After years of speculation, rumor, and hype, CBS has finally unveiled its cast for Survivor 50. Here it is:
Let’s just say it: This cast is utterly bizarre. While there are some selections I love (finally justice for our David vs. Goliath crew!), there is also no unifying theme or idea connecting who was selected. It feels almost random—the type of cast list you might get if you asked ChatGPT to spit one out for you. Actually, ChatGPT would probably do better (CBS, do not use this as an idea for future seasons).
In February, host and executive producer Jeff Probst revealed that Survivor 50’s theme would be “In the Hands of the Fans,” and that the show would allow viewers to vote on certain aspects of the game. He also gave some insight into the then-ongoing casting process, saying that for 50, “We want a cast that spans all types of players, spanning all the eras. An array of people who have slept, bled, battled this ever-changing game design for the last 25 years.”
But this cast … doesn’t really accomplish that. By the numbers, the season lacks balance. Just six of these contestants could be described as “old schoolers,” having debuted by Season 18. And not a single player in the cast debuted between Seasons 18 and 32. Delving into the recency bias even more: Not only is half of the cast from the new era, 11 of those 12 players are from the most recent five seasons. Jonathan Young is the sole representative of Seasons 41 through 44.
Meanwhile, we also have some seasons getting some unbelievable overrepresentation. With only about two dozen spots and 49 seasons to choose from, not every season could be represented, making the tripling up on contestants from David vs. Goliath and 48 perplexing. At least DvG is one of the most heralded recent seasons of the show (and a personal favorite of mine), but what happened with 48? Bringing back three contestants from the most recently aired season—one of whom was received only lukewarmly by fans—just feels like a misread of Survivor’s audience.
Then there are the specific choices. Even with so many recent players on the list, some of the cuts are borderline unexplainable. Carolyn Wiger—the biggest breakout star of the new era—implied on Instagram weeks ago that she was cut from the cast, and The Sun reported that she was “furious” about being left out. Jesse Lopez heavily implied that production dropped him as well. New era players like Omar, Andy, Cody, Liz, Maryanne, Shan, and Sai—among others—brought more to their respective seasons than some of the players who did make the cut. Surely some were contacted and declined or had scheduling conflicts, but that can’t explain all of the glaring omissions.
Actually, we have to pause on the Carolyn omission for a moment. If there was ever a player that felt like a “lock” to return, it was her. But The Traitors beat Survivor to the punch, casting her on the third season of the hit Peacock show. Probst has admitted that he “gets territorial” with casting, specifically mentioning how The Traitors bothers him, though he clarified that Cirie, who appeared on Season 1 of Traitors, gets a pass because “she’s Hall of Fame.” Per Probst, the way he thinks about it goes like this: “Well now you’re going to go do this show and that show, and now it’s not as special to see you.” Given that it’s all but confirmed that production cut Carolyn and not the other way around, one way of reading her omission is as Survivor production sending a message to other new era contestants that if they go on another reality TV program, they won’t be considered for future Survivor seasons. (For what it’s worth, Jesse’s omission can be read similarly, as his son Gio recently won $500,000 in a Mr. Beast video.) It feels comically nefarious, but it’s also the only way Carolyn’s omission makes any sense.
But Carolyn’s situation is just a microcosm for how strange and chaotic the entire process for Survivor 50 has been. Look further back, and there are more mysteries. Philippines’s Abi-Maria Gomes announced that she was cut after a casting process that lasted nearly nine months. Legend Jerri Manthey implied she was cut on Instagram—another player that should’ve been a no-brainer. Jonathan Penner called himself a “late deletion” on X.
And then you have the rumors. At times over the past few months, the fan community went wild with whispers that legendary players like Amanda Kimmel, Rob Cesternino, and Sean Rector could return. Whether those players were late cuts, declined to play, or were never really in the running is something we’ll probably never know for sure. But they represent how high anticipation got for 50.
Finally, and perhaps most notably, this cast seems to indicate that Survivor is walking back the diversity initiative it committed to in 2020, which promised to make 50 percent of every cast people of color.
For anyone who is disappointed, maybe they’re the ones at fault for letting anticipation get out of hand. But when 50 airs next spring, we will have gone nine full seasons and six full years between seasons of Survivor with returning cast members. That’s the longest stretch in the entire history of the show. In hindsight, Survivor would’ve been well served by having a New Era All-Stars-type of season (perhaps for 48, mirroring the original All-Stars, which was the eighth overall season of the show) to ease some of the pressure on 50 and help new era players grow their profiles. Then we could’ve had the full celebration of all eras of Survivor with 50. This cast feels like it’s trying to do both, and not accomplishing either.
It can feel a bit ridiculous and entitled to critique a season of reality TV before that season has even been filmed, much less aired, but after the lackluster voting options for a season that’s supposed to be “in the hands of the fans,” this cast list gave me whiplash. All of that said, nothing about this cast indicates we’ll get a bad season of Survivor. There’s still a lot to look forward to. Have you taken a moment to imagine Q and Coach interacting? I’ve been waiting close to a decade for Christian and Angelina to return. And I thought we’d never get Mike White back, but here he is, ready to recruit future cameos for the next season of The White Lotus.
Maybe one final note in the spirit of optimism: There is a long history of bizarre returnee choices breaking out on their second seasons. Parvati wasn’t that big of a star on Cook Islands—then she became a legend on Micronesia. Kelley Wentworth had to campaign hard to make the Cambodia cast, then went on to be arguably the most entertaining player on that season. Amber Brkich and Sarah Lacina weren’t big Survivor names until they won returnee seasons. Tiffany, for example, feels like an underwhelming inclusion now but could become a legend with the right performance on 50.
As former contestant Stephen Fishbach pointed out on X, perhaps all of these players will play hard and we’ll get a great season. These 24 contestants are flying to Fiji this week to begin the game. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out.
