Talk about a game changer! Just as season 48 of “Survivor” is about to debut, host Jeff Probst has announced a plot twist for season 50.
In an Instagram post, Probst says, “Breaking news Survivor fans! Season 50 is in your hands. That’s right, you heard me. We are turning the game over to you. Throughout the airing of season 48, we’re going to be opening votes for you to determine key elements that will shape season 50 for our returning players, before they even get out to Fiji. So if you wanna know when these votes will drop, you gotta be watching season 48. The good news is, it’s a very good season!”
Fans Vote on How “Survivor 50” Will Be Played
CBS says fans will get to vote on twists, idols, advantages, and other “key elements” season 50, which is set to film later this year.
When “Survivor” season 48 premieres at 9:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 26, the show will feature times when fans can visit this website (survivor50cbs.votenow.tv) and vote on four different elements to appear in Season 50. Subsequent shows will offer viewers more chances to weigh in on the milestone season.
If you’re thinking you’ll be choosing tribe names or buff colors, think again. CBS says fans will be choosing major elements like “Idols or No Idols,” or “Final Four Fire Making: Keep It or Lose It.”
Even the structure of the season finale is up for grabs, with viewers choosing “Live Finale and Reunion Show in L.A. – or Keep the Winner Reveal and After Show in the Jungles of Fiji.” In other words, will the conclusion of the season happen months after the competition has ended, off-island, like it did from Seasons 2 through 40? Or will fans keep all the action on-island, as it has been from season 41 to now?
Secrets of Season 50 Will Keep Fans Guessing
Fans may be the deciding factor, but like the game itself, nothing will be revealed in advance. While voting on the elements will close before CBS starts filming “Survivor 50,” the results will remain a secret.
Which means season 50 castaways won’t know what they’ll be facing until they start playing the game.
Speaking of castaways, we know season 50 will feature returning players. And we know fans will NOT get a vote in who. Several seasons of “Survivor” have featured returning players before, including “Survivor: All Stars” (season 8), “Survivor: Heroes vs Villians,” (season 20),”Survivor: Redemption Island” (season 22) and “Survivor: Winners at War” (season 40.)
But which of those former players will compete in the milestone season 50 is still being decided. At a special VIP advance screening of the premiere of “Survivor 48,” host Jeff Probst said, “Trying to figure out who we want to represent “Survivor 50″ has been the most exciting, I would say, and simultaneously, single-most difficult thing any of us have ever done. We’ve had 750-something people play this game. How many are on a season? 18, 20. Not many. So we started with a list of 200 people, these people representing the season. And then we got them to 100. That was the first difficult time where we’re all like, ‘Man, now it’s getting tough.’ Then we get down to 50.”
Season 50 Will Not Feature 50 Castaways
Probst rejects the idea of letting 50 castaways compete. “People will say, ‘Well, do 50 players,'” Probst said. “You can’t. You can’t because of math. You just do 70 episodes. It just doesn’t work. We would love to do it. You also can’t track 50 players. You can’t have 50 energies. You can barely track 18 players. So it’s just math. It still has to be a small.”
Probst says right now, the list remains at 50, but that will change before filming. And while he won’t say who is on that list, he will say this, “This is what we’re trying to do, because we want to satisfy you. We want a cast that represents all types of players, spanning all the eras. An array of people who have slept bled this ever-changing game design for the last 25 years. Because, really, “Survivor 50″ is a representation of everyone who has ever played and the fans who’ve been with us for the entire time. So that’s what we’re endeavoring to do. So you can see how difficult it would be to get it down to a handful of men and a handful of women, very difficult. We hope we get it right. Just know we’re we’re we’re trying. That’s what we’re intending to do.”
How to Watch “Survivor” Season 48 and Vote on Season 50
You can catch the two-hour season premiere of “Survivor” Wednesday, February 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Fan voting on elements for season 50 will begin in the very first episode of the season.
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Survivor Season 50 Plot Twist: You Decide the Rules