Survivor was slated to return to the airwaves for Season 41 in the fall, but fans shouldn't count on seeing castaways sitting at Tribal Council any time too soon. CBS has officially bumped Survivor from the fall lineup, and the follow-up to Winners at War may not hit the airwaves for a while. There is good news, though! CBS isn't just going to fill the Survivor slot with reruns, but with a new season of another show.
A new season of Survivor won't be completed in time for the fall lineup, as health and safety concerns have prevented production from resuming. That said, producers are continuing to work with Fiji officials to determine the appropriate time for production to resume and Season 41 to get into gear.
Survivor historically holds the 8 p.m. ET time slot on CBS Wednesdays, with the fall season generally premiering in September. So, how will CBS fill that slot? With something amazing, as it turns out! The new season of the Amazing Race will take the Survivor slot, switching from its 9 p.m. ET slot on Wednesdays to 8 p.m. ET. Amazing Race was able to complete its latest season before production shutdowns throughout the industry.
The Wednesday lineup will be comprised of The Amazing Race at 8 p.m., SEAL Team at 9 p.m., and S.W.A.T. at 10 p.m. Both SEAL Team and S.W.A.T. had to end their latest seasons prematurely due to production halts, although SEAL Team was already partway through filming an episode when it had to shut down.
CBS hasn't announced an official premiere date for Amazing Race, SEAL Team, and S.W.A.T. just yet, but additional information about Survivor production dates will be announced at a later date.
For now, only time will tell when Survivor actually makes it back to the airwaves. The show airs two seasons per TV season, with one in the fall and one in the winter/spring. The CBS Survivor Casting site is currently open to applications for Season 43, with the goal of taping the new season at some point between mid-May and early July next year.
The long wait could be especially painful to fans, and not just because the future of Survivor returning to CBS is uncertain. The latest season was Survivor: Winners at War, and it brought back champions to battle it out for a $2 million prize. While the winner himself was "disappointed" by the finale voting, it was an intense batch of episodes, and not ending as usual didn't stop the suspense from building.
Good news even beyond The Amazing Race having new content to fill the Survivor slot is that it's not too hard to find old seasons of Survivor to watch or rewatch. More than 25 seasons are available streaming with Amazon Prime, more than 30 seasons streaming on Hulu, and all 40 seasons so far streaming on CBS All Access.
For more viewing options during the wait for new content, check out our 2020 summer TV premiere guide. If you're already planning ahead for the 2020-2021 TV season, check out our fall TV premiere schedule!
