By James Galgano

Spoiler Alert: The following article contains spoilers for certain seasons of the reality television show Survivor. If you wish to watch any of the following seasons completely spoiler-free: Survivor: Borneo (Season 1), Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (Season 20), Survivor: Game Changers (Season 34), or Survivor: Season 45, then save this article for later.

With a familiar fanfare theme blasting in the background, birds soar over a coast at sunset in slow motion, followed by a flashing montage of contestants’ faces, gritting their teeth with intense determination. In a fading transition, the scene changes as the camera pans across a tropical oasis, and viewers catch their first glimpse of the glittering beaches of… which destination has been chosen this time? Micronesia? Australia? Kenya? Oh, it’s Fuji again—for the 13th season in a row. 

The reality competition show Survivor follows two to three tribes of contestants as they strive to “outwit, outplay, and outlast” one another through a series of challenges, tribal council eliminations, and the harsh conditions of the environment they’ve been dropped in. This year, the show celebrates its 45th season, with 17 new contestants and one returning from the prior season, where he was medically evacuated in the first challenge due to a head injury. 

Survivor 45 contestants standing in front of the season’s sign. Photo credit: @survivorcbs on Instagram.

As the show continues into its newest era, the pressure increases for producers to come up with new twists and features of the game to try and capture the viewership they had during their first few seasons, which remain the most-watched of the show’s 23-year span. However, are these changes really a benefit to the show, or are they further polarizing the existing fanbase?

A common complaint of new seasons of Survivor is their growing complexity in terms of the social components of the game. Julz Harvey from Insider Magazine believes that the growing use of different advantages—of which there are too many for me to name all at once—takes away from the real social component of the game. Harvey also points out that at the start of the show, there were no immunity idols or big twists, and the show had a more authentic feel. Essentially, Harvey says Survivor must “get back to basics.” 

Contestant Cirie Fields during a U.S. military support tour. Photo credit: Dustin Senger via Wikimedia Commons.

The advantage overabundance issue was first displayed during Survivor: Game Changers in 2017, where contestant Cirie Fields had her torch snuffed with no votes against her, since she was the only competitor left without an immunity idol. If practically every single contestant can be safe in an elimination vote, then Survivor loses part of its authentic social strategy. There is no way to “outwit” a guaranteed elimination, and thus the focus of the vote shifts away from the interpersonal gameplay. Contestants like Fields, who navigated the game successfully up until their elimination, generate more fan outrage due to the perceived unfairness of their exits.

Other critics argue that Survivor has become too repetitive, despite the many attempts by producers to revamp the show. On the popular Survivor blog Idol Speculation, the author—who just goes by Matt—notes, “With the formula so strict, so well-known, it makes the seasons feel, well, same-y.” Although each season contains its one or two surprising moments, in general the format of the show restricts how much one season can stand out, especially when there are 45 of them. Additionally, it seems as though the producers take unnecessary steps to make the show even more monotonous in newer seasons, like removing season themes and reducing the length the contestants are on the island from 39 to 26 days. 

The issues that Survivor is facing are not unusual, given how long the show has been on the air. Long-time fans or those who started with older seasons will always feel sentimental towards them and thereby have a harder time truly enjoying newer seasons. While I do feel that the show is repetitive in many ways and straying too far from its roots, I was still able to enjoy the premiere episode of Season 45 for what it was.

Despite some redundancy, I have to admit that I was caught off guard by contestant Hannah Rose quitting the game at the tribal council of the premiere episode. While she received backlash, I believe that controversial contestant moments are a necessary part of viewer retention when they occur authentically. Another moment that made me appreciate the show was how emotional the contestants were when they first got on the boat with host Jeff Probst. The passion of each player was very apparent, and they demonstrated just how much Survivor means to the superfans of the show. 

Probst celebrating the start of Season 45 with CBS. Photo credit: @survivorcbs on Instagram.

While I don’t think Survivor can recapture the elements and special moments that came from having  contestants with no real knowledge of how the show worked, what is important for the show to continue to be enjoyable is for the producers to embrace what the show has changed into. Allow the people that the show centers around to be the stars, not the confusing advantages or shocking twists. When I think of memorable Survivor moments, what comes to mind are scenes like Sue Hawk’s “Snakes and Rats” speech in Survivor: Borneo, or J.T. Thomas’ letter in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. The contestants are why these moments are so entertaining. For a reality show like Survivor, what matters is having personable, dynamic contestants—although a change in scenery every once in a while would be appreciated too.