Whether for good or bad, Survivor 48 is a season for the books, and as the curtain closes on this season, a new one is just around the corner. Well, technically, Survivor 49 is still a few months away, as its premiere won't be until this fall, but there's still plenty of Survivor content to go through until then.
In an exclusive interview with Dalton Ross for Entertainment Weekly, the Emmy-winner host of Survivor, Jeff Probst, divulged his thoughts about the Survivor 49 cast which he teased as being "a very likeable and quirky group of players that are going to encounter a Fijian summer so sweltering it feels like the jungle is breathing on you."
The full Survivor 49 cast hasn't been officially released yet and will not be until a few weeks before the first episode airs. However, the Survivor audience was able to catch a glance at the season 49 cast during the Survivor 48 finale through the sneak peek shown. While not too much was revealed, the few faces that popped up certainly made an impression.
Based on the preview, the fans can discern a player wanting to go at Survivor like a mermaid and lure her enemies to their eventual dooms, another one who is a self-proclaimed butt-kisser, and even a guy who calls himself the "Rizgod." No, I'm not kidding with the last one. No, I don't know what a Rizgod is, and frankly, I'm not sure I ever want to find out what that is either. The Survivor 49 cast does indeed look promising; however, I'm not getting my hopes up until the season airs, and I see the players in action, especially after what we endured with Survivor 48.
As previously said, Survivor 48 was overly praised, particularly by Jeff Probst, as back in February 2025, Probst said in multiple interviews that Survivor 48 was one of his favourite seasons in the game's history. This is high praise indeed, especially coming from the show's host. As Probst repeatedly declared his favouritism for this season, plenty of fans presumed that this season would be on par with other beloved Survivor seasons, such as Survivor Micronesia, Survivor Heroes vs. Villains, Survivor Cagayan, Survivor David vs. Goliath, and plenty more. Then, we saw the season, and I'm certainly someone who will, from now on, take Probst's words with a grain of salt.
While Survivor 48 had its moments, especially during the pre-merge with iconic players such as Thomas Krottinger and Saiounia "Sai" Hughley, we were then met with monotonous gameplay, scared players who didn't make a move after repeatedly saying they wanted to, the majority alliance strong-arming the underdogs while continuously bursting to everyone they were playing with "honesty, loyalty, and integrity", and the same shenanigans the audience has seen ever since the New Era of Survivor began. While all the New Era seasons feel recycled at this point, a few have managed to separate themselves from the pack, for instance, Survivor 45 and Survivor 47.
Having said this, it is always exciting and fun to look forward to a new Survivor season. I, for one, can't wait for this year's fall to see an all-newbie cast take on the game we all know and love. Hopefully, we'll be fed with more epic gameplay moves, shocking moments, and entertaining blindsides.