsequent emotional outbursts, Liz Wilcox's unforgettable Applebee's meltdown, or David Jelinsky's iconic catchphrase, "several means seven."
On top of all that drama, we also got everything Q Burdette did to fuel the game with as much chaos as possible. From forming (and then continuously imploding) the "Journey Six" alliance to his post-merge "strategic plan" of telling everyone to vote him out at tribal council, all of which secured his status as public enemy No. 1. He was then used as a shield by Maria Shrime Gonzalez, working to remove three consecutive players with hidden immunity idols from the game, until people caught on and blindsided Q, making him the fourth in a row to be voted out with an idol in his pocket.
And, ultimately, the biggest outwit came from the jury when fans were shocked to hear Kenzie Petty announced as Sole Survivor over Charlie Davis, especially when it came to Maria'a final vote. No one expected the biggest blindside of the game would come from someone already voted out.
Outplay: Hunter McKnight was the clear challenge frontrunner of season 46, leading the charge to secure the Nami tribe a win in every single challenge during the first half of the game. But the even bigger story of the season stems from a much larger question: outplaying or cheating?
By the time the penultimate immunity challenge took place, Maria had proven herself as an all-around threat with three individual immunity wins under her belt. Everyone knew they needed her to lose that challenge to have any hopes of getting her out at the Final Five. So Liz took the game into her own hands, stepped out of line, and helped Kenzie secure the necklace. Fans were mixed on whether or not that should have been allowed and began contemplating how different the season might have turned out had that one action not occurred.
Outlast: In a season with so much drama, surprisingly anyone could have been sitting at that final tribal to secure the million dollars. Fans knew who should have won based on the edit they watched, but based on the jury's final questioning, it seemed they chose the winner based on who would use the money the best for their future. So outlasting truly was the name of the game for Survivor 46 and the rest of the gameplay came off more or less disregarded by the end.
2. Survivor 44
Outwit: The season started off with a bang as Brandon Cottom successfully played a hidden immunity idol at the very first tribal council, changing his fate from being the first to go home to eventually making the jury. The advantage was part of the birdcage real/fake idol twist that made this season stand out from any others in the new era.
Carolyn Wiger was the castaway to find the key on the Tika beach, though she left the cage open. Once discovered, everyone began suspecting each other (but not Carolyn) of having the advantage. She eventually resets the cage, inciting a hunt for a new advantage and leading Sarah Wade to find a fake idol before Carolyn is eventually blindsided in alignment with Josh Wilder.
There were ultimately four fake idols in play this season, and while none of them got pulled out during tribal, all of them were discussed in whispers around camp in an "are they / aren't they?" fashion that drove more paranoia than not.
Outplay: We had an extraordinary overall cast of players who all built incredible resumes. This was the first (and still one of the only) seasons of the new era that featured so many players to actually understand the intricacies of the game and bend with it so well.
Carson Garrett used his bashfulness to build strong relationships while hiding the fact that he'd basically been training for Survivor as if it were the Olympics. Frannie Marin used her "dorky" charms to secure her number one ally (Matt Blankinship) but also proved herself as a physical threat, winning three individual challenges. Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt was a silent, but deadly player who everyone trusted, yet was quick to take out a threat when necessary. And that's not even scratching the surface of the talent from 44.
Another twist introduced to the game in the new era was the "shot in the dark" and this season gave us the first successful play when Jaime Lynn Ruiz was deemed safe.
Outlast: Major props go out to our Tika three who not only made it through a tribe swap before the merge but somehow stuck together to the final four. And had Carson not lost fire to Heidi, they would have been sitting in that final tribal together.
On the opposite end of the outlast spectrum, we also were introduced to the record-breaking Bruce Perreault who, after injuring himself about five minutes into episode one, became the earliest evacuation in Survivor history. Ultimately, he was invited back for Season 45, resulting in mixed reactions from fans on whether or not he should have been given a second chance.
1. Survivor 47
Outwit: In a season with so many strategic players, the name of the game was outwit. By the time the merge came around, the tribe was immediately thrust into a series of mind games starting with Sol Yi secretly giving Rachel LaMont safety without power, forcing the former Tuku alliance to turn on each other.
From there, the strategic paranoia only grew, especially with moments like Operation: Italy and Genevieve Mushaluk convincing everyone she had a hidden immunity idol, which resulted in a series of "what ifs" that lasted for multiple episodes, until it was confirmed fake and she was finally voted out.
And of course no one will forget Rachel's skillful use of her shot in the dark to suss out if she needed to play her hidden immunity idol, allowing her to hold onto it until absolutely needed.
Outplay: While the strategic gameplay was on point all season, we also have to shout out the fact that Survivor 47 hosted two incredible challenge beasts, both of whom set records!
As soon as that individual immunity necklace came into play, Kyle Ostwald went on a winning spree. By securing four immunity wins within five episodes, he officially became the fastest player in history to win that many times.
And once again, we have to call out season 47 winner Rachel who ended up tying Kyle's record at the same time she became the fifth woman in Survivor history to win four individual immunity challenges in a single season. With her clutch win in the final immunity challenge, Rachel joined the ranks of Kelly Wiglesworth (Survivor), Jenna Morasca (Survivor: The Amazon), Kim Spradlin (Survivor: One World), and Chrissy Hofbeck (Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers).
Outlast: As always, the big points go to our final three for making it to the end, but the real outlast Cinderella story of season 47 was Andy Rueda. After nearly passing out from overheating during the very first immunity challenge, then expressing how upset he was that his tribe didn't applaud him for opening a coconut, he managed to earn himself a spot in the final six.
Additionally, Genevieve spent more than half the season with a target on her back. There wasn't a voting conversation that didn't happen without the phrase, "Genevieve needs to go next" and yet she still used every tool in her box (even if she had to craft them up herself and convince everyone else they were real...) to get her to the final five.
We know we're in for something big with Survivor 50! Let's see if Survivor 48 and 49 can keep us on our toes until then.