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There’s more to our Survivor 51 castaways than meets the eye…

Almost a week after the Survivor 51 cast was announced, we’ve gotten a lot more information on them that might hint at some interesting gameplay.

Survivor 51 contestant Devin Way. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Survivor 51 contestant Devin Way. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As soon as theSurvivor 51cast was announced, I basically went into Nancy Drew mode, ready to see what clues we can get about how the upcoming season—the first in the open era—will play out.

Andno, I’m not looking for spoilers! I’m simply using the strategic deduction skills I learned from watchingSurvivorover the last 26 years and using it to get myself even more excited for the season! And thanks to a new video onSurvivor’sofficial Instagram, we’re getting to learn a little bit more about some of our latest crew of castaways, which could give us some major insight into their personalities and how they’re going toplay together.

Watch the video below and keep scrolling to read our takeaways!

What does this mean for our Survivor 51 players?

Survivor
Survivor 51 contestant Linnea Capobianco. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Linnea

Fact #1:She laughs way more than the average person (and it earned her detention in high school…)

Fact #2:She has “hyperlaxity syndrome” which means she’s super flexible

Fact #3:She went sky diving twice the year before she went onSurvivor

Our Analysis:I think Linnea is going to be a major main character in the early game, but might not make it far beyond the merge. She’s giving me a similar energy as Sai Hughley had onSurvivor 48. A total force to be reckoned with, with a pulse on the game that kept her in longer than other players wanted her to go, but she might be an early target if she comes off as “too much” at camp during the first couple of days.

Survivor
Survivor 51 contestant Devin Way. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Devin

Fact #1:His accent is real

Fact #2:He’s really good at line dancing

Fact #3:He has 13 brothers and sisters

Our Analysis:Devin not only knows how to co-exist with a large group of people, but his charm and charisma helps him co-exist with a large group ofstrangers, specifically. If plays the “I’m just here for a good time, how can I help” guy in the early game he’ll have absolutely no issues getting to the merge. And if he builds a strong early game alliance along the way, he could secure himself a spot at the end. And what jury wouldn’t want to give him $1 million?

Survivor
Survivor 51 contestant Alexis Levine. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Alexis

Fact #1:She hates mashed potatoes

Fact #2:She can recite every word to the song “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies

Fact #3:She drinks a swig of olive oil every day

Our Analysis:I fear that Alexis isn’t going to be able to form strong bonds with her tribe other than maybe one or two players at the beginning of the game. If she’s too hesitant to put herself forward and begin conversations—instead waiting for others to bring the conversations to her—she might lose out on a lot of valuable early game strategy and alliance building that will see her isolated from her tribe pretty early on.

Survivor
Survivor 51 contestant Jenna Doore. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Jenna

Fact #1:She’s broken her arm three times

Fact #2:She keeps a “in case I get cast onSurvivor” clause in all of her wedding photography contracts

Fact #3:She can say the alphabet backwards

Our Analysis:Jenna is the kind of person who, on the outside, seems like a sweet, bubbly person. And she probably is! But I have a feeling that as soon as she steps on that beach, she will experience a legit biological shift and go into “Survivor-mode.” The kind of person who smiles at your face while her alliance secretly stabs you in the back. The exact kind of gameplay that some of the best people inSurvivorhistory have earned the status of legends for doing.

Survivor
Survivor 51 contestant Carter Krull. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Carter

Fact #1:He’s broken his arms four times

Fact #2:He’s a college athlete

Fact #3:He has two siblings, both of which he gets along with very well

Our Analysis:I have a feeling that Carter is going to make it far in the game simply because people forget he’s there. While he’ll definitely make some early allies, I don’t know if he’ll be able to broaden his social circle to deeply bond with the majority of players. But, he’s going to be good at challenges, which will help his tribe win and keep him around at least through the merge.

Survivor
Survivor 51 contestant Rob Antonson. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Rob

Fact #1:He’s a die-hard reality TV fan…

Fact #2:…including all the housewives!

Fact #3:He met his wife on a cruise

Our Analysis:I don’t know who yet, but I just sense that Rob is going to be the Colby Donaldson to someone’s Rizo Velovic a laSurvivor 50. An older, mentor-like figure that a younger player can emotionally turn to when needed because Rob is approachable like that. We’ll see if that helps him at all or if he’ll suffer the same fate as Colby did last season.

Survivor
Survivor 51 contestant An “Thien An” Nguyen. Season 51 is set to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Thien An

Fact #1:She owned a total of 12 birds at one point

Fact #2:She is SCUBA certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors

Fact #3:She has more than 100 cousins

Our Analysis:Ok, right off the bat, I know that Thien An isn’t going to bat an eye living in the jungle, she’s going to dominate water challenges, and she’s going to easily disguise herself in the core of the tribe so no one sees her coming. We shoulddefinitelykeep an eye on Thien An! She’s coming for the crown and has the skills needed to get it.

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