Survivor is known for having some extremely cool rewards back in the day: helicopter rides over unique locations, meals on the top of mountains, giving back to local communities, cars… And while things have taken a bit of a turn in the new era with an evening at the sanctuary being the highest reward you can get nowadays, that’s still not even bad compared to some of the things people competed for in seasons past.
This is by no means a definitive list and I’m sure if you did your own research, there may be a few you think are even worse, but in my opinion, nothing is worse than these eight rewards from the last 50 seasons of Survivor.
An unexpected celebrity concert in Survivor 50
For anyone who recently watched the entirety of the 25th anniversary season, you know that the reception for one specific reward was less than enthusiastic—especially by fans. When Zac Brown showed up on the island as the castaway’s reward, the episode suddenly turned from a celebration of the show to a reel of Zac Brown spearfishing. While the winners did get food on this reward, it was literally fish and rice—the same stuff they were eating back at camp—before having to sit around and listen to music that probably none of them had ever heard before. A fairly lackluster 30 minutes of television for a season meant to set-the-bar for the series.
A squishy breakfast in bed for Survivor: Panama
Back during the first season to feature Exile Island, there was actually one reward that sounded really nice, but was executed poorly thanks to the environment the castaways were in. Breakfast in a bed would be a dream for any Survivor player, but when that bed was on the beach of Panama during a full-blown rain storm, rice in a shelter sounds more ideal. When the castaways arrived on the beach for their meal, the bed was completely soaked through and their breakfast was pretty soggy as well.
Seasoning to die for—almost—in Survivor: Kaoh Rong
I talk a lot about risk and reward in Survivor, most specifically for journies—is the reward worth risking your vote or whatever cruel punishment is in store if you lose? And for the players in Kaoh Rong, the answer was definitely…no. We all remember that challenge which literally became an all-hands-on-deck situation when players started dropping like flies and off-camera crew had to step in as essential personnel to help ensure everyone’s safety. Unfortunately, Caleb Reynolds wasn’t able to turn around from his heat stroke on set and they had to medevac him to a hospital nearby. The reward he almost died over? A coffee bar and seasonings to spice up the bland rice and beans back at camp.
The “Haves vs. Have Nots” in Survivor: Fiji
While this might be categorized more as a twist than a reward, it was still a brutal moment by production. When the 20th castaway dropped out of Survivor: Fiji only a day before filming—in a world before alternates existed—production had to scramble to figure out how to make 19 castaways fit. They ultimately dropped everyone on a beach together and instructed them to build a shelter using provided supplies, equipment, and luxury items. The next morning, Jeff arrived at camp and asked the “leader” of the shelter-building challenge to divide the remaining 18 players into two tribes. She was then sent to Exile Island and the two tribes competed for who would get the comfortable shelter and who would live with nothing. This obviously created a power imbalance that greatly affected the pre-merge game.
Survivor: Africa’s goat trade
When future winner Ethan Zohn won a reward for an adventure into a local village, it sounded pretty cool. But what ultimately ended up happening was he and Lex van den Berghe were given two goats to go sell in order to get money to use in the village. After bonding with the goats they were sad when the person they sold them to immediately walked into a butcher with them. On top of that, the only thing they were willing to eat at the restaurant they spent their money at was french fries, soda, and beer—which made Ethan sick.
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains vs. educational activity
At the Final Nine, our remaining heroes and villains competed in Survivor shuffleboard where three players would win a trip to the Robert Louis Stevenson house museum before getting to spend a night in a bed watching Treasure Island with popcorn. While this is a cool tourist opportunity, it doesn’t really scream “rewarding” for Survivor. Of course, the big reward was actually in the popcorn bowl—a clue to a hidden immunity idol, which Amanda Kimmel and Danielle DiLorenzo spent the rest of the night physically fighting over while Colby Donaldson just tried to ignore them and watch the movie. Though they eventually made him decide who gets the advantage.
Survivor: Borneo’s beer night with Jeff Probst
Originally, one of the rewards during Survivor’s inaugural season was literally a single bottle of beer. Behind the scenes, the castaways said that wasn’t worth competing for, so production had to scramble and turned it into a full experience. They re-staged that season’s Ponderosa to look like a local bar and crowded the place with local crew members. The winner, Kelly Wigglesworth, then got to share a meal (and beer!) with host Jeff Probst as the two of them watched the first five minutes of the season. Definitely not setting the bar too high at the beginning of the show…
Survivor: South Pacific’s unsanitary spit roast
I recently listed this challenge as one of the most unhinged in Survivor history and the reward for it is also making the list. Players had to rip meat off of a spit roast and drop it into a basket. The tribe with the most meat after a certain amount of time, won…the meat that their tribe mates just spit out of their mouths. Definitely not something that would pass the health restrictions of a post-COVID world and, honestly, something that really wasn’t up to health code in the first place.
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