With only two episodes left, everyone is talking about Survivor 48 right now. There's already been a lot of talk about Survivor 50, the first season of the new era to feature returning players and fan voting. Everyone is ignoring Survivor 49, which just started filming this spring in Fiji.
During CBS's Upfronts presentation, the network revealed Survivor 49 will air this fall on CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesday nights in the classic 8:00 p.m. ET/PT timeslot. While CBS didn't talk much about it, the network confirmed that a fan-favorite format will also be returning for Survivor 49!
On CBS's fall schedule, Survivor 49 is locked in for the 8:00-9:30 p.m. ET/PT timeslot, which means that each episode of Survivor 49 (aside from the season finale) will be a 90-minute episode!
Honestly, that's probably music to fans' ears! The 90-minute episode has been a huge part of Survivor's recent success. While some might argue the show spends a little too much time on stuff that isn't important to the gameplay, I'd argue we get to know these new players more than ever before. We get to watch them tell their own stories in ways that we never got the opportunity to see when each episode of Survivor was only 60 minutes.
It's been a few years now that Survivor has been experimenting with the 90-minute episodes. It all started during the Hollywood strikes of 2023. With fewer new shows, CBS allowed the Survivor team to extend the episodes, and it worked out really well. The pacing is so much better in the more recent seasons.
We also get to see more impactful gameplay. Twists and blindsides might not be happening on Survivor 48, but in some of the more recent seasons, fans got an almost behind-the-scenes look at some of the game's epic moves. Spending more time with these players, allowing them to play the game the way they want, and sitting back and watching that all happen is a much better experience for Survivor, in my opinion.
Obviously, in a season with less drama, we might not love that each episode is an extra 30 minutes, but I don't really think we've experienced that yet. As I referenced with Survivor 48, it's still highly entertaining. For example, Survivor 48 episode 11 was a widely panned episode of the series, but I don't think I've laughed harder during an episode of Survivor in the show's history. First, we had Joe Hunter yelling "Got Fun Betrale" (pronounced "betrayal") while trying to win the immunity challenge. Then, David Kinne stood up like Mary Zheng's knight in shining armor when she was voted out at the end of the episode. It was hilarious!
I'm fully on board with spending as much time with these players as possible. I would support two-hour episodes like The Bachelor used to do back in the day (and maybe still does; I don't know).
We'll share more news about Survivor 49 as we find out. For now, expect the season premiere to be sometime in mid-September 2025 on CBS and Paramount+. And, make sure you tune in on Wednesday, May 21, for the Survivor 48 finale! I have a feeling it's going to be a good one, and you have to find out who will win Survivor 48, of course.