The greatest seasons of CBS’s Survivor were theme-based. So, will the show go back to them?
Starting with season 8’s All-Stars in 2004, the flagship reality competition show has ushered in several seasons based on a general theme heading into the scene. Whether it was returning players, castaways separated by their generation, occupation, or sex, or hopefuls playing alongside their loved ones, the show’s brass has delved into themes from across the board.
Season 20’s Heroes vs. Villains, 28’s Cagayan — Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty, 31’s Cambodia — Second Chance, and 33’s Millennials vs. Gen X are examples of themed seasons that are heralded by fans.
Season 40’s Winners at War marked the last time a theme dictated the game’s make-up — 20 former Survivor winners dueled in Fiji to become a multi-time champion.
Season 41 ushered in Survivor’s new era. Along with the competition’s overhaul (like becoming cut from 39 days to 26), themes were done away with. So, season 41 was called Survivor 41, season 42 was Survivor 42, and so on. Survivor 46 is set to premiere at the end of February.
Speaking with host and showrunner Jeff Probst ahead of season 46’s first episode, Entertainment Weekly asked if fans could expect the return to themed iterations in the future. And in short, the Survivor community shouldn’t hold its collective breath.
“It would have to be a really specific theme that still worked within our new era and still could have a number attached to it,” Probst said.
“When you step back and look at Survivor from a global big, big, big picture, it’s: How long will the show run? And where are you going to take it?” Probst continued. “And so you do have to sort of manage the creativity from a broad sense.”
Probst said that he was behind several of the themes and creating them was easier said than done.
“The issue I was having— because I came up with most of those themes — is they’re hard to come up with. It’s hard to come up with a theme that rolls off the tongue, is a legit extension of the social experiment, and is something you can sustain all the way to the final three and the decision of who wins.”
Well, considering Survivor 45 was the best season since Winners at War, it seems like the beloved competition show is on the right trajectory regardless of how the initial tribes are structured.
