When Survivor premiered in the year 2000, nobody would have predicted how amazing Jeff Probst’s beloved reality show would become. After all, nobody expected the show to last long enough that new fans have to figure out which seasons to watch first. On top of that, the fact is that the show has enjoyed so much longevity that many players have refused to return, and it has been years since the first person was medically evacuated.
Throughout Survivor’s lengthy history, there have been many fantastic seasons, several great winners, and players who were so good they are considered the best ever. With that in mind, there was a lot of excitement about who would get to play during Survivor 50: In The Hands Of The Fans. Sadly, however, after that season’s cast was announced, there were many reasons for fans to be disappointed. On the other hand, there are some aspects of the season’s cast that viewers should be excited about.
The Many Reasons Why Survivor 50: In The Hands Of The Fans’ Cast Is Such A Big Disappointment
On May 28th, 2025, Jeff Probst and CBS announced the cast of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. As a post on the Survivor Instagram account from that day shows, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans will feature 24 players, which is four more than any cast from the past has included.
While looking at the cast announcement, there is no doubt that Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans will feature many notable players. For example, Cirie Fields, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, and Ozzy Lusth are all competing, and they have been inducted into the Survivor Hall of Fame.
Sadly, however, the simple fact is that there are many reasons for fans to be very disappointed in Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast.
The most obvious reason that the cast of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans is so disappointing is that it does such a bad job of celebrating the show’s history. After all, even though Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans was billed as a celebration of the show, a huge timeframe from the show’s past isn’t represented at all.
The Official Cast of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans
- Jenna Lewis-Dougherty
- Colby Donaldson
- Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick
- Cirie Fields
- Ozzy Lusth
- Benjamin “Coach” Wade
- Aubry Bracco
- Chrissy Hofbeck
- Christian Hubicki
- Angelina Keeley
- Mike White
- Rick Devens
- Jonathan Young
- Emily Flippen
- Dee Valladares
- Quintavius “Q” Burdette
- Charlie Davis
- Tiffany Ervin
- Genevieve Mushaluk
- Kyle Fraser
- Joe Hunter
- Kamilla Karthigesu
- Two Officially Unnamed Players From Survivor 49
One of the most staggering facts about Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans‘ cast is that seasons 19-31 aren’t represented at all. To be clear, that means that nobody who played for the first time between Survivor’s 19th and 31st seasons is part of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans‘ cast.
That means that a fifth of Survivor’s history is absent from the supposed celebration of the show. Worse yet, many people would argue that those seasons were a great part of Survivor’s history.
Related
Survivor 48’s Mary Zheng Coconut Argument Shows What Fans Misunderstand About The Show
Survivor 48’s Mary Zheng got into a fascinating argument on the show over coconuts that reveals what the game is really like.
Another staggering fact about the cast of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans is that 11 of the 24 players debuted during the most recent five seasons of the show. The fact that Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast has such a huge recency bias is flabbergasting for several reasons.
In February 2025, E! Online published an article about what is known about the plans for Survivor 50. That article reports that Survivor 50 will premiere in February 2026.
The fact that 11 of the players debuted between Survivor 45 and Survivor 49 seems like it will give those competitors a huge advantage. After all, Jonathan Young also played for the first time during Survivor 42. That means that every starting tribe will almost certainly be half composed of players from the “new era.” Those recent players will probably have much stronger bonds than the people from the show’s distant past. After all, Rick from Survivor’s 38th season would likely have a lot less in common with Jenna from the first season ever.
It is staggering that it seems like Survivor’s casting team didn’t consider that the “new era” players seem to have a huge advantage over the players from the show’s past. On top of them likely having the numbers, the “new era” players will be used to playing during a 26-day season and having played more recently will also give them an advantage. While that was unavoidable unless Survivor 50 didn’t include any “new era” players, they certainly didn’t need to cast so many people who would have those advantages.
Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ including three players from Survivor 48 also is a huge mistake for two reasons. First off, many fans openly complained during Survivor 48 that they felt it was a boring season. Why bring back three of the players from a largely panned season that just aired? Secondly, it is a shame that Kamilla Karthigesu and Kyle Fraser are both part of the cast. Even though Kyle and Kamilla were amazing together, they shouldn’t have returned together. After all, Kamilla played Survivor 48 partially in Kyle’s shadow. Since it was clear that Kamilla was great, it would have been awesome to see her play without the baggage of having Kyle in the game.
The cast of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans features two former winners, Kyle Fraser from Survivor 48 and Dee Valladares from Survivor 45. Since both of them won the game so recently, it was really unnecessary to give them a space on Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast. It would have been much more interesting to include two more players who came close to winning and deserved a second chance.
On top of Survivor 48 having too many players returning, other recent seasons are dominating Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast. Survivor 46 also has three players returning, while Survivor 45 and Survivor 49 are both represented by two players each. It simply makes no sense for those players to have the obvious advantage of competing with people they know so well. It also should be noted that having one player from each of those seasons would have freed up space for other players who haven’t played for years that fans would be excited to see.
Related
What Everyone Seems To Be Getting Wrong About Survivor 50: In The Hands Of The Fans
Since Jeff Probst revealed that fans get to vote on Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, it has seemed like everyone is getting the season wrong.
If having too many players from the same seasons wasn’t a big enough problem, it can also be argued that the season has too many players in general. For huge Survivor fans, it will likely feel wrong to argue that fewer players from the past should be brought back. However, having 24 players during Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans could easily make the season a lot worse.
For most dedicated Survivor fans, the best thing about the show is seeing how the strategy plays out. For that reason, having 24 players during a 26-day season seems like it will likely be a huge problem for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.
Even though Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth undeniably are legends, many fans really wish they weren’t competing during Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. Since Ozzy and Cirie will both be playing American Survivor for the fifth time during the season, many fans are sick of having them show up. Instead, it is a lot more exciting to see players who competed so many times branch out to other reality shows, like Cirie did when she won The Traitors’ first season.
Since so many players will have to be eliminated throughout the season, people will have to be voted out almost every day. Failing that, the only other option will be for there to be tribal councils that will lead to more than elimination. In both cases, the players will have very little time to make the kind of strategic decisions that fans love to see. While Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans might still have great strategy, the format makes it much more likely that things will feel more random as players vote out anyone who is suggested.
Another huge problem with the cast of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans that this article will touch on is the omissions. The sad fact is that many players that fans desperately wanted to return didn’t make the cut.
Sadly, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans won’t feature Sean Rector, Jerri Manthey, Rob Cesternino, Amanda Kimmel, Jonathan Penner, or Taj Johnson-George. Fans are also sad that players like Vecepia Towery, Shane Powers, Courtney Yates, Domenick Abbate, Abi-Maria Gomes, and Carolyn Wiger won’t be competing.
Bringing back three players from a largely panned season and cutting so many people fans were desperate to see again sends a message. It certainly doesn’t seem like the people who cast Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans were most concerned with making fans happy. Instead, it feels like Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast consists of the players that the team behind the show wants to see play again.
There Still Are Reasons To Be Excited About Survivor 50: In The Hands Of The Fans’ Cast
While there are many very valid complaints about Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast, viewers should also remember that there are reasons to be excited. In fact, despite all the problems, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast will likely make the season great still. With that in mind, it is worth looking at the positive aspects of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast.
Related
Former Winner Rachel LaMont Revealed How A Survivor 48 Player’s Mistakes Would Make Them ‘A Losing Finalist’
The former winner, Rachel LaMont, explained how a Survivor 48 player was making mistakes that would make them “a losing finalist.”
While talking to TheThings in April 2025, Kelley Wentworth explained that Survivor’s producers made a huge mistake. As Kelley correctly argued, Survivor should have had a “new era” returning players season, but they didn’t. To Kelley’s point, many of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast members would have been great additions to a “new era” returning players season. In fact, every player that fans have seen play since Survivor 41 who is part of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast deserved to return at some point. Even though Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans shouldn’t consist of half “new era” players, many of those people will likely be great.
Putting aside the timeline divide, many Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ players will almost certainly be very entertaining. For example, it is hard to imagine Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, Cirie Fields, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, Angelina Keeley, Rick Devens, and Quintavius “Q” Burdette not entertaining fans.
One of the problems with Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans’ cast also has the potential to become one of its strengths. While having 24 players is likely to cause chaos, Survivor players have wanted to get rid of 6-player starting tribes for years now. If the season starts with three 8-player tribes, that will be very refreshing.
It will also be fascinating to see the implications of Mike White getting to play again considering how successful The White Lotus is. As a March 2025 Today article shows, several Survivor players have made cameo appearances on The White Lotus. Those players are Alec Merlino, Angelina Keeley, Kara Kay, Natalie Cole, Carl Boudreaux, and Christian Hubicki. With that in mind, it seems possible that some of Mike’s new tribemates with Hollywood dreams may want to stay in The White Lotus‘ creator’s good graces in the game. Alternatively, since Mike is now a lot more successful than he was when he first played, his tribemates may want to drag Mike to the end in hopes nobody will vote to give him $1 million.
The biggest reason of all to be excited about Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans is the fact that all of them will definitely have a lot to prove. It is almost certain that the players will be aware that fans were upset by the casting decisions, at least to a certain degree. With players having something to prove, that is a very good reason for them to take the season up a notch or two.
Survivor
- Release Date
-
May 31, 2000
- Network
-
CBS
- Showrunner
-
Jeff Probst
- Directors
-
Jeff Probst
- Writers
-
Jeff Probst
