Survivor 49 is coming to an end very soon! CBS officially revealed when the Survivor finale will be and when we'll find out who the jury picks as the Survivor 49 winner.
The Survivor 49 finale is scheduled to air on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and Paramount+. Like most Survivor finales, the Survivor 49 finale will also be a three-hour episode, but it will not have a live component like many are assuming Survivor 50 will.
Instead, like all the new era seasons so far, Jeff Probst will announce the Survivor 49 winner immediately after Final Tribal Council before they have a mini-reunion and celebration for the winner and two other finalists.
As always, if you're not going to watch live, like the whole West Coast of the United States because they have to wait until 8 p.m. PST on Dec. 17, I would avoid social media for that three-hour block from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST. That rolls right into the airing on the West Coast, so there won't be much time that fans will know who wins before the West Coast airing begins.
There's only two episodes of Survivor 49 left
At the time of publishing, we only have one more episode, episode 12, "The Die is Cast," which airs on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and Paramount+. There are now six players left this season after Sophie Segreti was voted out in episode 11. That means, we'll be down to five players just in time for the finale.
From there, it's a sprint to the finish with an immunity challenge, Tribal Council, another immunity challenge, and the fire-making challenge to decide who the three finalists of Survivor 49 will be. Then, it's Final Tribal Council where those three players will make their case to win $1 million.
That's going to look a little different than the Survivor 47 finale, which was the first two-part, four-hour finale in Survivor history. Rachel LaMont won that season. Probst and the gang got back on track in Survivor 48 where Kyle Fraser was crowned the winner.
Who is going to win Survivor 49? After the vote in episode 11, I have a feeling how things are going to play out. There's a clear 3-3 split among the remaining players, but we also just had the first unanimous vote out in a while, so there's definitely wiggle room.
We'll probably get our first official look at Survivor 50
Wednesday, Dec. 17 is an important date for another reason for Survivor fans. It's probably going to be the first official look we get at which premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 25, on CBS.
After we learn the winner and the players have a little group therapy session to talk about the season, Jeff always shares the first teaser for the next season of Survivor. Most of the time, we don't know any of these new players, so we just get a glimpse of the vibe. It's usually the first time we see them, as well, so then the rumors start flying. The sleuths do all the dirty work to find out just who these new players are. It's become a fun tradition for Survivor fans.
Now, though, things are different. Survivor 50 is the first season featuring returning players, so we'll definitely know a little bit more about what to expect when we see that trailer.
I'm also curious when the Survivor 49 players who will be competing on Survivor 50 will be announced. We know who it is, of course, from reports, but it's unclear if that information will be announced immediately after the season. I doubt it, but it's possible given what Jeff has said about players competing for spots.
Stay tuned for more information about the Survivor 49 finale. Make sure you mark your calendar for Dec. 17! You definitely don't want to miss it.