One of the biggest reality TV events of all time moves one step closer in the new year. Of course, I'm referring to Survivor 50, the 50th season of the hit CBS series hosted by Jeff Probst.
Production on Survivor 50 is supposed to begin sometime in 2025, but don't expect to see the season until the following year.
Survivor 50 will likely premiere in early 2026
For those out of the loop, Survivor has filmed two seasons back to back in Fiji since Survivor: Winners At War (season 40). Usually, filming on the first season begins in May and continues into June while the other season begins in June and continues into July. That's what just happened with Survivor 47 and Survivor 48, which were filmed in the spring and summer of 2023. Survivor 47 just premiered this fall and ended in December 2024, while Survivor 48 premieres on Feb. 26, 2025.
Because CBS sticks to a pretty transparent Fall and Spring premiere and schedule for new seasons of Survivor, it's pretty easy to predict when the new seasons of Survivor will premiere.
As mentioned, early next year, we have Survivor 48, which will end around May 2025. Production on Survivor 49 will likely have started filming or will be about to start around that time. Then, Survivor 50 will film next. Then, Survivor 49 will likely premiere in the second half of September and end in December.
That paves the way for the Survivor 50 premiere in February 2026. And, there's no real way to speed up the timeline of Survivor, especially since it's such a big, intense production. There are so many moving parts on a show like Survivor, but at least it's a little cyclical, so fans know when to expect the seasons to air.
Survivor 50 cast still unknown
As for who is going to return for Survivor 50, we still don't know yet. There are always rumors popping up online about who could be back, but as of right now, nothing official has been confirmed.
Basically, we just know that it's the first season since Survivor: Winners at War that will include returning players. It will be the first season of the new era featuring returning players. That was the first major update from Jeff Probst.
This summer, Probst revealed in an interview there were about 100 players who were in consideration to be on Survivor 50 and no decisions had been made, according to Variety.
During Survivor 47, Probst clarified that the Survivor 50 cast would be players who are celebrating the game, not players who are returning to "settle a score," according to Entertainment Weekly. I feel like that points the season in the direction of players like Rome Cooney, Charlie Davis, and others, but we'll just have to wait and see.
We also know that there will likely be a player from season 47 who will return for Survivor 50. There are multiple reports that Probst made that claim. And, if I was doing the casting, I would definitely consider having more than one player from Survivor 47. This was clearly one of the best seasons of Survivor in a long time. It would be a shame if only one of these great players returned for Survivor 50.
But, that's the problem. How do you pack 50 seasons of a show into a with 18-20 players. Fan favorites will be left at home. There won't even be a player from each season of the series! So, it's a huge issue that Probst and the team are probably working through or have worked through.
So, that's what we know about Survivor 50 so far. I have to imagine that we'll learn a lot more about the new season in the next few months. I think the Survivor 50 cast is too big to keep a secret for long.
We'll share more updates about the biggest season of Survivor of all time as we learn more. Stay tuned!