Survivor is an American CBS reality competition that’s been running since 2000. It is hosted by Jeff Probst and involves a group of contestants stranded on a remote island who must complete physical and mental challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. Contestants are voted out each episode until one is ultimately given the title of “Sole Survivor” and wins the grand prize money.
Survivor has continued to be a massively successful show since its debut and has continued to prove itself to be one of the most iconic and well-regarded reality TV shows of all time, especially with the release of its recent season, Survivor 47. As the series continues to evolve and maintain itself as a premiere reality TV show, it becomes even easier for fans to look back on the show’s past and see all the amazing seasons throughout its history. Fans are drawn in by each Survivor season’s unique theme, the compelling character storylines, and the thrilling challenges. Though the show has completed 46 seasons thus far, there are a few that many fans agree to be the best of the anthology series. These best seasons of Survivor keep viewers on the edge of their seats, from start to finish.
Survivor
- Release Date
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May 31, 2000
- Network
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CBS
48
‘Survivor: Island of the Idols’
Season 39 (2019)
While there is always going to be debate and conversation surrounding which Survivor seasons are the best, there has been no question as to which season is the worst, as Survivor: Island of the Idols has held the mantle ever since its airing. The season’s main twist is that contestants would go off by themselves to a third camp featuring legends Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, where they would get advice on the game and compete in a small challenge for a reward.
This twist is not necessarily the reason that the season is the unanimous king of trash, however (even if the twist was inconsequential and messed with the pacing of each episode), as the true cause is the infamous drama surrounding contestant Dan Spilo. Dan was a player who came under fire for inappropriately touching other contestants in the game, and when contestant Kellee Kim spoke up about her experiences, she would end up being voted out as Dan was too pivotal to other players’ games. Dan would eventually be ejected from the game for misconduct with a non-contestant, well after it was too late, and forever casting a disgusting shadow over the entire season.
47
‘Survivor: Nicaragua’
Season 21 (2010)
It would be difficult for any season to have to follow up the widely beloved and acclaimed Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, especially a season of new contestants, but Survivor: Nicaragua managed to disappoint even the most optimistic of viewers. The season attempted a multitude of twists to usher in a new era of Survivor, but the majority of these were largely flops and miscalculations in impact, such as the immediately forgotten Medallion of Power.
Even outside of these twists, the season is riddled with issues that all come together to make one of the biggest messes of a season the show has ever seen. Just a few of these issues include aggressive and toxic infighting among contestants, an old vs. young tribe split that left one tribe completely dominating over the other, multiple contestants quitting in the final 9, and the lazy casting of Super Bowl-winning coach Jimmy Johnson. The season ushered in a dark era of the show of lackluster and underwhelming seasons that would last for several seasons.
46
‘Survivor: Thailand’
Season 5 (2002)
While Survivor‘s early seasons for the most part have done an exceptional job of aging gracefully when compared to the other, trashier reality competition shows of the early 2000s, this cannot be said for Survivor: Thailand. The season easily features the most unlikable cast of any season, with next to none of the contestants coming across as anything close to likable or rootable in the slightest. The gameplay was also deeply uninterested and a relic of early Survivor, being a very dominating and underwhelming trek to the finish for the dominating alliance.
It’s no shock that, over 40 seasons later, only a single player from Thailand’s cast has returned to play a second time, with Shii Ann Huang returning for All-Stars, where she was a much better character and contestant. The season overall simply feels much more in line with the multitude of other annoying, gossip-filled 2000s reality shows that gained notoriety based on infighting and unlikable people. It’s a far cry from the rest of the series and is a season that Survivor has largely attempted to leave forgotten in the sands of time.
45
‘Survivor: Redemption Island’
Season 22 (2011)
Survivor: Redemption Island had an interesting premise in attempting to be defined by its game-changing twist of having contestants compete to return to the game after being voted out, The season is largely remembered for being the biggest steamroll and display of dominance seen in the show’s history, with returning player Rob Mariano making a mockery out of this selection of newbie players. His inclusion in the season, combined with the inclusion of infamous survivor villain Russell Hantz, felt less like a fun twist and more of pandering the the popularity and success of a recent season.
While other seasons that mixed returning players and new players at least attempted to have a balance in the level of gameplay and competence on display, Rob’s leadership qualities and control of his tribe made him an obvious winner before the merge even happened. While it can certainly be considered fun by some viewers to see a legend of the game wipe the floor with a new cast, for a majority of other viewers the stakes and tension are simply nonexistent.
44
‘Survivor: Worlds Apart’
Season 30 (2015)
While there were originally plans to have Survivor’s 30th season be a massive celebration of the series like previous major milestones, issues behind the scenes ended up making Survivor: Worlds Apart another standard season. The season splits its contestants into three tribes of six, themed around the economic and professional backgrounds of their members and designating them as either Blue Collar, White Collar, or No Collar. While this style of occupation and style-based division has worked both in the past and since, something about this specific cast brought out a great deal of toxicity and infighting that made the season a largely uncomfortable watch.
Especially in the post-merge aspect of the game, there is constant infighting and harsh words being tossed around by contestants to one another, with a focus on belittling and insults over actual gameplay. While there are some shining moments and effective gameplay from some key competitors, the overall tone and takeaway of the season is one that is largely sour and difficult to justify going back to compared to other seasons.
43
‘Survivor: One World’
Season 24 (2012)
Easily one of the biggest examples of missed potential in a twist in Survivor history, Survivor: One World‘s major twist is that it had both tribes living at the same camp with one another, along with being separated by sex. This simple yet ingenious twist seems like it would be a smash hit, allowing for a multitude of new possibilities in terms of strategy and gameplay, it quickly became apparent that such high-level gameplay would not happen in One World.
One World‘s pre-merge is defined by messy and chaotic gossip and unlikable characters that take control of the game, making for an unenjoyable and increasingly baffling watch. When these figures leave the game and the merge begins, it manages to only be boring, as one tribe holds a massive dominance over the other, and it becomes increasingly apparent who the obvious winner is going to be. While it may feature one of the strongest and most commanding winners in the show’s history, this level of dominance without competition didn’t result in entertaining television.
42
‘Survivor: Africa’
Season 3 (2001-2002)
While nearly all the older seasons of Survivor have considerably aged in the face of the more modern seasons of the show, Survivor: Africa is a prominent example of a season that has not aged with grace. While the previous seasons still feature some significant high-level gameplay that has helped them age well compared to contemporary seasons, Africa crumbles under the weight of its location choice. The third season of the series ends up taking the contestants to the harsh grasslands of Africa in Kenya’s Shaba National Reserve, a location unlike anything else in the series’ history.
The early seasons of the show made a point of going to wildly different locations, as well as having more focus on the contestants surviving the elements, as opposed to the social gameplay of the game. Africa proved to be one of the toughest and most exhausting locals that the show ever went to, resulting in the cast largely being exhausted and low energy for the majority of the season. This, combined with the sub-optimal early gameplay of the show, makes it an increasingly difficult season to return to over 20 years later, despite its positives for the time.
41
‘Survivor: Gabon’
Season 17 (2008)
Easily one of the messiest and most chaotic casts in the history of the show, Survivor: Gabon is most commonly remembered and recognized for some of the worst and dumbest gameplay seen in the show’s history. For what was always going to be a landmark season in the show’s history, being the first season to be aired in high definition video quality, the main takeaway from fans was less of the beautiful African landscape and instead the increasingly stupid decision-making.
While chaos and disorder can normally result in a great Survivor season when complimented with high-level gameplay and exciting twists, Gabon’s complete lack of even mid-level gameplay only annoyed audiences at the time. In the years since its release, however, a certain selection of fans have grown fond of Gabon, falling in love with its distinctly different style and painfully below-average gameplay. Combined with a surprisingly likable winner and some great challenges, the season is far from the worst of all time that some see it as, but it’s also far from being exceptional.
40
‘Survivor: Edge of Extinction’
Season 38 (2019)
Another season that is largely defined by an extra phase of the game added after the vote out, Survivor: Edge of Extinction introduces the titular Edge of Extinction, an island where every voted-off contestant goes. While there, they face much harsher living conditions than those still in the game, and at two different points in the game, all compete in a challenge for a chance to return to the game. The season also saw a selection of returning players, including Kelley Wentworth, David Wright, Aubry Bracco, and Joe Anglim.
While the Edge of Extinction twist would prove itself to find meaningful success in Survivor: Winners at War, it only proved to hinder the viewing experience of its debut season. When a good portion of the episode is set aside to be focused on a group of people who were already voted out and have little to no bearing on the game, it increasingly made for a pacing issue for the season. While the season got off to a fun and exciting start, this twist resulted in a post-merge that was largely scattered and unfocused, as well as one of the worst Survivor winners among fans.
39
‘Survivor: South Pacific’
Season 23 (2011)
Following up on the themes and twists of Survivor: Redemption Island, Survivor: South Pacific brings back the controversial Redemption Island twist, as well as bringing back two new iconic returning players, Coach Wade and Ozzy Lusth. On top of the exciting returning players, the season also sees the debut of several other soon-to-be iconic cast members, including John Cochran and Brandon Hantz. While it made for a more entertaining and exciting season than Redemption Island, South Pacific still falls under several of the same pitfalls and issues that came from the previous season while inviting new issues of its own.
The defining aspect of South Pacific has to come from Coach’s infamous alliance known as “The Family”, which went beyond simply being a tight-knit alliance and bordered on cult-like levels of devotion and worship. Coach played into his reputation as a spiritual player and was able to convince and manipulate an alliance to the end of the game, which while exceptional gameplay, was far from the most exciting to watch. The season does have its highlights, such as the under-the-radar gameplay of Sophie Clarke and a great self-vote out from Ozzy, but it isn’t enough to save the overall viewing experience.