Survivor’s so-called New Era has brought with it a steady stream of changes. One of the most consistent of those has been the structure of the beginning of the premiere episodes. Each time since Season 41, host Jeff Probst has given the three tribes a marooning challenge. The winners have gotten their basic camp supplies, while the two losing groups have had to earn theirs in a Sweat Vs Savvy task, which has given them an option to use raw strength in some kind of grueling physical labor task (sweat) or use their intelligence in some kind of mental puzzle (savvy). Fans have been pretty positive on the recurring fork in the road, but Survivor wouldn’t be Survivor without changing things up.
Jeff Probst recently conducted an interview with Entertainment Weekly, and in it, the longtime producer teased some changes coming to the popular task. Apparently they’re not getting rid of Sweat vs Savvy, but they’re evolving it into something more “fun.” That shouldn’t be too hard given every one of the sweat challenges has been objectively awful, but it’ll be interesting to see where this goes. Here’s a portion of the host’s quote…
We've evolved Sweat vs. Savvy into something a little different this season. It's the same goal, which is to earn tribe supplies for your camp, but the method for doing it is very different. It's a nice, fresh idea. It's fun to watch, very fun for the player to do.
To its credit and sometimes detriment, Survivor has constantly evolved since it premiered all the way back in 2000. The basic structure of the show (living on an island and voting people off at tribal council) has remained the same, but many of the most recognizable elements were added later on (hidden immunity idols, final four firemaking, etc). Fans love to complain about some of the changes that have been less popular, most prominently shortening the game and the famously dumb hourglass twist, but on the whole, it has absolutely been a positive thing that the show has taken so many risks.
Now, full transparency, am I worried about this change? Yeah. Like many fans, I think the game has gotten too nice. I was stoked to see some actual conflict and actual villains last season, and I’m praying hard Probst and company will allow the returning players for Season 50 to battle it out for the full 39 days rather than this new watered down 26. I obviously want all the players to leave the island healthy, but in general. I’m not hoping for more ways to make the island less physically taxing or more “fun.”
That being said, there are plenty of joyful moments about Survivor that I do like, and the only way to find the next great innovation is through change. So, I’m excited to see how they’re going to evolve Sweat vs Savvy, and I’m going to be optimistic it’ll be enjoyable to watch. After all, it’s hard to imagine Probst would be teasing the change this publicly if he wasn’t at least happy with the results.
We’ll all get a chance to see when Survivor 47 hits the TV Premiere Schedule on September 18th. It should be a fun season, and hopefully, by the time it’s done, we’ll have even more details on the much hyped Season 50 we’re all stoked about.
