When Survivor aired for the first time on May 31, 2000. Many didn’t think that the show would stick around. Unlike regular game shows, this show’s rules were different. You could win the challenge and still be booted off. And yet, the show has endured for 15 years and has become the longest-running reality competition program on the air today.
Since 2000, CBS have shown 459 episodes across 17 countries. The game has been played for 460 castaway players. This year, fans of the show decided who will play for the new season, “Second Chance” in Cambodia.
The new season begins with a special 90 minute season premiere on Wednesday, September 23 at 8:00 p.m. It will feature 20 castaways from among the 30 previous seasons each given a second chance to become the soul survivor.
In a recent press release, CBS hints that “For one tribe, old-school thinking battles new-school strategy” and “one contestant finds a clue to a hidden immunity idol that requires retrieving it in a way that’s never been seen before.”
This season’s cast includes the following people from their original season:
Season 1: Borneo – Kelly Wiglesworth
Season 2: The Australian Outback – Jeff Varner and Kimmi Kappening
Season 7: Pearl Islands – Andrrew Savage
Season 12: Panama – Terry Deitz
Season 15: China – Peih-Gee Law
Season 18: Tocantins – Stephen Fishbach
Season 19: Samoa – Monica Padilla
Season 25: Philippines – Abi-Maria Gomes
Season 27: Blood vs. Water – Vytas Baskauskas and Ciera Eastin
Season 28: Cagayan – Woo Hwang, Tash Fox, Spencer Bledsoe and Kass McQuillen
Season 29: San Jaun del Sur – Jeremy Collins, Kelly Wentworth and Keith Nale
Season 30: Worlds Apart – Shirin Oskool and Joe Anglim
Of course, the show will once again be hosted by Jeff Probst who is also an executive producer with Mark Burnett.