Week 164: Survivor 50

Week 164: February 22nd-28th, 2026

As many of you know, I am a massive Survivor fan. I've seen all 49 (and counting) seasons, some more than once, and at risk of sounding very para-socially weird, I love Jeff Probst and wish he was my uncle.

This week, whether you knew it or not, we all lived through a historical moment: the season 50 premiere. The very first episode of Survivor aired on May 31st, 2000 (I was just over 1 year old!), and I don't think anyone anticipated this survival competition show to have 50 (FIVE ZERO!!!) whole seasons 25 years later.

I don't want this week's post to become an ode to a silly reality show, but in some ways I fear it is going to be. I remember watching Survivor sporadically when I was a kid, and when I re-discovered it in college, I did what most normal people do: I became incredibly invested in watching every single episode. I found joy in watching not only the people on the show develop throughout their season, but also the show itself develop over time. Apart from the obvious like increased video quality, the show evolves a lot from the first few seasons. However, after realizing not all seasons were available on the streaming platforms I had access to, going as far as contacting Hulu+ support to inform them of a duplicate episode in Season 31 (Episode 15 was just a repeat of Episode 14), I got myself a Paramount+ subscription and never looked back.

The general expectations for Season 50 are massive, don't get me wrong, but in this "New Era" of Survivor (which pretty much means any season after Season 40: Winners at War), I am trying to keep my personal expectations low. If I started getting into my frustrations with production involving weird twists and idols, shortening the days from 39 to 26, getting rid of the live reunion show, and constantly returning to Fiji, I don't think we'd ever come back up for air. I even took the the Season 50 trailer as further reason to keep my expectations low because... well... Why is there something called a Billie Eilish immunity idol, and why is Mr. Beast going to appear on a future episode? It's weird.

Supposedly, the theme of Season 50 is "In the Hands of the Fans." I'll admit I excitedly participated in the emails we've gotten inviting us to vote on decisions that may affect the course of Season 50, but I take all that with a grain of salt. I don't think production (or Jeff, honestly) will ever fully give up the reigns on decision-making, and picking tribe colors isn't what the fans want. I can guarantee that the fans did not vote for more weird advantages and twists, and we definitely did not vote to include Mr. Beast. The fans want to see new locations and real stories, their favorite cast members to return, and a live reunion show.

I will say the cast for Survivor 50 isn't as bad as I expected. I am incredibly happy to see Mike White from Season 37: David vs. Goliath, who has recently been in the spotlight for creating the marvelous HBO show The White Lotus. I still think he should have won season 37.

Also on my list of favorites that have returned for Season 50 are icons like Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth. Notable mentions of Season 50 cast members that I think make great television are Benjamin "Coach" Wade (our infamous dragon slayer) and Quintavius "Q" Burdette (anyone remember the "Q skirt?").

Some of my less-than-favorable mentions, or rather, people I genuinely dislike and/or would be disappointed to see win: Jonathan (yuck), and Charlie (annoying Swiftie). I am open to changing my tune on these two, but we'll see.

Anyway, continue reading if you're okay with a few spoilers for the first episode. I think the overall edit was heavily weighed toward a few key players (Ozzy, Colby, Cirie). We barely saw any screentime for financial analyst and icon Emily Flippen (or Dee, Tiffany, Joe, and Charlie, for that matter!). I hope the edit becomes more balanced as the season unfolds.

Obviously a lot of the story for the first episode was introducing the milestone moment that 50 is, but also the medical evacuation for Kyle and his torn Achilles tendon. I felt the collective weight of everyone's hearts sinking when Jeff showed up on the beach at the end of the episode to pull him from the game. Leaving the game for any reason other than being voted out feels wrong and unfair, but I'm glad to know he's healing and happy.

I felt an incredible sense of admiration and joy while watching the intro to the episode, feelings that only increased tenfold when I saw this photoshoot and interview Jeff Probst did with Interview Magazine. This is also @interviewmag's Instagram post that I have double-clicked more than 50 times, as if it was possible to like something more than once.

Apparently, I was not the only person who was incredibly glued to my television during the premiere. In a press release, CBS said this episode was the most watched Survivor premiere since 2022. I'll admit I was getting real tired by the end of the episode (it was like 11pm! on a Wednesday!), but I was invested.

I really hope this season doesn't flop because I want to feel a sense of validation for the time and love I've put into this show. Of course, I wore my Survivor hat and my Jeff Probst shirt, both gifts from dear friends.

My outfit for any Survivor season premiere and finale.

One of the highlights of my post-grad life was meeting Kelly Wentworth in Cabo (see Week 23), and the premiere of Season 50 did feel a little empty without her. I saw on social media that she attended a watch party in Seattle, and I would have loved to go to something like that. There were a few watch parties in San Diego I found after I looked online for a bit, but I decided it would be better to live through the anticipation and stress of the premiere in the safety of my own home. Just in case the episode was somehow horrifically bad, at least I would be comfortable on my couch. Thankfully, the episode was not horrifically bad, and I was still comfortable on my couch.

I'll spare you all from more of my ramblings about this silly show. Just know that I'm hesitantly excited to see what happens.

See you next week.