Survivor (American TV series)

Survivor is the American version of the international Survivor reality competition television franchise, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson created by Charlie Parsons which premiered in 1997. The American series premiered on May 31, 2000, on CBS. It is hosted by television personality Jeff Probst, who is also an executive producer along with Mark Burnett and the original creator, Parsons. The television show places a group of strangers in an isolated location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in challenges including testing the contestants’ physical ability like running and swimming or their mental abilities like puzzles and endurance challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow contestants until only one remains and is given the title of “Sole Survivor” and is awarded the grand prize of US$1,000,000 (US$2,000,000 in Winners at War).

The American version has been very successful. From the 2000–01 through the 2005–06 television seasons, its first eleven seasons (competitions) rated among the top ten most-watched shows. It is commonly considered the leader of American reality TV because it was the first highly-rated and profitable reality show on broadcast television in the U.S., and is considered one of the best shows of the 2000s (decade). The series has been nominated for several Emmy Awards, including winning for Outstanding Sound Mixing in 2001, Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002, and was subsequently nominated four times for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program when the category was introduced in 2003. Probst won the award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program four consecutive times after the award was introduced in 2008. In 2007, the series was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. In 2013, TV Guide ranked it at #39 on its list of the “60 Best Series of All Time”.

The series’ 40th season Survivor: Winners at War premiered on February 12, 2020, during the 20th anniversary of the show, and finished airing on May 13, 2020. Production for the 41st and 42nd seasons was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead began production in spring 2021, with a fall 2021 premiere date for season 41. Season 41 will once again be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands, Fiji.

Format and rules

The first U.S. season of Survivor followed the same general format as the Swedish series. Sixteen or more players, split between two or more “tribes”, are taken to a remote isolated location (usually in a tropical climate) and are forced to live off the land with meager supplies for 39 days (42 in The Australian Outback). Frequent physical and mental challenges are used to pit the teams against each other for rewards, such as food or luxuries, or for “immunity”, forcing the other tribe to attend “Tribal Council”, where they must vote off one of their tribemates.

Signaling the halfway point in the game, survivors from both tribes come together to live as one, making it to the “merge”. At this point, survivors will compete against each other to win individual immunity; winning immunity prevents that player from being voted out at Tribal Council. Most players that are voted out after the merge form the game’s “jury”. Once the group gets down to two or three people, a Final Tribal Council is held where the remaining players plead their case to the jury members. The jury then votes for which player should be considered the “Sole Survivor” and win the show’s grand prize. In all seasons for the United States version (excluding Survivor: Winners at War), this has included a $1-million prize in addition to the Sole Survivor title; some seasons (particularly earlier seasons) have included additional prizes offered during the game, such as a car, as well as fan-favorite prizes awarded at the finale. All contestants are paid on a sliding scale based on the order they were voted out: the first player voted out has been given US$2,500 and the amount increases from there. Some of the seasons that have featured returning players have increased these amounts: Survivor: All-Stars featured payouts starting at US$5,000, while Winners at War had a minimum US$25,000 payout. All players are offered US$10,000 for participating in the finale show.

The U.S. version has introduced numerous modifications, or “twists”, on the core rules in order to keep the players on their toes and to prevent players from relying on strategies that succeeded in prior seasons. These changes have included tribal switches, seasons starting with more than two tribes, the ability to exile a player from a tribe for a short time, unannounced returning players, hidden immunity idols that players can use to save themselves or others at Tribal Council, special voting powers which can be used to influence the result at Tribal Council, chance to return to regular gameplay after elimination through the “Redemption Island,” “Edge of Extinction” or “The Outcast Tribe” twists, and a final four fire-making challenge as of season 35.

Series overview

The United States version is produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by Jeff Probst, who also serves as an executive producer. Each competition is called a season, has a unique name, and lasts from 13 to 16 episodes. The first season, Survivor: Borneo, was broadcast as a summer replacement show in 2000. Starting with Survivor: Africa, there have been two seasons aired during each U.S. television season.

In the first season, there was a 75-person crew. By season 22, the crew had grown to 325 people.

A total of 590 contestants have competed on Survivor‘s 40 seasons.

List of Survivor (U.S.) seasons

#	Season title	Location	Original tribes	Winner	Runner(s)-up		Final vote
1	Survivor: Borneo	Pulau Tiga, Sabah, Malaysia	Two tribes of eight new players	Richard Hatch	Kelly Wiglesworth		4–3
2	Survivor: The Australian Outback	Herbert River at Goshen Station, Queensland, Australia		Tina Wesson	Colby Donaldson
3	Survivor: Africa	Shaba National Reserve, Kenya		Ethan Zohn	Kim Johnson		5–2
4	Survivor: Marquesas	Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia		Vecepia Towery	Neleh Dennis		4–3
5	Survivor: Thailand	Ko Tarutao, Satun Province, Thailand	Two tribes of eight new players; picked by the two oldest players	Brian Heidik	Clay Jordan
6	Survivor: The Amazon	Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil	Two tribes of eight new players divided by gender	Jenna Morasca	Matthew Von Ertfelda		6–1
7	Survivor: Pearl Islands	Pearl Islands, Panama	Two tribes of eight new players	Sandra Diaz-Twine	Lillian Morris
8	Survivor: All-Stars		Three tribes of six returning players	Amber Brkich	Rob Mariano		4–3
9	Survivor: Vanuatu	Efate, Shefa, Vanuatu	Two tribes of nine new players divided by gender	Chris Daugherty	Twila Tanner		5–2
10	Survivor: Palau	Koror, Palau	A schoolyard pick of two tribes of nine new players each; two eliminated without a tribe	Tom Westman	Katie Gallagher		6–1
11	Survivor: Guatemala	Laguna Yaxhá, Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo National Park, Petén, Guatemala	Two tribes of nine, including two returning players	Danni Boatwright	Stephenie LaGrossa
12	Survivor: Panama	Pearl Islands, Panama	Four tribes of four new players divided by age and gender	Aras Baskauskas	Danielle DiLorenzo		5–2
13	Survivor: Cook Islands	Aitutaki, Cook Islands	Four tribes of five new players divided by ethnicity: African Americans, Whites, Hispanics, and Asians	Yul Kwon	Ozzy Lusth	Becky Lee	5–4–0
14	Survivor: Fiji	Macuata, Vanua Levu, Fiji	Two tribes of nine new players divided by one selected castaway, who would replace the first person voted out	Earl Cole	Cassandra Franklin & Andria “Dreamz” Herd		9–0–0
15	Survivor: China	Zhelin, Jiujiang, Jiangxi, China	Two tribes of eight new players	Todd Herzog	Courtney Yates	Amanda Kimmel	4–2–1
16	Survivor: Micronesia	Koror, Palau	Two tribes of ten: new players against past contestants	Parvati Shallow	Amanda Kimmel		5–3
17	Survivor: Gabon	Wonga-Wongue Presidential Reserve, Estuaire, Gabon	A schoolyard pick of two tribes of nine new players, starting with the oldest players	Robert “Bob” Crowley	Susie Smith	Jessica “Sugar” Kiper	4–3–0
18	Survivor: Tocantins	Jalapão, Tocantins, Brazil	Two tribes of eight new players	James “J.T.” Thomas Jr.	Stephen Fishbach		7–0
19	Survivor: Samoa	Upolu, Samoa	Two tribes of ten new players	Natalie White	Russell Hantz	Mick Trimming	7–2–0
20	Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains		Two tribes of ten returning players divided by reputation: “heroes” vs. “villains”	Sandra Diaz-Twine	Parvati Shallow	Russell Hantz	6–3–0
21	Survivor: Nicaragua	San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua	Two tribes of ten new players divided by age	Jud “Fabio” Birza	Chase Rice	Matthew “Sash” Lenahan	5–4–0
22	Survivor: Redemption Island		Two tribes of nine, including two returning players	Rob Mariano	Phillip Sheppard	Natalie Tenerelli	8–1–0
23	Survivor: South Pacific	Upolu, Samoa		Sophie Clarke	Benjamin “Coach” Wade	Albert Destrade	6–3–0
24	Survivor: One World		Two tribes of nine new players divided by gender living on the same beach	Kim Spradlin	Sabrina Thompson	Chelsea Meissner	7–2–0
25	Survivor: Philippines	Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines	Three tribes of six, including three returning players who had been medically evacuated in a previous season	Denise Stapley	Lisa Whelchel & Michael Skupin		6–1–1
26	Survivor: Caramoan		Two tribes of ten: new players against past contestants	John Cochran	Dawn Meehan & Sherri Biethman		8–0–0
27	Survivor: Blood vs. Water	Palaui Island, Santa Ana, Cagayan, Philippines	Two tribes of ten: returning contestants against their loved ones	Tyson Apostol	Monica Culpepper	Gervase Peterson	7–1–0
28	Survivor: Cagayan		Three tribes of six new players divided by primary attribute: “brawn” vs. “brains” vs. “beauty”	Tony Vlachos	Yung “Woo” Hwang		8–1
29	Survivor: San Juan del Sur	San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua	Nine pairs of new players, each with a pre-existing relationship, divided into two tribes of nine	Natalie Anderson	Jaclyn Schultz	Missy Payne	5–2–1
30	Survivor: Worlds Apart		Three tribes of six new players divided by social class: “white collar” vs. “blue collar” vs. “no collar”	Mike Holloway	Carolyn Rivera & Will Sims II		6–1–1
31	Survivor: Cambodia	Koh Rong, Cambodia	Two tribes of ten returning players who only played once before, have not won, and were selected by public vote	Jeremy Collins	Spencer Bledsoe & Tasha Fox		10–0–0
32	Survivor: Kaôh Rōng		Three tribes of six new players divided by primary attribute: “brains” vs. “brawn” vs. “beauty”	Michele Fitzgerald	Aubry Bracco	Tai Trang	5–2–0
33	Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X	Mamanuca Islands, Fiji	Two tribes of ten new players divided by generation: millennials vs. Generation X	Adam Klein	Hannah Shapiro & Ken McNickle		10–0–0
34	Survivor: Game Changers		Two tribes of ten returning players	Sarah Lacina	Brad Culpepper	Troy “Troyzan” Robertson	7–3–0
35	Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers		Three tribes of six new players divided by dominant perceived trait: “heroes” vs. “healers” vs. “hustlers”	Ben Driebergen	Chrissy Hofbeck	Ryan Ulrich	5–2–1
36	Survivor: Ghost Island		Two tribes of ten new players	Wendell Holland	Domenick Abbate	Laurel Johnson	5–5–0 1–0
37	Survivor: David vs. Goliath		Two tribes of ten new players divided by adversity: “David” (underdogs) vs. “Goliath” (overachievers)	Nick Wilson	Mike White	Angelina Keeley	7–3–0
38	Survivor: Edge of Extinction		Two tribes of nine, including four returning players	Chris Underwood	Gavin Whitson	Julie Rosenberg	9–4–0
39	Survivor: Island of the Idols		Two tribes of ten new players. Past winners Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine feature as non-playing mentors	Tommy Sheehan	Dean Kowalski	Noura Salman	8–2–0
40	Survivor: Winners at War		Two tribes of ten winners of past Survivor seasons.	Tony Vlachos	Natalie Anderson	Michele Fitzgerald	12–4–0
41	TBD		Production postponed to spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions

Notes

Production

Concept

The original idea of Survivor was developed by Charlie Parsons in 1994 under the name Castaway. Parsons formed Planet24 with Bob Geldof to produce the show and tried to have the BBC broadcast it, but the network turned it down. Parsons went to Swedish television and was able to find a broadcaster, ultimately producing Expedition Robinson in 1997. The show was a success, and plans for international versions were made.

Mark Burnett intended to be the person to bring the show to the United States, though he recognized that the Swedish version was a bit crude and mean-spirited. Burnett retooled the concept to use better production values, based on his prior Eco-Challenge show, and wanted to focus more on the human drama experienced while under pressure. Burnett spent about a year trying to find a broadcaster that would take the show, retooling the concept based on feedback. On November 24, 1999, Burnett made his pitch to Les Moonves of CBS, and Moonves agreed to pick up the show. The first season, Survivor: Borneo, was filmed during March and April 2000, and was first broadcast on May 31, 2000. The first season became a ratings success, leading to its current ongoing run.

Locations

The American version of Survivor has been shot in many locations around the world since the first season, usually favoring warm and tropical climates. Starting with season 19, two seasons have filmed back-to-back in the same location, to be aired in the same broadcast year. Since season 33, the show has been filmed in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji.

Continent/Region	Locations (season number)
Africa	Gabon (17), Kenya (3)
Asia	Cambodia (31, 32), China (15), Malaysia (1), Philippines (25, 26, 27, 28), Thailand (5)
Oceania	Australia (2), Cook Islands (13), Fiji (14, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42), French Polynesia (4), Palau (10, 16), Samoa (19, 20, 23, 24), Vanuatu (9)
Central America	Guatemala (11), Nicaragua (21, 22, 29, 30), Panama (7, 8, 12)
South America	Brazil (6, 18)

Since The Australian Outback, the show’s run has ended with a live reveal of the winner with votes read in front of a live studio audience, followed by a reunion show, hosted by Jeff Probst. Reunion shows for the first three seasons were hosted by Bryant Gumbel and the fourth season by Rosie O’Donnell. Between Africa and One World the reunion locations alternated between Central Park, Madison Square Garden and the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City (home to the CBS’ Late Show franchise) and CBS Television City or the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles. The reunion show has continued to be filmed at CBS Television City since Philippines.

The exceptions to the above outlined live reunion were for Survivor: Island of the Idols, which was filmed in front of a live studio audience but taped four hours in advance due to the controversy surrounding contestant Dan Spilo’s behavior, and Survivor: Winners at War, where a video conferencing event was used during the broadcast of the final episode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The final episode of the latter did not include the live reunion and promo for the upcoming 41st season, as the 41st season had not filmed at that time.

As part of this, up through Survivor: Cagayan, the production of the last part of the recorded final Tribal Council showed Probst taking the urn or container containing the votes and travelling with it by some means, transitioning this to the live show and suggesting a type of continuity between events; for example Survivor: The Amazon appeared to have Probst jet-ski from the Amazon rainforest directly to New York City where the live show was held. According to Probst, they had also filmed a similar sequence for the 29th season Survivor: San Juan del Sur: he had paddled out on a canoe from the location in Nicaragua, and then paddling into Venice, California from a nearby island. Once on the beach, he would have asked a teenager to borrow his skateboard in the same manner as the “Hey Kid, Catch!” Coke commercial with Mean Joe Greene, with Probst doing some tricks on the skateboard before tossing it back. However, Probst had no idea how to ride a skateboard and even after some basic training, he could not complete the trick for filming. Production opted to eliminate that transition for San Juan del Sur, and they eliminated any similar transitions for future seasons.

Reception

U.S. television ratings

Survivor had consistently been one of the top 20 most watched shows through its first 23 seasons. It has not broken the top 20 since. Probst acknowledged that Kelly Kahl, the current president of CBS, had been a significant proponent of the show. When Survivor had launched, Kahl, then vice-president of scheduling, took a risk and moved the show’s second season to Thursdays in competition with NBC’s Friends. Survivor won viewership numbers over Friends, giving Kahl significant sway within CBS to continue supporting Survivor.

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of the United States version of Survivor on CBS.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season	Timeslot (ET)	Premiered		Ended			TV season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
		Date	Premiere viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale viewers (in millions)	Reunion viewers (in millions)
Survivor: Borneo	Wednesday 8:00 pm	May 31, 2000	15.51	August 23, 2000	51.69	36.70	1999–2000	2	28.30
Survivor: The Australian Outback	Thursday 8:00 pm	January 28, 2001	45.37	May 3, 2001	36.35	28.01	2000–01	1	29.80
Survivor: Africa		October 11, 2001	23.84	January 10, 2002	27.26	19.05	2001–02	8	20.69
Survivor: Marquesas		February 28, 2002	23.19	May 19, 2002	25.87	17.89		6	20.77
Survivor: Thailand		September 19, 2002	23.05	December 19, 2002	24.08	20.43	2002–03	4	21.21
Survivor: The Amazon		February 13, 2003	23.26	May 11, 2003	22.29	17.65		9	19.97
Survivor: Pearl Islands		September 18, 2003	21.50	December 14, 2003	25.23	21.87	2003–04	7	20.72
Survivor: All-Stars		February 1, 2004	33.53	May 9, 2004	24.76	23.92		3	21.49
Survivor: Vanuatu		September 16, 2004	20.06	December 12, 2004	19.72	15.23	2004–05	10	19.64
Survivor: Palau		February 17, 2005	23.66	May 15, 2005	20.80	15.48		5	20.91
Survivor: Guatemala		September 15, 2005	18.41	December 11, 2005	21.18	15.21	2005–06	8	18.30
Survivor: Panama		February 2, 2006	19.20	May 14, 2006	17.07	11.65		11	16.82
Survivor: Cook Islands		September 14, 2006	18.00	December 17, 2006	16.42	13.53	2006–07	13	15.75
Survivor: Fiji		February 8, 2007	16.68	May 13, 2007	13.63	11.43		15	14.83
Survivor: China		September 20, 2007	15.35	December 16, 2007	15.10	12.22	2007–08	8	15.18
Survivor: Micronesia		February 7, 2008	14.02	May 11, 2008	12.92	10.84		11	13.61
Survivor: Gabon		September 25, 2008	13.05	December 14, 2008	13.77	11.74	2008–09	15	13.81
Survivor: Tocantins		February 12, 2009	13.63	May 17, 2009	12.94	11.59		19	12.86
Survivor: Samoa		September 17, 2009	11.66	December 20, 2009	13.97	11.68	2009–10	17	12.34
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains		February 11, 2010	14.15	May 16, 2010	13.46	10.65		14	12.60
Survivor: Nicaragua	Wednesday 8:00 pm	September 15, 2010	12.23	December 19, 2010	13.58	11.19	2010–11	11	13.61
Survivor: Redemption Island		February 16, 2011	11.17	May 15, 2011	13.30	10.97		18	12.59
Survivor: South Pacific		September 14, 2011	10.74	December 18, 2011	13.07	9.92	2011–12	18	12.77
Survivor: One World		February 15, 2012	10.79	May 13, 2012	10.34	7.72		26	11.64
Survivor: Philippines		September 19, 2012	11.37	December 16, 2012	11.46	8.77	2012–13	21	11.85
Survivor: Caramoan		February 13, 2013	8.94	May 12, 2013	10.16	8.13		28	10.82
Survivor: Blood vs. Water		September 18, 2013	9.73	December 15, 2013	10.19	7.46	2013–14	25	11.30
Survivor: Cagayan		February 26, 2014	9.40	May 21, 2014	9.58	7.14
Survivor: San Juan del Sur		September 24, 2014	9.75	December 17, 2014	9.79	7.31	2014–15	31	11.35
Survivor: Worlds Apart		February 25, 2015	10.04	May 20, 2015	9.74	7.21
Survivor: Cambodia		September 23, 2015	9.70	December 16, 2015	9.45	6.49	2015–16	26	10.99
Survivor: Kaôh Rōng		February 17, 2016	8.30	May 18, 2016	9.54	6.42
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X		September 21, 2016	9.46	December 14, 2016	9.09	6.40	2016–17	24	10.32
Survivor: Game Changers		March 8, 2017	7.64	May 24, 2017	8.48	5.84
Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers		September 27, 2017	8.33	December 20, 2017	8.70	5.97	2017–18	25	10.28
Survivor: Ghost Island		February 28, 2018	8.19	May 23, 2018	7.31	4.62
Survivor: David vs. Goliath		September 26, 2018	7.83	December 19, 2018	7.72	5.17	2018–19	32	9.43
Survivor: Edge of Extinction		February 20, 2019	7.75	May 15, 2019	7.21	4.64
Survivor: Island of the Idols		September 25, 2019	6.29	December 18, 2019	6.52	4.61	2019–20
Survivor: Winners at War		February 12, 2020	6.68	May 13, 2020	7.94

Notes

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominee/Episode	Result
2001	Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Special Class)		Won
	Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Non-Fiction Program	Terrance Dwyer “The Marooning”	Won
	Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming	“Honeymoon or Not?”	Nominated
	Outstanding Main Title Theme Music	Russ Landau	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming	“Trial by Fire”	Nominated
	Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	“Survivor: The Reunion”	Nominated
2002	Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for VMC Programming	“Finale and the Reunion”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Two Peas in a Pod”	Nominated
	Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series	“Finale and the Reunion”	Nominated
2003	Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program		Nominated
	Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“The Importance of Being Earnest”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“More Than Meats the Eye”	Nominated
	Outstanding Reality/Competition Program		Nominated
2004	Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Beg, Barter and Steal”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Swimming with Sharks”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Shark Attack”	Nominated
	Outstanding Reality/Competition Program		Nominated
	Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“They’re Back”	Nominated
2005	Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“This Has Never Happened Before”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)		Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Culture Shock and Violent Storms”	Nominated
	Outstanding Reality/Competition Program		Nominated
	Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Love is in the Air, Rats are Everywhere”	Nominated
2006	Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Big Trek, Big Trouble, Big Surprise”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Starvation and Lunacy”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Salvation and Desertion”	Nominated
	Outstanding Reality/Competition Program		Nominated
	Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Big Trek, Big Trouble, Big Surprise”	Nominated
	Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)		Nominated
2007	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“An Evil Thought”	Nominated
2008	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“He’s a Ball of Goo!”	Nominated
	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Jeff Probst	Won
	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“Just Don’t Eat the Apple”	Nominated
2009	Outstanding Sound Mixing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“The Poison Apple Needs to Go”	Nominated
	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Jeff Probst	Won
	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“This Camp is Cursed”	Nominated
2010	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Tonight, We Make Our Move”	Nominated
	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Jeff Probst	Won
	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“Slay Everyone, Trust No One”	Won
2011	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Don’t You Work for Me?”	Nominated
	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Jeff Probst	Won
	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“Rice Wars”	Nominated
2012	Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Cult-Like”	Nominated
	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“Running the Show”	Nominated
2013	Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)	“Create a Little Chaos”	Nominated
	Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming		Nominated
	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming		Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming	“Zipping Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”	Nominated
	Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming	“Live Finale and Reunion” (Survivor: Caramoan)	Nominated
		“Live Finale and Reunion” (Survivor: Philippines)	Nominated
2014	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“Mad Treasure Hunt”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming		Nominated
2015	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“It’s Survivor Warfare”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming		Nominated
2016	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“Second Chance”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming	“Signed, Sealed and Delivered”	Nominated
2017	Outstanding Casting for Reality Programming	Lynne Spiegel Spillman	Nominated
	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	“The Stakes Have Been Raised”	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming	“About to Have a Rumble”	Nominated
2019	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	Series Body of Work	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming	“Appearances Are Deceiving”	Nominated
2020	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming	Series Body of Work	Nominated
	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming	“It’s Like a Survivor Economy”	Nominated

Other awards

Year	Association	Category	Result	Ref.
2001	TCA Awards	Program of the Year	Nominated
2001		Outstanding New Program	Nominated
2011		Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming	Nominated
2013		Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming	Nominated
2013	Critics’ Choice Television Awards	Best Reality Series – Competition	Nominated
2014		Best Reality Series – Competition	Nominated
2014	TCA Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming	Nominated
2016		Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming	Nominated
2017		Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming	Nominated
2018	GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding Reality Program	Won

Post-show auctions

At the end of each U.S. Survivor season from Survivor: Africa onward, various Survivor props and memorabilia are auctioned online for charity. The most common recipient has been the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Most recently, proceeds have gone toward The Serpentine Project, a charity founded by Jeff Probst, dedicated to helping those transitioning out of foster care upon emancipation at 18 years of age. Items up for auction have included flags, mats, tree mails, contestant torches, contestant clothing, autographed items, immunity idols and the voting urn.

Controversies and legal action

• In February 2001, Stacey Stillman filed a lawsuit claiming that producers interfered in the process of Survivor: Borneo by persuading two members of her tribe (Sean Kenniff and Dirk Been) to vote her off instead of Rudy Boesch.
• During a reward trip on Survivor: The Australian Outback, Colby Donaldson removed coral from the Great Barrier Reef and, on the same trip, a helicopter involved with the production crew flew around protected seabird rookeries. Both acts violated Australian law and the incidents could have resulted in fines up to A$110,000. Mark Burnett, the executive producer, issued an apology on behalf of Donaldson and the Survivor production team.
• At the tribal immunity challenge for the final four players on Survivor: Africa, host Jeff Probst asked which female player in their season had no piercings. Kim Johnson answered Kelly Goldsmith, got the point, and went on to win the challenge, which put her through to the final three and ultimately (after winning another immunity challenge) the final two. Unbeknownst to the producers, another contestant on “Africa”, Lindsey Richter, also had no piercings. Lex van den Berghe’s answer had been Lindsey, but the show did not award him a point, which could have significantly changed the outcome of the challenge and the overall game. CBS later paid van den Berghe and Tom Buchanan, who had finished in fourth place, a settlement.
• In the fifth episode of Survivor: All-Stars, a naked Richard Hatch came into contact with Sue Hawk after she blocked his path during an immunity challenge. Hatch was voted out that day for other reasons, but Hawk quit the game two days later as a result of what had happened. Hawk considered filing a lawsuit against the parties involved, but appeared with Hatch on The Early Show the morning after the sixth episode aired, stating she opted out of legal action because CBS had helped her “deal with the situation”.
• In January 2006, Richard Hatch, the winner of the first season of Survivor, was charged and found guilty of failing to report his winnings to the IRS to avoid taxes. He was sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
• In the beginning of Survivor: Cook Islands, the tribes were grouped according to their race. Probst claimed the choice came from the criticism that Survivor was “not ethnically diverse enough”, but several long-term sponsors, including Campbell’s Soup, Procter & Gamble, Home Depot, and Coca-Cola dropped their support of the show shortly after this announcement, leading to speculation that the decisions were in response to the controversy. Each company has either denied the link to the controversy or declined to comment.
• The selection process for the 14th season came under fire when it was revealed that, of the entire Survivor: Fiji cast, only Gary Stritesky had gone through the application process for the show; the rest of the contestants were recruited. Probst defended the process, citing finding diversity of cast as a reason.
• At the Survivor: China reunion show, Denise Martin told producers and the audience that she had been demoted to a janitor from a lunch lady due to the distraction she was to students from her appearance on the show. Because of her misfortune, Burnett awarded Martin $50,000. But Martin would later recant her story after the school district she worked for publicly stated that she had taken the custodial position before appearing on the show. Martin then decided to donate the $50,000 to charity.
• A brief uncensored shot of Marcus Lehman’s genitals during the premiere episode of Survivor: Gabon led to the show and network being asked to apologize for the incident.
• Jim Early (aka Missyae), who was a user on one of the fan forums for Survivor, was sued by Burnett, his production company, and CBS in August 2010, for allegedly releasing detailed spoiler information for Survivor: Samoa and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Early revealed that he was getting his information from Russell Hantz, a contestant on both seasons, through both phone calls and emails. Early complied in the lawsuit by providing such evidence, eventually leading to its dismissal in January 2011. Although legal action has yet to be taken against Hantz, the contract for a player in Survivor includes a liability of up to $5 million for the premature revealing of a season’s results. Hantz has stated that the claim is false.
• Contestants that did not make the jury in Survivor: Caramoan were not allowed on stage for the reunion show. While Jeff Probst claimed that the new stage could not accommodate all of the attending contestants, the format change was panned because the show’s fans and fellow contestants felt that it was unfair for them to be left out in the audience. Erik Reichenbach, who finished 5th and did not even get a chance to speak at the reunion, called out the producers for their treatment of the contestants. Calling it a farce, he criticized how the reunion show left so many unanswered questions about the other contestants and his own evacuation during the season finale. He also criticized how the pre-jury members were completely left out in favor of featuring the show’s former contestants, like Rob Mariano and Rudy Boesch.
• In the sixth episode of Survivor: Game Changers, Jeff Varner revealed at Tribal Council that fellow contestant Zeke Smith was a transgender man. This caused an immediate uproar amongst his tribemates and host Jeff Probst, which led to Varner’s immediate elimination. The incident was covered by various news outlets, with fans heavily criticizing Varner’s actions. Varner explained himself following the episode’s airdate and expressed regret for his actions. Varner was also fired from his real estate job after the episode aired.
• Before the premiere of Survivor: David vs. Goliath, contestant Alec Merlino posted a photo of himself on Instagram with fellow contestant Kara Kay containing the caption “F*** it”. This action broke Merlino’s NDA agreement with the show and was consequently stripped of all appearance fees and banned from the live reunion show. Due to this, Merlino did not have to pay the standard $5 million penalty for breaking the agreement.
• In the eighth episode of the 39th season Survivor: Island of the Idols, contestant Dan Spilo was issued a warning by producers for inappropriately touching fellow contestants including Kellee Kim. Contestants Elizabeth Beisel and Missy Byrd came under fire for their misuse of this situation as a strategic tool in voting out Kim later that episode. This moment has since been criticized by various news outlets for the reactions of Beisel and Byrd as well as the handling of the situation by producers. Beisel and Byrd later apologized, along with fellow contestants Lauren Beck and Aaron Meredith. Jeff Probst, CBS, and MGM released a statement about what happened and the production’s reaction as well. Dan was later removed from the game at the end of episode 12 after “a report of another incident, which happened off-camera and did not involve a player”. This is the first time a contestant has been ejected from the show by production. Spilo apologized to all involved for his behavior following the finale’s broadcast. Because of the incident, the season’s finale was not shown live but instead from an earlier live-to-tape recording, the first time since the live finale format was introduced. Further, CBS and Survivor announced they will revamp the show’s rules and production to focus more on earlier detection and prevention of this type of inappropriate behavior, and strict penalties for castaways that engage in it, to be fully in place by the 41st season (the first season produced following the airing of Island of the Idols).

Merchandise

The success of Survivor spawned a wide range of merchandise from the very first season. While early items available were limited to buffs, water bottles, hats, T-shirts, and other typical souvenir items, the marketability of the franchise has grown tremendously. Today, fans can find innumerable items, including computer and board games, interactive online games, mugs, tribal-themed jewelry, beach towels, dog tags, magnets, multi-function tools, DVD seasons, Survivor party kits, insider books, soundtracks, and more.

Home media releases

Best of

DVD name	Release date
Season One: The Greatest and Most Outrageous Moments	January 9, 2001
Season Two: The Greatest and Most Outrageous Moments	September 25, 2001

Full seasons

Seasons 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and 10 were released in stores. The remaining seasons have been released exclusively on Amazon.com through their CreateSpace manufacture on demand program. Select seasons have also been released on Blu-ray.

DVD name	DVD release date	Blu-ray release date
The Complete First Season: Borneo	May 11, 2004	n/a
The Complete Second Season: The Australian Outback	April 26, 2005	n/a
The Complete Third Season: Africa	October 5, 2010	n/a
The Complete Fourth Season: Marquesas	October 5, 2010	n/a
The Complete Fifth Season: Thailand	October 25, 2011	n/a
The Complete Sixth Season: The Amazon	November 22, 2011	n/a
The Complete Seventh Season: Pearl Islands	February 7, 2006	n/a
The Complete Eighth Season: All-Stars	September 14, 2004	n/a
The Complete Ninth Season: Vanuatu – Islands of Fire	December 5, 2006	n/a
The Complete Tenth Season: Palau	August 29, 2006	n/a
The Complete Eleventh Season: Guatemala – The Maya Empire	May 22, 2012	n/a
The Complete Twelfth Season: Panama – Exile Island	May 22, 2012	n/a
The Complete Thirteenth Season: Cook Islands	December 11, 2012	n/a
The Complete Fourteenth Season: Fiji	December 11, 2012	n/a
The Complete Fifteenth Season: China	January 27, 2014	n/a
The Complete Sixteenth Season: Micronesia – Fans vs. Favorites	January 31, 2014	n/a
The Complete Seventeenth Season: Gabon – Earth’s Last Eden	September 11, 2014	TBA
The Complete Eighteenth Season: Tocantins – The Brazilian Highlands	August 5, 2014	TBA
The Complete Nineteenth Season: Samoa	November 18, 2014	TBA
The Complete Twentieth Season: Heroes vs. Villains	February 22, 2011	TBA
The Complete Twenty-First Season: Nicaragua	November 18, 2014	TBA
The Complete Twenty-Second Season: Redemption Island	October 7, 2015	TBA
The Complete Twenty-Third Season: South Pacific	October 7, 2015	TBA
The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season: One World	September 23, 2016	July 11, 2017
The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season: Philippines	September 23, 2016	July 11, 2017
The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites	October 26, 2017	December 22, 2017
The Complete Twenty-Seventh Season: Blood vs. Water	November 13, 2017	November 1, 2017
The Complete Twenty-Eighth Season: Cagayan	December 22, 2017	November 1, 2017
The Complete Twenty-Ninth Season: San Juan del Sur – Blood vs. Water	October 15, 2018	TBA
The Complete Thirtieth Season: Worlds Apart	November 13, 2018	TBA
The Complete Thirty-First Season: Cambodia – Second Chance	November 13, 2018	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Second Season: Kaôh Rōng	November 21, 2018	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Third Season: Millennials vs. Gen X	November 21, 2018	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Fourth Season: Game Changers – Mamanuca Islands	February 22, 2019	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Fifth Season: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers	May 9, 2019	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Sixth Season: Ghost Island	June 12, 2019	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Seventh Season: David vs. Goliath	July 17, 2019	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Eighth Season: Edge of Extinction	January 31, 2020	TBA
The Complete Thirty-Ninth Season: Island of the Idols	December 15, 2020	TBA
The Complete Fortieth Season: Winners at War	April 13, 2021	TBA

Paramount+

All seasons are available on Paramount+, ViacomCBS’s over-the-top subscription streaming service in the United States, Canada and Australia (where the service is branded as 10 All-Access – due to the service’s affiliation to the CBS owned Network 10).

Pluto TV

Survivor was added to Pluto TV, ViacomCBS’s free Internet television service, as a standalone channel along on September 1, 2020.

Other media

Video games

In the 2001 PC video game Survivor: The Interactive Game, developed by Magic Lantern and published by Infogrames, it allows players to play and create characters for the game based on the Borneo or Australian Outback cast members. The game also includes a character creation system for making custom characters.

Gameplay consists of choosing survivors’ skills (fishing, cooking, etc.), forming alliances, developing relationships with other tribe members, and voting off competitors at tribal council.

The game was very poorly received by critics. GameSpot gave the game a ‘Terrible’ score of 2.0 out of 10, saying “If you’re harboring even a tiny urge to buy this game, please listen very carefully to this advice: Don’t do it.” Likewise, IGN gave the game a ‘Painful’ 2.4 out of 10, stating “It is horribly boring and repetitive. The graphics are weak and even the greatest Survivor fan would break the CD in two after playing it for 20 minutes.” The game was the recipient of Game Revolution’s lowest score of all time, an F-. An ‘interactive review’ was created specially for the game, and features interactive comments like “The Survival periods are about as much fun as” followed by a drop-down menu, “watching paint dry/throbbing hemorrhoids/staring at air/being buried alive.”

On November 4, 2009, it was announced that a second video game adaptation would be released for the Wii and Nintendo DS. The game would require players to participate in various challenges like those in the reality shows in order to win.

Soundtracks

Various soundtracks have been released featuring music composed by Russ Landau, including soundtracks for seasons 9 through 27 (with the exception of season 14).

Thrill ride

The Tiki Twirl thrill ride at California’s Great America in Santa Clara, California was originally called Survivor: The Ride. The ride includes a rotating platform that moves along an undulating track. Riders can be sprayed by water guns hidden in oversized tribal masks. Theme elements included drums and other familiar Survivor musical accents playing in the background, Survivor memorabilia throughout the queue and other merchandise for sale in nearby gift shops.