Are You a Survivor Superfan? See How Many of These Facts You Know Before Watching Season 50 (Yes, 50!)
What were you doing the night on May 31, 2000? I hung out at my friend’s apartment, and we turned on a brand-new TV show—a summer rarity back then!—with major buzz thanks to its intriguing concept. It was called Survivor. For two hours, we watched 16 Americans on a remote island try to make shelter and friends. Then, at the end of the episode, those same people voted for a nice elderly woman to leave the game. I liked it! Little did I realize I’d go on to visit the show’s various productions all over the world 17 times, most recently in Fiji for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.
Can you believe it? One of the best reality shows of all time is almost 26 years old and celebrating its golden anniversary season. Of course, all you superfans like me who have diligently watched every episode and can recall every major moment—Jonny Fairplay’s “dead” grandma, Rob and Amber’s live engagement and the Applebee’s challenge fiasco, to name just three—know this already. But did you know 714 episodes have already aired and the show has won seven Emmys out of 73 nominations? I assume the answer is no … unless your name is Jeff Probst.
So, in honor of the big Survivor milestone, we’re rounding up some of the coolest and craziest Survivor facts and figures. Learn them now and impress your friends at your next Survivor watch party. Come on in!
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1. Survivor first aired in Sweden
Way back in 1994, when grunge was all the rage and The Lion King dominated the box office, British producer Charlie Parsons pitched the concept of strangers competing on a deserted island to ABC. When the network agreed to only air it as a one-time special, he turned them down. He finally got interest from broadcasters in Sweden in 1997, and his show was a hit. (Title: Expedition Robinson.)
A few years later, Parsons agreed to license the show to producer Mark Burnett. A former British soldier turned Hollywood power player, Burnett ultimately sold Survivor to CBS. “He convinced people who I would never have been able to put it on,” Parsons told Variety in 2022. “He made it brilliant, cinematic and enormous.”
2. Jeff Probst nearly lost the hosting gig to Phil Keoghan
By now, Jeff Probst is as synonymous with Survivor as Lorne Michaels is with Saturday Night Live. But when producers were casting who would utter the iconic “the tribe has spoken” at every tribal council, Probst was in a neck-and-neck race with Phil Keoghan, the smooth-voiced New Zealander who went on to host The Amazing Race. As Keoghan has explained it, he suspects producers chose his buddy partly because Probst was from the States. (Keoghan says he was told to “Americanize” his voice.)
Of course, it worked out in the end, as Keoghan turned out to be perfect for the more internationally friendly Race: “The fact that I come from New Zealand and we have a different perspective on the world has actually been a bonus in the end,” he explained to Parade.
3. The first winner did serious jail time as a result of his big win
More than 50 million people watched Richard Hatch defeat Kelly Wiglesworth to nab the title of Sole Survivor and win a cool $1 million. However, come tax time, he failed to declare his earnings—plus a $300,000 radio appearance fee—and the IRS caught up with him. Hatch’s defense? He thought Survivor producers had paid the taxes on his behalf.
In January 2006, a jury found him guilty of tax evasion and filing a false return. The judge sentenced him to 51 months in federal prison. Then, he failed to amend the returns as required and served an additional nine months! In 2025, Hatch asked a U.S. district court to reconsider the decision to pay off his debt; his request was denied.
4. It’s easier to get into Harvard than to compete on Survivor
Every year, thousands scramble to get on Survivor for the chance to win $1 million. Heck, even the fictional character played by Rachel McAdams in the new hit movie Send Help was a superfan—and used her skills to great advantage! In all, Survivor producers receive about 15,000 audition tapes for each cycle. (After 50 seasons, we’re talking hundreds of thousands of wannabe castaways.)
From the initial pool, 24 lucky individuals advance to the final in-person casting call. Only 18 go on to compete, along with one alternate on stand-by just in case. (Survivor 50, with its 24 returning players, is an exception.) That means you have just a 0.0012% of getting the lucky call. Fun fact: You’re more likely to get into Harvard Business School, which boasts an 11% acceptance rate.
5. Survivors must sign an NDA worth a reported $5 million
As with all reality shows, players must sign a strict non-disclosure agreement—basically, a promise to stay tight-lipped—once they’re cast so that no secrets are revealed prior to the show airing. How much is it worth if the contract is broken? CBS has never revealed it officially, but a reported figure came to light in 2018 after Survivor: David vs. Goliath wrapped production in Fiji. Contestants Alec Merlino and Kara Kay, who weren’t even announced as part of the cast at that point, just couldn’t help themselves—they revealed on social media that they hit it off on location and were now engaged.
According to TMZ, they were on the hook for $5 million, but it’s unknown if CBS lawyers ever came to collect.
6. Every contestant gets paid
Inflation be damned! Since 2000, the winner of Survivor still takes home a tidy $1 million. (The one exception is former New Jersey police officer Tony Vlachos, who won $2 million in 2020 for triumphing in Winners at War.) However, no one goes home empty-handed: Each player begins earning money as soon as Probst starts the game.
How much money are we talking? Leave it to the Survivor: Pearl Islands pot-stirrer and third-place finisher turned pro wrestler “Jonny Fairplay” (real name: Jon Dalton) to spill some of the financial beans. He told TMZ that jury members are awarded up to $40,000, while the first person voted off gets around $3,500. The runner-up is also guaranteed to win a $100,000 consolation prize.
7. Fiji has been Survivor’s home since 2016
Survivor used to uproot its crew and its cavalcade of cameras to two far-flung locations every calendar year—like, say, Africa (Gabon) and Brazil (Tocantins) in 2008. Then production moved to the ultra-scenic Mamanuca Islands of Fiji for Millennials vs. Gen X in 2016 … and never left. (That’s a grand total of 18 Fiji appearances, including Survivor 50.) The big reason is the lower production costs, though aesthetic perks such as beautiful crystal-blue water ripe for swimming challenges don’t hurt.
And here’s a fun fact within a fun fact: Tom Hanks filmed the 2000 survival movie Cast Away on one of the islands. So far, no sign of Wilson.
8. Survivors spend just 26 days as castaways
Even though a Survivor TV season stretches on for months, the castaways are only “surviving” for just under four weeks. For 20 years, contestants had to outwit, outplay and outlast on their respective islands for 39 days. But after the show returned from its year-long, pandemic-induced hiatus in 2021, contestants saw their time whittled down to 26 days due to safety protocols. That number hasn’t changed even five years later.
But lest we forget! The castaways picked for Season 2’s Survivor: The Australian Outback in 2001 spent 42 days in front of the cameras. Credit (or blame?) the runaway success of the first season, which heightened viewer demand for more episodes in the bigger, bolder sequel. To amp the hype, that edition—won by sweet mom Tina Wesson—premiered after the Super Bowl.
9. One challenge lasted for a whopping 12 hours
On TV, challenges go on for about 10 minutes. The real time is much longer—players can sometimes take an hour just trying to solve a complicated puzzle. And then there was the final challenge during the Palau season. Officially called “Bob-Bob-Buoy” as a sly joke to all the Howard Stern fans on the staff, it involved the last three castaways hanging on to a floating buoy or risk being voted off that night.
After a bladder-challenging 11 hours and 55 minutes, Ian Rosenberger offered to step down if Tom Westman promised to take third-rung Katie Gallagher to the final two to ease his guilt (Rosenberger had previously promised Gallagher he would bring her on a reward, and didn’t). Westman agreed and won $1 million in a landslide.
10. Tyler Perry loves to pitch ideas to producers
The show boasts a bevy of celebrity superfans. Pop star Sia used to give $1 million to her favorite player each season ($8 million total), and Jimmy Fallon and Billie Eilish have parlayed their obsession into guest appearances on Survivor 50. Tyler Perry, meanwhile, is so passionate about the show’s many twists that he once convinced Probst (also an executive producer) to put a new super-immunity idol into play for Survivor: Cagayan in 2012.
“Tyler Perry is an idea machine,” Probst said in 2023. “He will send texts that are so long, and they are full of ideas.”
11. Three players once dropped because of record-breaking heat
What if Survivor filmed in the freezing cold? Well, the players would be bundled up the entire time—and aside from logistical challenges, they’d have frostbite to contend with. On the flip side, contestants have endured some brain-boiling heat in the tropics.
The hottest of all was 2016’s Survivor: Koah Rong in Thailand, where temperatures reached a scorching 120 degrees. (Probst declared it the hottest day in show history!) No wonder three exhausted players fell to the ground during one reward challenge; Caleb Reynolds was later removed from the game due to heat stroke—he had a fever of 107 degrees and spent five days in the ICU.
12. A Paralympian sprinter won a thriller of a challenge
Here’s a nice moment! Noelle Lambert was a Paralympian sprinter at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games when she turned up in Fiji for Survivor 43. She became the first above-the-knee amputee to compete on the show, and she more than proved her mettle. During a reward challenge, Lambert struggled while darting across the thin balance beam on her prosthetic leg, but she staged an epic comeback—and triumphed, becoming the first amputee to win a challenge in Survivor history.
Happy tears followed, and she went on to finish 8th and sit on the jury. Prior to Lambert, amputees Chad Crittenden (Vanuatu) and Kelly Bruno (Nicaragua) also competed on the show.
13. Survivors really are as grimy as they look
Unlike players on other reality TV competition shows like The Traitors, the survivors are truly roughing it while forming alliances. That means no toothbrushes, toilet paper, soap, deodorant, toothpicks or anything else to keep clean—though occasionally they show up as rewards, as in the infamous “Charmin Cafe” from Survivor: Tocantins.
Sunblock is provided for health reasons, but otherwise? “There’s no hygiene whatsoever,” Rick Devens, an Edge of Extinction player who returns for Survivor 50, told Us Weekly. “You’re scraping your teeth with a little piece of bamboo. What surprised me most was how quickly I got used to it.” And in case you’re wondering, the players really do squat and do their business in the South Pacific.
14. Contestants have ranged in age from 18 to 75
Let’s talk ages! Former Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch was 72 on the very first Survivor, finishing third behind Hatch and Wiglesworth. When he returned for Survivor: All Stars, he was 75. Alas, he was voted off second due to an ankle injury, and he died in 2019 at the age of 91. On the other end of the spectrum, Will Wahl was just 18 when he played in Millennials vs. Gen X. (Never mind that he was actually the show’s first Gen Z player.)
That’s a 57-year span, and coincidentally, the oldest winner was 57-year-old Bob Crowley, who took the honors in Gabon … but never returned to defend his title. The youngest winner: Jud “Fabio” Birza, age 21 years and 6 months in Survivor: Nicaragua in 2010. He hasn’t returned, either.
15. Survivor occasionally sparks a baby boom
First comes love … actually, first comes sweating and mosquito bites. And somehow, these tough conditions have led to several long-term romances—most memorably “Boston” Rob Mariano proposing to Amber Brkich at the 2004 live finale of Survivor: All-Stars. The pair are now parents to four daughters, who all appeared on Survivor: Winners at War.
In fact, several Survivor couples who competed on the show—such as China’s Erik Huffman and Jaime Dugan-Huffman and Blood vs. Water’s Tyson Apostol and Rachel Fougler—went on to have kids together. According to CBS, the number is 12 Survivor babies in all. Cigars for everyone!
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Sources:
- Variety: “How Survivor Has Outplayed Its Competition for 25 Years”
- TMZ: “Survivor Contestants Violate NDA, $5 Milllion on the Line”
- Business Insider: “Sia has given over $1 million to her favorite Survivor contestants. She’s stopping after 8 years and no one knows why”
- EW: “Jeff Probst blames himself for Survivor super idol”
- Us Weekly: “Survivor Babies — See Which Reality Stars Have Given Birth”
- People: “Survivor’s Caleb Reynolds Reveals His Temperature Hit 107 Degrees Before He was Removed from the Game: ‘I Was in the ICU for 5 Days’”
- People: “Inside the Survivor Casting Process: How to Apply (and Prove You Have What It Takes!)”
- People: “Where Are All the Survivor Winners Now? A Look at Their Lives Today After Earning the Coveted $1 Million Prize”
- People: “Do Survivor Contestants Get Paid? All About the Show’s Long-Standing Prize (and the Money for Losing Players!)”
- Parade: “The Amazing Race Host Phil Keoghan Celebrates 30 Seasons of Travel”
- Us Weekly: “Survivor 50 Cast Tells All: The Juiciest Stories Are Spoken from The Best Players to Ever Compete”
- Television Academy: “Survivor”
- Tax Notes: “Court Won’t Reconsider Decision in Survivor Winner’s Tax Case”
- Princeton Review: “Harvard University – Harvard Business School”
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