The “New Era” of CBS’s Survivor has fans questioning the recent changes made to the game following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Written by: Anthony Grech
Survivor: Borneo. This is the first season of the hit reality television show, Survivor, which officially aired on May 31, 2000. Since then, there have been a total of 46 seasons, with season 46 just wrapping up, as the finale aired on May 22, 2024. For over two decades, fans have tuned in every Wednesday to CBS to watch a group of castaways outwit, outplay and outlast until the sole survivor is declared.
The premise of Survivor is simple. A group of castaways sign up to live on an island. In the beginning, there are typically 2 or 3 teams, and these teams have their own separate camp, where they must build a shelter, build a fire, and live off a very scarce amount of food. These teams compete against each other in immunity challenges, which encompass both a strength component and a puzzle component. The teams that finish first will earn immunity and be safe from tribal council, however, the team that loses must go to tribal council and vote off a cast member. This cycle continues until there are about 10 to 12 castaways remaining, and at this point the teams merge into one. The merge marks the beginning of each player's individual game, where the immunity challenges now only offer individual immunity and allows only one person to be safe from getting voted off at tribal council. In addition, the merge brings about the start of the jury, where each cast member that got voted off post-merge will attend every tribal council moving forward as a witness. At the final immunity challenge, with only 4 contestants remaining, the winner of final immunity will chose one person to come with them to the final three and will force the remaining two contestants to battle in a fire making competition and whoever gets there fire strong enough and high enough to burn a rope, will earn their spot in the final three and the loser will be the last member to enter the jury. At the final tribal council, the jury will ask the final three questions about the moves they made in the game and the contestants will plead their case for why they should be the sole survivor and win the million dollar prize. The jury will then vote on which contestant they believed played the best game.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world right as season 40 of Survivor premiered. Due to the virus, many aspects of the game had to change, which brought about the “new era,” which categorizes seasons 41 to 46. When interviewing with some Survivor fans, they highlighted many of the differences between the old and new eras of the game.
Jordana Birchfield has been watching the game since she was 8-years-old and has rewatched many past seasons. When asked about the differences she has noticed in the “new era,” she stated “first of all the amount of days shortened significantly. The game used to last for 39 days, but now it is only 26 days. Also, the filming location is always in Fiji, but the older seasons would always be in a different country. And each season of Survivor used to always have a theme, but now, the newer seasons are only titled with the season number.” The first issue Ms. Birchfield highlights is the amount of days the castaways are out on the island. For the first 40 seasons, the cast members
must survive on the island for 39 days, but because of the pandemic and all of the rules surrounding travel, the time was condensed to 26 days. In order to compensate for the time lost, the game was made harder by forcing the castaways to have no food and no flint to make fire. The next point she touched upon was how the “new era” is only filmed in Fiji. Past seasons have been filmed in places like Borneo, Cambodia, Brazil, Australia, and many more, so she is disappointed that the filming location is limited to just one place, which makes it seem repetitive. Lastly, Ms. Birchfield mentions that there are no more themed seasons in the “new era.” There have been a variety of themes in past seasons of the show, such as, “Fans vs Favorites,” “Heroes vs Villains,” “Game Changers,” “Redemption Island,” etc, but the newer seasons are not themed and have no distinct aspect that differentiates them from other seasons within the “new era.”
Emma Colgan has been watching the game since she was 11-years-old, and she also has commented on the different aspects of the “new era” following the pandemic. Ms. Colgan states, “I really do not like how there is no more live finale. Instead, the host [Jeff Probst], reads out the votes at the final tribal council and the after show immediately follows. This allows no time for the final three to process their win or loss.” In past survivor seasons, the jury will vote for a winner and Probst would take those votes and leave the island. Then, nine months later, the live finale will air in a city, like Los Angeles or New York. Now, because of COVID-19 and all of its restrictions, the votes are
read immediately after the jury votes. This takes away some of the excitement fans feel. Also, as Ms. Colgan stated, there is limited time for the final three to process what happened. This can be seen in the most recent season, where finalist, Charlie Davis, was the runner up and can be seen looking completely defeated.
When asked a question regarding which era of survivor the women prefer, both answered with the older eras. Ms. Birchfield states, “the old era for sure. It holds so many great memories for me and feels nostalgic. When watching the new era, it feels very different.” Ms. Colgan stated, “the old era had some of the best players of all time. Boston Rob, Ozzy, Malcom, JT, and so many more. I’m sure the new era will produce some great players, but the old era has some people with amazing strategy and amazing gameplay.”
Both women agree that the “new era” of Survivor is not as good as it used to be, but both women continue to respect the game and tune in every Wednesday. Ms. Colgan states, “I’ll never stop being a fan of the show. There’s suspense, drama, and hilarious moments that make the show what it is. I think that’s why it has been on tv for so long.” Similarly, Ms. Birchfield states, “the day Survivor ends will be a very sad day, and nothing else will live up to the show.”
Survivor continues to be a popular reality television show, despite the post-COVID changes production has made. Fans continue to hope that some of the aspects of the old era make a comeback, but until then, the show is still appreciated for what it is. As for myself, I have watched a few seasons of the show, and I agree with what the women I interviewed said. The older seasons are more exciting, more dramatic, and more entertaining. All of the seasons in the “new era,” feel the same and when trying to remember certain details of each one, I cannot decipher one from the other. I hope that themed seasons and the live finale return to future seasons, just like the women said.