‘Survivor’ season 50 features returning players and fan voting
2026-02-14 16:00:57
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“Survivor” returns for its 50th season with an all-star cast.
The upcoming big season will feature contestants from previous seasons returning to the show’s first season, which aired nearly 26 years ago, with a primary focus on seasons 45 to 49.
Returning to the show this season is former fan-favorite contestant Mike White, who went on to create the hit drama “The White Lotus” on HBO Max. As well as Aubrey Bracco, who appeared in seasons 34 and 38.
“It’s different when you’re Cirie or Colby or Aubry and the famous Survivor player,” host Jeff Probst said. Hollywood Reporter. “But bringing someone back a second time is to say, ‘We see you as something special.’ So when it comes to New Era players, we definitely spent a lot of time asking ourselves, ‘What is the justification for this person?’ Why are they a good fit? “The same way we did with the players of the older era.”

Probst talked about how they were chosen for the 50th season of Survivor. (Diya Dibasobil/Getty Images for SCAD)
The show has brought back former contestants to compete a second, and sometimes third, time several times in the past, including in Season 8’s All-Star season, Season 20, which was called “Heroes vs. Villains” and most recently in Season 40’s Winners at War season, which only included previous winners.
Although this isn’t a new concept, Probst promises it will be different.
He said: “There were players we studied and talked to, and they are great. They are upset because they think they have not reached the required level.” “Really, it wasn’t that. It was about, how many locations do we have and what does each person bring to the place? What we really wanted was the matrix. This isn’t ‘heroes versus villains,’ it’s not ‘game changers’ or ‘fans versus favorites’. It’s a little bit of everything.”
In addition to returning 24 contestants from… Previous seasonsthis season also engaged audiences in a new way, leaving certain elements in the hands of viewers through a voting system.

Contestants from previous seasons return for the 50th season of “Survivor.” (Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images)
This development allowed fans to vote on 11 main categories Throughout the gameIncluding the colors of the tribes, the number of fluctuations and challenges that will be there, etc., and whoever voted will not know the result of the votes until after the show is broadcast.
“But since we’re in this, we don’t know the impact,” he added. “I know the results from the fans and it says what kind of game they ultimately want. I was curious, because I’ve met a lot of people who said, ‘No idols, no developments, no advantages.’ I said, well, maybe this is what people really want. I’m excited about that. I think the fans are going to have a big impact this season.”
The host said that fan voting brought a level of “uncertainty” to the game, and he hoped the contestant would use that to his advantage, saying that if he were in the game, “I would start spreading rumours.”
Probst has been with the franchise for all of its 50 seasons, and he was recently told Entertainment Weekly He has no contract, saying: “I don’t have a deal. We’re just doing it.”

Probst never thought about leaving “Survivor.” (Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images)
“I’m telling you right now, there’s absolutely no thought in my mind about leaving,” he told the outlet. “I love where the show is. I love our cast. I love the kind of people that come forward. It’s in every category of racial diversity. Every category is there, and everyone says it’s because I see myself reflected and represented in the show, so now I want to He is On the show.’ And that gets me excited, along with watching young people come up and say, ‘I want to play this damn game!’ That’s really exciting.”
Although he has no plans to step down, Probst says he “knows that 100 percent.”[s] This show will go on without me” due to its format.
White, who first competed on Season 37 of the show in 2018, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter in February about his decision to return to the show, saying he was “excited to be here.”

Mike White first competed on “Survivor” in 2018. (CBS via Getty Images)
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“Survivor 50 is a cultural milestone for anyone who loved Survivor, played Survivor, or made Survivor,” he said. “So I feel very honored to have gotten the golden ticket, the exclusive invitation. If it had happened any other time in the last five years, I don’t think I would have been able to do it. But it happened in a good place for me. So I felt like maybe this is what the doctor ordered.”
Aside from giving him a positive experience to look back on, White admitted that his experience on the show inspired him when it came to creativity.”White lotus“.
“The White Lotus” follows a new group of characters who stay at a luxury hotel in a different location each season, and each season explores a different theme. He told NPR in December 2022 that “Survivor isn’t that different” from the show.
“A lot of times, people wonder who’s making the fire, or they’re hungry because they haven’t eaten anything,” he said. “But the music makes it feel like it’s going to end badly for someone.” “Then you have these transformations of sharks in the water. And I was like, ‘We’re doing that at White Lotus.’.’ … I have to adjust to being influenced by Survivor and these shows where you have a device that makes it feel like a built-in thriller.”
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White has said in the past that he was inspired by “Survivor” when creating “The White Lotus.” (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Aside from the inspiration he draws from his time on the reality show, he also selects several of his ‘Survivor’ cast mates to appear on the hit show. HBO Max offer.
“Survivor 50” is scheduled to premiere on CBS on February 25.
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