Over the last 25 years of Survivor, there have been a lot of truly historic moments that host and executive producer Jeff Probst has been witness to, including two prior anniversary seasons: Heroes vs. Villains (season 20) and Winners at War (season 40).
As the Survivor 50 journey begins for fans, Jeff revealed to Entertainment Weekly that there was something uniquely different about this season that he’s never felt in any of the 49 installments that came before it.
Part of the reason for this is because of the added element of fan-inclusion. The themes of previous returning player seasons have always been centered around our players (All-Stars, Second Chance, Game Changers), but now, the emphasis is on the fans and what they want. Survivor: In the Hands of the Fans is the show’s way of making this anniversary season as much about the people who watch it as it is about the people who play it.
While some of the fan-voted decisions might not truly impact game play—buff colors and design of individual immunity necklace can be anything without consequence unless you’re highly superstitious—there are elements that change how our castaways will approach challenges, alliances, as well as both their short and long-game strategy.
Entering the game not knowing if there’s going to be a tribe switch before the merge can be costly if you don’t trust anyone on your starting tribe. And not having supplies or rice to begin with will make it extremely crucial to be on an early winning team, as once you lose, a streak could become inevitable due to lack of resources to fuel the tribe for the next challenge.
Due to all of these uncertainties, this season we’re likely going to see some of the most adaptable gameplay across the board—which is often a huge attribute for a Sole Survivor. Even Jeff teases that, “the players who lean into the unknown are the ones who take control.”
As we’ve seen before, it’s often the most strategic players, who can easily live in the in-between space of multiple probabilities as they navigate the best path forward, who come out on top. And that’s not by accident.
Even beyond that, Jeff goes on to say that while in the past, we’ve seen a lot of players return for the love of the game and the hope of winning, this time around, competition is fiercer than ever: “If you thought the stakes were high for winning Winners at War or Heroes vs Villains, everybody wants their name on that parchment at the final Tribal Council of Survivor 50…the gameplay was real.”
So the only thing left to do now is wait to see for ourselves how this season plays out. Will our winner be someone who embraces the chaos at the reins and drives all the way to Final Tribal Council? Or while the plays through the unknown are overcrowding the field, will one of our silent strategists maneuver around the board entirely on a clean break with minimal dirt on their hands?
We can’t wait to see what happens when Survivor 50 premieres Wednesday, February 25 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount +!