Survivor 50 is over, but I am still not over it. I need the high stakes of the game to take up my Wednesday nights, so—as I always do after a season ends, but before the next one begins—I start re-watching all my favorite seasons of Survivor. For anyone out there who wants to become a Super Fan, this is where you start.
Because of this tradition, my friends refer to me as an encyclopedia of Survivor knowledge. Even when I was talking about the game this season and referencing players’ past seasons, I assumed everyone remembered everything they did in their prior games. That wasn’t always the case…
So in honor of the end of In the Hands of the Fans, I thought we should keep it in the fans’ hands for a little while longer by looking back on the top five best seasons of the show according to IMDB viewer ratings.
Here’s where you should go next to keep the Survivor fun rolling:
5. Survivor: Cagayan (season 28) - 8.10 avg. rating
The first iteration of the “Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty” theme found 18 castaways divided into three tribes based on the quality they most define themselves with. The season introduced a handful of fan favorites with 33% of the cast becoming returning players due to their likeability and/or divisiveness in the game.
The highest rated episode of the season is episode 6, “Head of the Snake,” which received a 9.1 rating on IMDB and is tied as the fourth highest rated episode of all time.
4. Survivor: Pearl Islands (season 7) - 8.27 avg. rating
One of the original era seasons that became iconic for the legendary players it would produce, the show leaned wholly into a pirate theme and included some incredible twists that still have yet to be repeated on later seasons of Survivor.
The highest rated episodes of the season are episode 1, “Beg, Barter, Steal,” and episode 7, “What the…? Part 1,” which both received 8.8 ratings on IMDB.
3. Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (season 20) - 8.32 avg. rating
The anniversary season to celebrate 10 years of Survivor, the show gathered up 20 returning castaways and divided them into two tribes representative of those who embodied the “hero” archetype on their original season and those who played a little more deviously, earning the “villain” title.
The highest rated episodes of the season are episode 6, “Banana Etiquette,” and episode 10, “Going Down in Flames,” which both received a 9 rating on IMDB. They’re also tied as the sixth highest rated episode in Survivor history.
2. Survivor: Winners at War (season 40) - 8.36 avg. rating
My personal favorite season to rewatch when I’m needing a little more Survivor in my life, Winners at War celebrated 20 years of the reality competition show by gathering 20 former winners to compete against each other for a chance to be crowned the Sole Survivor yet again, this time with a history-making $2 million prize.
The highest rated episode of the season is actually the finale, episode 13, “It All Boils Down to This,” which fans rated a 9 on IMDB and is tied as the sixth highest rated episode alongside the favorites of Heroes vs. Villains.
1. Survivor: Cambodia (season 31) - 8.40 avg. rating
Another ultimate returning player season, Cambodia was based on the idea of giving past players who’d never won a second chance, but the biggest twist was that the fans got to pick who returned via a poll from a list of potential returning castaways. And the players who were chosen were announced live during the finale of Survivor: Worlds Apart.
The highest rated episodes of the season are episode 10, “Like Selling Your Soul to the Devil,” and episode 11, “My Wheels Are Spinning,” which both received a 9.2 rating on IMDB, tying them as the second highest rated episodes in Survivor history.
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