After celebrating its fiftieth season, Survivor is preparing to usher in a brand new “era” — and host Jeff Probst implies that actually.
Survivor 51 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 23 on CBS with a two-hour episode, sending a brand new group of castaways to Fiji to compete for the present’s $1 million prize. The new cast of 21 players ranges in age from 24 to 49 and features a Grey’s Anatomy actor, a wrestler, a chef and a federal prosecutor.
The season arrives 4 months after Survivor 50, which reunited former contestants from throughout the franchise and noticed Aubry Bracco crowned the winner in May.
What units the new season aside is the format. Probst has referred to as it the begin of the “Open Era” — the present’s first main reset since 2021. Here’s is all you want to know.
What is the ‘Survivor’ Open Era?
The Open Era follows the present’s New Era, which started with Survivor 41 in 2021. The format shake-up is designed to make the sport extra unpredictable than ever, in accordance to Probst.
“The Open Era is taking the massive uncertainty [from Survivor 50] and making it permanent,” he mentioned throughout the Survivor 50 finale. “The idea is that anything that has ever happened at any time on the show can happen in any season, at any time, in any order — without any warning.”
In the Survivor 51 trailer, Probst referred to as the new season “a shape-shifting game” that delivers “permanent uncertainty.” He added, “For the first time ever, our entire history — every advantage, every idol, every twist we’ve ever done, 50 seasons of Survivor — is in play… along with dangerous new elements never seen before.”
The twist, in different phrases, is that there isn’t any telling what the twist is.
The Open Era marks one other evolution for a present that has repeatedly modified its format. When the New Era started, the sport was shortened from 39 to 26 days, and producers moved away from seasons constructed round particular themes. At the time, Probst instructed Parade that the purpose was to create a “faster, more dangerous and much more intense game.”
But the Open Era presents a unique problem, particularly for superfans who assume they know Survivor inside and outside. Season 51 has loads of them: Kristin Flickinger mentioned she has been making use of for the present “since the middle of Season 1,” whereas Mike Pinsky recalled taking part in Survivor with pals when he was 8. Even after finding out the sport for years, they will not essentially know what to anticipate.
Will returning castaways compete in the Open Era?
While Survivor 51 options a wholly new forged, returning gamers aren’t essentially gone for good in the Open Era.
Probst instructed Variety in May that one other season that includes former contestants might occur, though there have been no plans at the time. “There’s nothing on the horizon, but they’re very fun to do — for us as well,” he mentioned. “And now we have enough players, we might be able to pull off something that includes returning players sooner than the period of time we had since the last one. But I don’t know. We know what we’re doing for 51 and 52. That’s it.”
Where was ‘Survivor 51’ filmed?
Survivor 51 was filmed on Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands, which have been the present’s residence since Season 33.
Speaking at an event in May, Probst mentioned the location was “a logistics issue and not really a creative choice.” He added, “Fiji has actually saved Survivor, and our relationship with their government and all the landowners is amazing. If that changed, we’d be back looking desperately for somewhere.”