It’s been more than a year in the making, but the cast list for Survivor 50 dropped on Wednesday. From the moment that Jeff announced that it was going to be an all-returnee season, Survivor Twitter blew up and former players started politicking. Production capitalized on fan interest by allowing votes on things like whether there should be idols. I wondered if we were being set up for another season where fans get to vote on who will return, but alas, the actual players were not “in the hands of the fans.”
Now that the list is officially out, it’s pretty wild, spanning from players from the first two seasons (Jenna Lewis-Dougherty and Colby Donaldson) all the way to a whopping three players from the most recent season (Kyle, Kamilla, and Joe). There’ve been a lot of very passionate reactions over the cast, but one of the contestants who viewers are universally looking forward to seeing play again is White Lotus creator Mike White. Mike first played on season 37, David vs. Goliath.
Survivor normally waits until about a month before a season premieres to officially reveal its cast, but nothing is normal about what will be the landmark 50th installment of the reality competition series.
Though Survivor 50 will not hit TV screens until 2026, and the full cast for the season that airs before it (Survivor 49) has yet to be revealed outside of a teaser video, host and showrunner Jeff Probst announced the Survivor 50 cast on Wednesday’s episode of CBS Mornings.
The supersized group of 24 people marks the biggest batch of contestants yet, and it features players going all the way back to season 1 of Survivor: Borneo (Jenna Lewis-Dougherty) as well as two yet unnamed competitors from Survivor 49 , which just filmed a few weeks ago and will air this fall on CBS.
The cast also features two legends competing for the fifth time, Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth. That will tie them with Boston Rob Mariano, who also played the game five times (and appeared as a non-competing mentor on a sixth season).
And non-Survivor fans will notice a very famous face returning to the franchise: The White Lotus creator Mike White will compete alongside two of his David vs. Goliath castmates, including one of whom he cast for season 2 of the hit HBO series, Angelina Keeley.
While the cast hails from all the way back to the show’s beginning, there is definitely an emphasis on the most recent seasons. Five of the players come from seasons 48 and 49, while 11 of the 24 Survivor 50 castaways are from the past five seasons, including the only two winners, Dee Valladares (Survivor 45) and Kyle Fraser (Survivor 48).
There are also no contestants who competed for the very first time between seasons 19 and 31, with the entire cast first gracing our screens either before or after Survivor’s middle era.
Realizing the full cast was going to leak anyway, CBS decided for the first time since 2015’s Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance, which featured players voted in by fans, to announce the cast before filming began. Although viewers could not vote players in for season 50 like they did for Cambodia, they were able to vote on several key elements of the game this spring. Those closely guarded results will now be put into action when filming begins for Survivor 50.
When rumored cast lists started dropping over the last few days, I stayed spoiler-free. I’d heard who wasn’t returning, but not who would be. I’m surprised that Mike White is coming back, but only because he’s so busy right now. Apparently, he texted Jeff and said that he wanted in. White Lotus viewers, welcome to the party. There are also two other players returning for the first time from his season: Dr. Christian Hubicki, who had a cameo on the third season of White Lotus, and Angelina Keeley. I’m really curious to know what Mike’s dynamic will be now that WL has hit it big. Will other players see him as a threat or will they target the bigger names, like Colby, Aubry Bracco, and Cirie Fields?
They definitely had to make the announcement because of all the loose lips out there. When Jesse Lopez, Carolyn Wiger, and Jerri Manthey all confirmed that they were cut, there was a huge uproar. Abi-Maria Gomes posted to Instagram on Tuesday to announce how disappointed she was at being a last-minute cut. My thoughts? I don’t need to see Ozzy, Colby, or Aubry play again. I love Cirie, but we don’t need her, either. Same with Coach. I am shocked that Jesse and other New Era (S41-present) players like Shan Smith and Ricard Foye were cut. This may be controversial because I like them both, but Dee and Kyle have already won. Why not give those spots to non-winners? Who I am excited to see back: Charlie, Kamilla, Emily Flippin(!!), and my girl Genevieve. I’m also curious to see if the show will go back to its 36 day format. 24 castaways is a lot for a 26-game season. Finally, I’m still waiting for that season of all first boots. Don’t make us wait until 60, Jeff.
Here’s the video of Jeff announcing the cast. It’s dorky, but I can’t hate on it too much
photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon and CBS via Survivor Wiki
Since 50 was originally announced, I’ve consistently said that if Cirie and Aubry weren’t included, I was not watching in protest.
Cirie is the embodiment of Survivor. She started her first season afraid of leaves and went in to become one of the GOATS due to her social game.
Aubry was flat out cheated of her title by a bitter jury, mad the girl nerd outplayed them. She kicked off the new era of smart women dominance.
If they don’t vote off Mike the first chance they get, I will be super disappointed. Granted, I’ve never ever been a fan of famous people popping up on survivor. The show doesn’t need them, so why take up a spot?
I haven’t watched this show since maybe S3 so I didn’t know Colby from S1 had returned a couple of times already. I always liked him for being honorable about his alliance with Tina, which helped her win.
I love The White Lotus but that doesn’t mean I’ll watch for Mike White.
Never saw Mike White on Survivor but did see him when he was on The Amazing Race with his father and before he was really successful. He was charming then and it might be interesting to see whether he can still deploy that charm to remain in the game.
The challenge from that season when Mike’s dad had to scoot down the giant hill with the cheese wheel was one of the funniest f-ckin things I’ve ever seen in my life. I watch the clip on YouTube often. Mike is such an absolutely authentic person – I don’t think the wild success of White Lotus has changed him at all.