With the landmark 50th season of Survivor, also known as Survivor 50, set to begin filming later this year, fans are rightfully getting antsy to discover what game-changing new twists might come into play. It reached a new high when Jeff Probst announced that the season would include a cast of returning players, both new and pre-Winners at War, to celebrate the history of the show.
After much speculation of who this All-Star group of castaways could be, someone we'd previously taken off our list of contenders might actually be open to lighting their torch for another season.
In an interview with TV Insider, Boston Rob Mariano, the current host of the Deal or No Deal Island After Show on Peacock and competitor on The Traitors season 3, revealed that he and Probst connected about the upcoming milestone, sharing, "I had a conversation with Jeff for sure." He also expressed that he'd be interested in joining the celebratory season, "in some way."
"It’s a big season, it’s a big celebration... It’d be fun to be involved in some way. So we’ll have to wait and see."Boston Rob Mariano to TV Insider
With the highest stats in Survivor history—played across five seasons for a total of 152 days in-game and 21 days on exile, won Survivor: Redemption Island (season 22), runner-up of Survivor: All-Stars (season 8), and returned as a mentor for Survivor: Island of the Idols (season 39)—there's no doubt that Boston Rob is a major piece of show's lore as one of the foundational building blocks for what it is today. Fans would definitely be eager to see him return to the game in some capacity.
As of August 2024, Probst confirmed he was still wittling down the Survivor 50 cast list, so while it's possible Boston Rob is on it, he didn't necessary say he'd play again. But there are still so many ways the legend could make his mark on the anniversary event.
Could the returning players be coming in as mentors, each paired with a new castaway? Maybe they're the ones actually designing the season, completely reformatting the game based on the minds of our favorite players? Or are we finally getting the return of the live reunion show with the addition of some SportsCenter-style game analysis by history-making past players?
We likely won't know for a while, but at least we have the upcoming season to keep us on our toes until then! Survivor 48 premieres on Feb. 26 on CBS.