Will Survivor Season 40 Be An All-Winners Battle Royale?
Previously on [pause] Survivor, Jeff Probst gave conflicting information on the possibility of an all-winners season. Now reports suggest Season 40, filming this summer to air in 2020, may be the long-awaited champions battle royale.
Survivor films two seasons back-to-back each spring and summer, airing the first in the fall and the second from late winter to spring. Season 39 is now filming for its premiere in 2019-2020, and that leaves Season 40 to air this time next year.
Season 40 will kick off 2020, which marks 20 years since Survivor first premiered in May 2000. According to Inside Survivor, to mark the milestone, the show is inviting back a cast of former winners to compete in Season 40. That season will start filming next month, and casting spoilers will probably start coming out around then, if this is true.
It's not new to hear talk of an all-winners season, and last summer there were already rumors that Season 40 might mark the champions battle. Apparently it's finally happening? As far as we know, CBS hasn't even officially renewed the show for Season 40 yet (although it does seem like a safe bet) so all of this should be taken with a grain of salt until it's confirmed.
Survivor host/producer Jeff Probst said two very different things about an all-winners season last year alone. Here's what he told Us Weekly in March:
He seemed to change his tune a bit by September for this interview with Us Weekly:
On that note, Jeff Probst said they could do a season that's winners versus another group. These days, Survivor often brings back past players -- including winners -- to compete against newbies.
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But the rumor for Season 40 was supposedly about an ALL winners season. Survivor has never done that before. Other reality shows, like Project Runway just did it for All-Stars, have done all-winners competitions. Everyone wants to be The Best Of The Best.
I disagree that they only have 10 great winners we'd want to see again. That may be Jeff Probst's take, but he'd probably be happy just seeing an entire cast with Cochran, Boston Rob, and maybe Parvati. His favorites are pretty clear.
Here's the list of winners to date, which will include the Season 38 winner after the spring 2019 Edge of Extinction season is over:
I wouldn't be shocked if whoever wins Survivor: Edge of Extinction continued right into Survivor: Champions, or whatever they'd call it if Season 40 does go that route.
Survivor started with 16 castaways, but the number has changed over the years and sometimes they like to have 20. I do think half of the past winners would be worth watching, but how many would want to come back? Some of the players have already returned and lost again (Sandra Diaz-Twine won twice and lost once) but most of them now have perfect records. Would they risk losing that, knowing a second win still wouldn't put them past Sandra?
For my money, I'd like a season with Richard, Sandra, Amber, Rob, Tom, Yul, Parvati, Sophie, Kim, Tony, Earl, both Natalies, Tyson, Wendell, Mike, Adam, Vecepia, and Fabio, plus maybe whoever wins this season. Some of them (Rob, Parv) would be immediate targets, but others (Vecepia, Fabio) would be underestimated underdogs, and underdogs tend to do well on returning player seasons. But really, I'd watch any of them. It's almost better if they aren't Boston Rob level champions, because it would level the playing field of expectations.
As we wait for updates on Season 40, keep watching Survivor Season 38, Edge of Extinction, Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on CBS. Many shows are winding down to their season finales right about now, but more shows will be coming soon to entertain us through the summer months.
Gina grew up in Massachusetts and California in her own version of The Parent Trap. She went to three different middle schools, four high schools, and three universities -- including half a year in Perth, Western Australia. She currently lives in a small town in Maine, the kind Stephen King regularly sets terrible things in, so this may be the last you hear from her.