If you thought Survivor was about to ride off into the sunset following its upcoming historic 50th season, think again!
CBS has officially renewed Survivor for a 51st season, guaranteeing the show will continue on CBS beyond its upcoming historic all-star season airing this spring. The renewal is not at all surprising as Survivor continues to be a strong performer for CBS and remains its most-watch unscripted series.
Of the seven unscripted series that have aired thus far as part of the 2025-26 season, Survivor is the second-most-watched unscripted series on the network. The only show that is outpacing Survivor in viewership is 60 Minutes, with Survivor 49 besting the latest seasons of The Amazing Race, 48 Hours, and Hollywood Squares, as well as new additions The Road and Harlan Coben’s Final Twist.
The renewal of Survivor isn’t surprising at all and was expected among fans. Not only does the show remain a staple at CBS, but casting calls had already gone out for the next season. This suggested that CBS was proceeding with another season following Survivor 50, which will kick off on February 25.
Survivor 51 should arrive in Fall 2026 on CBS
While CBS has handed out an early renewal to Survivor, we’ll have to wait months before an official premiere date for Survivor 51 is set. However, fans should look forward to the season dropping as part of CBS’s fall lineup.
Unlike with some of its scripted shows which arrive in October and November, new seasons of Survivor typically arrive the final week of September. Unless CBS drastically shakes up its schedule for the fall, fans should expect to see Survivor 51 arrive sometime in late September 2026 and remain a part of its Wednesday night lineup. Looking at the show’s fall premiere dates, it seems highly likely Survivor 51 will premiere on either Wednesday, September 23, 2026, or Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
With The Amazing Race also renewed for the 2026-27 season, there is a strong chance that we'll see the two shows once again paired together on Wednesday nights. The most likely scheduling plan is for Survivor to remain at 8/7c with The Amazing Race episodes following at 9:30/8:30c, assuming CBS maintains the 90-minute episode format both shows have adopted for their most recent seasons.
Jeff Probst is expected back as host and the expectation is the next season will return to a more standard format, with a fresh batch of players heading to Fiji to compete. If CBS follows its usual timeline, we should get our first glimpse at the Survivor 51 cast on finale night in May 2026 when the first promo for the season arrives.