Survivor Season 50 is going to be a returning players season, the first since Season 40, “Winners at War.” Knowing that famous Survivor faces will be coming back is an exciting prospect for longtime lovers of the series, and we already have an idea of who we’d like to see take on this epic TV challenge again.
Host and showrunner Jeff Probst previously told TV Insider that one player from Season 46 is likely getting an invitation to return: Q Burdette, the controversial but entertaining player from the most recent season whose strategy was to sow chaos and take advantage of unrest.
“Q is a great example of a player whom we really wanted on the show and we never saw this part of his game at any point during the casting process,” Probst told us. “He’s so unpredictable and so electric and polarizing. And another player that you could say is on the invite list to come back [for Season 50]. There really are just so many.”
Q’s unpredictable nature made him a wild card in the game, and that didn’t end up working out in his favor. His elimination with an idol in his pocket helped set a new record for the franchise, and the idol snafus of Survivor 46 are something we’d like to never see happen again. But here’s what we are hoping happens in Survivor Season 50 with all those exciting returning players…
1. No More Hidden Immunity Idols
At least for one season! This highly desired advantage has been a Survivor staple for years. It’s been around so long, some might assume it’s been part of the game since Season 1. But hidden immunity idols weren’t introduced into Survivor until Season 11. And with the way Season 46 absolutely fumbled this advantage week after week (six players were voted out with an idol in their pocket, four of them consecutively — insanity!), viewers could use a break.
When it comes to immunity idols, use it or lose it! Let’s see how the returning players fare with no immunity idols to find. We’re not advocating for the elimination of immunity altogether, mind you. The immunity challenge is a core tenet of the game. We’d like to see this immunity challenge become more high-stakes by becoming the only guaranteed way to be safe at Tribal Council.
The Shot in the Dark advantage can be nixed as well. After not working in any players’ favor for several seasons, the advantage completed its purpose in one thrilling episode in Season 45, when Kaleb was saved from a unanimous vote against him. We’ve had our fill of Shot in the Dark now. Let’s raise the stakes by only guaranteeing one path to immunity.
2. Make the Tribes a Mix of Old and New-Era Players
We considered having the teams be split by those who played in the 39-day eras and those who have played in the 26-day new era. Past seasons, like “Millennials vs. Gen-X,” were structured around a clear tribal divide, but splitting the Season 50 players by the old and new eras would be a waste of dramatic intrigue. Imagine seeing players like Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine being on the same tribe as Q — there would be no predicting how those interpersonal dynamics would play out, and it would be thrilling to see how seasoned Survivor vets would deal with a wild card like that from the new era. It’s not enough to see which era would be victorious over the other. We need to see the eras combine to see how their different methods of playing interact.
Probst has said that returning to the 39-day format isn’t of interest to him right now. He likes the raised stakes of the shorter game, and he likes adding more “danger” into the game by eliminating guaranteed rice and other survival tools. While the returning players from the old era could be more battle-tested, especially if they’ve competed on more than one season, could they make it through these tougher circumstances? Are the new era alums more equipped to thrive on less? We’d need to see this potential clash of experience on all of the tribes, not just one.
3. Bring Back the Opening from “Pearl Islands”
Survivor: Pearl Islands (Season 7) is an all-time great in part because of its thrilling opening minutes. After being told they would play with the clothes currently on their backs (they were dressed for a photoshoot, not competition!), the Drake and Morgan tribes were sent to a small village with money to buy supplies.
Their time was limited, as were their funds, but there no no rules against bartering with the locals and stealing from the other tribe. The Drake tribe thrived, providing themselves with many days worth of food and useful materials. The Morgan tribe’s lack of quick, thorough thinking, meanwhile, reverberated in troubles at camp for a long time.
While the lack of resources does make for higher emotions and more struggle in the new era, we’d like to see a return to seeing the players have to make a home at their camps and really survive off of their own skills for the duration of the game. Let the tribes buy, barter, and steal for their resources at the top of the season, with the added knowledge that they won’t have guaranteed access to food moving forward, and see how that impacts the social game on each individual tribe.
Survivor, Season 47 Premiere, Fall 2024, CBS
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