The countdown is officially over! It’s Survivor 51 premiere day! And if you can’t tell by the exclamation points, I am beyond excited to enter a new era of Survivor and see if these castaways have what it takes to join the ranks of the 751 players who came before them.
And while Jeff Probst and the entire production have worked really hard to keep as much about this season under wraps as possible, there are still some things we do know going into it, like the episode title, the amount of players, the tribal distribution, and even how the premiere is set to start.
But before we dive into the actual contents of the episode (if you don’t want to know anything, you can sign off at the end of this next section), let’s talk about what you need to know in order to watch the premiere episode.
How to watch the Survivor 51 premiere?
Survivor 51 kicks off tonight, Wednesday, September 23, with a live 2-hour season premiere starting at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch it live on CBS and Paramount+ with the premium membership that includes streaming your local CBS affiliate live. But, as always, you can also stream it next-day both on Paramount+ as well as CBS.com.
As far as we’re aware, after tonight, Survivor will return to its regularly scheduled 90-minute episodes until the season finale, set to take place in mid-December.
Tonight's episode is titled “Permanent Uncertainty” and the official synopsis for it is: “Castaways marooned in remote Fiji embark upon the Open Era of SURVIVOR and battle to win $1 million. The catchphrase of the season, “permanent uncertainty,” comes into play as soon as the castaways reach the beach and discover that one player must leave to go on a mysterious journey. Then, the first tribal council pits two allies against each other in a dramatic battle of wills, on the two-hour 51st season premiere of SURVIVOR…”
Who is competing on Survivor 51?
This season we have 21 players who—it’s already been confirmed—are being divided into two starting tribes with the colors yellow and purple. This is the first time in Survivor history we’re beginning with that exact number of players and only the second season we’re starting with an odd number of players (previously only Survivor: Fiji held that title after a player dropped out the night before the season began—before alternates were lying in wait).
Meet the castaways of Survivor 51:
- Aaliyah Puglia, 25 - Chef
- Alexis Levine, 34 - Criminal Defense Attorney
- An “Thien An” Nguyen, 24 - Medical Student
- Ana Sani, 34 - Voice Actress
- Angelica “Jelly” Loblack, 29 - Sociology Professor
- Brady Booker, 27 - Pro Wrestler
- Carter Krull, 24 - Livestock Farmer
- Cristian Chavez, 25 - Head of Human Resources
- Danny “Kilby” Kilby, 30 - Game Designer
- Devin Way, 33 - Actor
- Eric Macksoud, 34 - Mental Health Counselor
- Jenna Doore, 30 - Wedding Photographer
- Kristin Flickinger, 49 - Crisis Management
- Lewis Kelly, 28 - Farmer
- Linnea Capobianco, 25 - Entrepreneur
- Maggie Nestor, 40 - Farmer
- Mike Pinsky, 32 - Baseball Executive
- Ori Jean-Charles, 27 - Personal Trainer
- Patt Cannaday, 33 - Federal Prosecutor
- Rob Antonson, 40 - Airline Gate Agent
- Sharonda Cox, 34 - OBGYN Resident
As you can see, there are quite a few lawyers, doctors, and farmers this season. There are also more women than there are men. So many unique yet collective identities could lead to an interesting social season.
What can we expect in the open era?
Probst has been loving his metaphors over the last couple of months as he’s been teasing us with what’s to come not only in Survivor 51, but in the seasons following. And his latest metaphor for the open era is a treasure chest of possibilities. He says that the Survivor team has put every single prior advantage, twist, disadvantage, season theme, everything into a metaphorical treasure chest that they will visit each season and randomly pull from.
Some seasons may feature a multitude of moments we recognize from the past while others could feature only one or two. He’s also shared that there will, of course, be new mechanics thrown into the game as well. Because of this, viewers truly can’t expect what might happen next because it’s not following any previous pattern they’ve used—even if it looks like it does at first.
I can’t wait for tonight! How can I watch the first five minutes now?
Don’t worry, I got you! You can catch the first five minutes as Probst opens up the season on the marooning boat with our castaways, below.
But for the other 235 minutes of the show, you’ll have to tune in to CBS or Paramount+ tonight, Wednesday, September 23 at 8 p.m. ET. I’ll see you there!
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