Jeff Probst just announced breaking news about Survivor 50!
During the Beach Drop and Survivor 48 premiere event in New York City, Jeff Probst revealed the theme for Survivor 50 and shared that there will be a fan vote component that shapes the game in key ways.
Survivor 50 is officially called Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans
In the video, which you can watch above, Jeff shared that during Survivor 48, which premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 26, fans will be prompted to vote on specific elements that will determine different twists or paths through Survivor 50 for the returning players.
"Throughout the airing of Survivor 48, we're going to be opening votes for you to determine key elements that will shape season 50 for our returning players before they even get out to Fiji," Jeff said in the video. "So, if you want to know when the votes will drop, you gotta be watching season 48. The good news is it's a very good season."
According to a report from Entertainment Weekly, some of the fan votes will determine if there are idols this season, if there is a fire-making challenge for the last spot in the Final Three, or even a live reunion. EW is reporting that the players will not know what the fans choose until the game starts.
So, there you have it! Survivor 50 is "In the Hands of the Fans." It has a good ring to it; I'm not going to lie.
Voting will begin during the Survivor 48 premiere, accoding to the Survivor 50 fan voting website. Production on Survivor 50 will likely begin this spring before filming the season in the early summer out in Fiji.
I had a feeling CBS was going to do something like this for Survivor 50. I wasn't sure exactly how it'd play out, but the fan participation in Survivor seasons has been such a factor in previous seasons. Fans literally picked players to return at different points of the series, and that was one of the many ways Survivor set itself apart from other reality shows. Those elements have basically disappeared from the game. Sure, the producers take the reception of each season, challenge, twist, and all of that into account, but this will be the most power fans have had over real gameplay in Survivor in a long time, maybe ever.
I'm not sure how to feel about that part yet! I love Survivor for the social and strategic elements, the game of deception, you know? I like when the best players can chart their way through moves and then execute those strategies. Twists can feel cheap. They don't always feel cheap, but they can. So, it's really up to the fans to get this right and make sure Survivor 50 is as good as it possibly could be.
It doesn't appear that fans will choose the players who will return for Survivor 50. But, hey, maybe there will be more surprises in store!
We'll share more news about Survivor 50 as we find out! We'll likely learn more information during the Survivor 48 premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 26.