We’ve officially had ten seasons in the new era of Survivor with 162 brand new players joining the zeitgeist. If you compare this new era of Survivor to the early seasons of the game, Survivor 50 was kind of like season 8’s Survivor: All-Stars with inclusions across all prior seasons. But if we had to guess, any returning player seasons moving forward will likely only feature players from Survivor 41 and onward.
While Survivor 50 was a great milestone season to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show, it also showed a clear disconnect between the “old era” and the “new era” of the show—specifically the fact that so much of the original formatting has changed for the latest seasons.
There were some players who definitely adapted and others that may have reverted…it was an interesting mix that kept the game lively for sure, but much like the live season finale, I’m not sure if it’s something we can expect in the future.
So looking at a new era of heroes and villains, while we don’t have a full dream cast, there are definitely a few players we know for sure we’d want to see get another chance by taking on the classic player archetypes. And by our definition, “heroes” are resilient optimists who emphasize loyalty in their social game while “villains” are cutthroat strategists who aren’t afraid to pull off a blindside—or three.
New Era Heroes
Noelle Lambert - Survivor 43
A U.S. Paralympic track star, Noelle was a fierce competitor from out the gate. Her “hero” moment came during the “Put a Ring on it” reward challenge where she went from an early lead to last place as she struggled to get across a mid-challenge balance beam. But she didn’t give up, she kept fighting, eventually figuring out the best way to get across and ultimately winning the challenge.
Hunter McKnight - Survivor 46
Hunter gave major J.T. Thomas vibes from the very start of his season. He was great in challenges and helped his tribe win every single pre-merge challenge. But he also had a natural social energy that people gravitated towards until he flipped to vote with the minority, lost immunity, and was revealed to have an immunity idol. His threat level soared through the roof and he went home—with an idol in his pocket!
Katurah Topps - Survivor 45
Starting off on a socially dysfunctional tribe, Katurah was cast out early for her rivalry with Bruce Perreault. But despite being targeted for basically the entire game. She kept calm and continued to strategically maneuver her way to each new day, eventually making it to the Final Four where she only barely lost the fire-making challenge and was eliminated from the game. The ultimate underdog!
New Era Villains
Kamilla Karthigesu - Survivor 48 and Survivor 50
I know we just saw Kamilla return in nearly back-to-back seasons, but she’s such a strategic mastermind that I’d love to see her get another chance to make it to the end—especially since her latest game was cut short thanks to a pre-game alliance targeting her. She’s a shadow player who knows how to manipulate the game in her favor and her cunning wits and hilarious confessional quips make her impossible not to root for.
Shan Smith - Survivor 41
Deeply compelling and extremely complex, Shan used her real-life work as a pastor and her incredible listening skills to connect with her fellow tribe mates until they trusted her completely. But she knew the best game would be to turn around and use that trust to pull off big moves like tricking her closest allies into giving her their advantages only to blindside them. She even came with her own “evil theme song.”
Andy Rueda - Survivor 47
After starting his season on the bottom, a complete social mess, Andy managed to find the right people to help him climb the Survivor ladder until he was somehow sitting on top of one of the biggest strategic alliances of his season. While he was ultimately outsmarted by Rachel LaMont who deemed him a bigger threat than he appeared, Andy has one of the best “rags to riches” stories of the new era going from underdog to king pin.
Who would you want to see in a new era Heroes vs. Villains season?
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