The penultimate episode of Survivor 49 ended with an unexpectedly somber note. After what was honestly one of the most eventful episodes of the season and delivered the biggest blind side we’ve seen so far in season 49, the December 10 episode concluded with a special tribute to a late member of the Survivor family.
“In memory of Sean Foley, our friend and colleague” read the dedication card that closed out the episode. It was a move designed to honor a longtime member of the Survivor family, one whose name might not be immediately recognizable to fans due to the nature of his work on the show.
Foley’s history with the show goes all the way back to Survivor’s first season. Foley worked as an editor on the show across its first eight seasons as well as on season 13, and is credited with 131 episodes of the show. In season 9, Foley began working on the main title design before becoming a director of photography on the show in season 22. He remained in this role for years, working on the show through season 31 before leaving the franchise in 2015.
Foley passed away in November after a battle with brain cancer, as revealed in a Facebook post honoring the late member of the Survivor team.
“ We lost one of the good ones this weekend. Brain cancer has taken my colleague, my friend, my brother-in-arms Sean Foley away. The world is a lesser place today than it was before,” wrote Foley’s colleague Gabe Kustick. “A lot of us came to Hollywood with hopes of making it big and winning Oscars in scripted content. I think Sean showed a lot of us how fulfilling, innovative, and artistic nonfiction shows could be. He made a lot of our lives better, and how can you beat that as a legacy?I’m gutted he’s gone, as I’m sure a lot of people are. And, if it’s not obvious, f#*k cancer.”
In addition to Survivor, Foley’s 25-year career in the entertainment industry includes work on several other hit series. He wore many hats during his career, working as a visual effects artist, sound mixer, camera operator, editor, and producer, eventually becoming an Executive Producer and Showrunner.
Among the many other shows Foley contributed to were ABC’s Shark Tank, CBS’s Undercover Boss, NBC’s The Apprentice, and Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid franchise.
Foley’s work on Survivor also managed to land him multiple Emmy nominations during the show’s early seasons for his work as part of the editing teams on the show. He also managed to secure a Leo Award nomination in 2020 for his work on The Age of A.I. documentary series.
On behalf of the Surviving Tribal team, our thoughts are with Foley's family and loved ones.