The Survivor 50 cast has been one of the most hotly debated aspects of the show in recent memory. Picking 24 players to represent 49 seasons of Survivor is no small task, but there were a few players who were non-negotiable, must-adds to the cast for the Survivor casting team.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jeff Probst that Survivor 50 couldn't have happened the way it did without two key players: Ozzy Lusth and Jenna Lewis-Dougherty.
According to Probst, there were players that that casting team would "fall on their sword" to get on the show, and those were the two players Probst mentioned.
"Ozzy was a fall-on-the-sword player for a few people,. A few people said, ‘You can't really do 50 without Ozzy.’ And when you have a couple of people say, ‘I'll fall on the sword,’ it’s done. As long as Ozzy says yes, it’s done.”
Let it be known that Ozzy was not necessarily Jeff's first pick! That honor goes to season 1 star, Jenna Lewis-Dougherty.
“Jenna Lewis was beyond a fall-on-the-sword. She was a phone call where we said, ‘Look, we want you. We want you from season 1. You're our first call. Will you say yes?’ And it was a yes. And I know you could argue there are other people we could have brought back, but we had Jenna in our sights for a long time, and that was probably the happiest I was, when she said yes.”
It's so interesting to learn just which players were considered must-have players and which players didn't have those behind the scenes to go to bat for them. There's no doubt that Ozzy and Jenna deserve a spot in Survivor 50. Ozzy is, more than just about anybody on this cast, the best player to never win. He's been so dominant at challenges, and it's difficult to imagine Survivor 50 without him.
Ozzy even has a chance to take Boston Rob's spot atop Survivor's "most days played" leaderboard.
Jenna, on the other hand, is one of the few throughlines to the first season. She's one of the early pioneers of the game, but she actually has a chance to win Survivor 50. I can't wait to see what she brings to the table.
I have absolutely no problem with Jeff highlighting these two players. They are perfect picks for Survivor 50, to me.
Jeff also mentioned Mike White of Survivor: David vs. Goliath as one player that he was very excited to see play again. Jeff and Mike, who created The White Lotus among other shows and movies, happen to be very close friends outside the game.
With such a limited number of spots, it's unfortunate that some of the other legends, including Jerri Manthey, were not selected for Survivor 50. I would have loved to see Jerri, Malcolm Freberg, Kelly Wentworth, and more than a few other players from the season in the 20s and 30s. I would have fallen on my sword for any of those three players.
Instead, we have a big part of the cast that are new era players, which is not inherently bad by any means. It just means that many other players who hadn't played in a long time were not invited back.
Even with all the casting debates, I do think Survivor 50 will be a great season, even without some of the show's legendary players that we would have loved to see return. There are so many big-time players ready for another shot at winning $1 million.
Watch Survivor 50 beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026!