As “Survivor” prepares to enter its “50s” with the upcoming launch of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans,” longtime viewers are calling on the hit reality competition series to return to its roots by once again hosting themed seasons.
The outcry for further iterations of iconic seasons like “All-Stars,” “Heroes vs. Villains,” “Blood vs. Water” and “Second Chance” follow after ongoing criticisms of the show’s “New Era.”
Composed of seasons 41 through 49, the “New Era” has been defined by its newbie casts, a shorter game – 26 days compared to the previous 39-day format – and copious twists and advantages. Despite their individual successes, the similarities between “New Era” seasons often make them too difficult to differentiate from one another in hindsight.
A return to form has been on the “Survivor” wish-list of many fans and former players alike for many years, however, with the highly-anticipated premiere of Season 50 just weeks away, series alumni like Rob Cesternino are predicting that the show’s next steps could have a major impact on its longevity moving forward.
“I really think ‘Survivor 51’ is the most important season in the history of the franchise,” said Cesternino, who competed on both “Survivor: The Amazon” and “Survivor: All-Stars” before being shortlisted for Season 50, in a December 2025 TikTok video. “It’s going to set the tone and I think that ‘Survivor’ has a lot to worry about.”
For many fans, the solution is simple: Bring back themed seasons, boosted by the return of iconic former players to keep the franchise fresh, interesting, and engaging as its 30th anniversary approaches.
Keep reading for a closer look at fans’ pitches for the return of themed seasons as well as the former castaways who could potentially return to compete on them.
‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains 2’ Fan Cast
Fans have long been calling for a second iteration of “Heroes vs. Villains.”
Arguably one of “Survivor”s most successful seasons, “Heroes vs. Villains” originally aired in 2010, and watched as an all-star cast of legendary “villainous” castaways like Parvati Shallow, “Boston Rob” Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine went head-to-head with some of the series’ most “heroic” former players, like Stephenie LaGrossa, Cirie Fields and Rupert Boneham.
For its hypothetical second installment, “Survivor” fans on Reddit, TikTok and YouTube have pitched the return of players like Abi-Maria Gomes (“Survivor: Philippines”; “Survivor: Cambodia”), Tony Vlachos (“Survivor: Cagayan”; “Survivor: Winners at War”), Kass McQuillen (“Survivor: Cagayan”; “Survivor: Cambodia”), Michaela Bradshaw (“Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X”; “Survivor: Game Changers”), Jay Starrett (“Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X”), Angelina Keeley (“Survivor: David vs. Goliath”; “Survivor 50”), Domenick Abbate (“Survivor: Ghost Island”), Jesse Lopez (“Survivor 43”), Shan Smith (“Survivor 41”) and Ricard Foye (“Survivor 41”).
CBSFor the “Heroes” tribe, fans want to see players like Maryanne Oketch (“Survivor 42”), Joe Hunter (“Survivor 48”; “Survivor 50”), Carolyn Wiger (“Survivor 44”), Kaleb Gebrewold (“Survivor 45”), Michael Yerger (“Survivor: Ghost Island”), Christian Hubicki (“Survivor: David vs. Goliath”; “Survivor 50”), Kelley Wentworth (“Survivor: San Juan del Sur”; “Survivor: Cambodia”; “Survivor: Edge of Extinction”), Adam Klein (“Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X”; “Survivor: Winners at War”), Genevieve Mushaluk (“Survivor 47”; “Survivor 50”) and Emily Flippen (“Survivor 45”; “Survivor 50”) make a comeback.
Of course, there’s some significant overlap between the fan cast and the current cast of “Survivor 50,” which points to viewers’ excitement to see certain players return for a second shot at the “Sole Survivor” title.
Like the original “Heroes vs. Villains,” both tribes similarly contain former winners returning to defend their title.
‘Survivor: Second Chance 2’ Fan Cast
When “Survivor: Second Chance,” also known as “Survivor: Cambodia,” aired in 2015, it marked the first time in series history that fans were given the power to vote on which players would return for the all-stars season. The only criteria for eligibility was that the players had only played “Survivor” once before.
Thankfully, in the run-up to “Survivor 50,” many fans hoped that CBS would stage a similar vote for the milestone season, making it simple to locate fan-casts for “Second Chance 2” on platforms like Instagram and Reddit.
A cast compiled by Survivor Fact Checker on Instagram showed that fans were most interesting in seeing the return of one-time players like Carolyn Wiger, Genevieve Mushaluk, Angelina Keeley, Emily Flippen, Sai Hughley (“Survivor 48”), Shan Smith, Christian Hubicki, Rick Devens (“Survivor: Edge of Extinction”; “Survivor 50”), Q Burdette (“Survivor 46”; “Survivor 50”), Jesse Lopez, Charlie Davis (“Survivor 46”; “Survivor 50”) and Kaleb Gebrewold.
As many of these players were eventually announced for the “Survivor 50” cast, additions to a “Second Chance 2” cast could include Xander Hastings (“Survivor 41”), Mike Turner (“Survivor 42”), Carson Garrett (“Survivor 44”), Kellie McQuarrie (“Survivor 45”), Eva Erickson (“Survivor 48”), Sophi Balerdi (“Survivor 49”) and Jake Latimer (“Survivor 49”).
‘Survivor: Blood vs. Water 3’ Fan Cast
Casting a third iteration of “Blood vs. Water,” which has seen success in its original 2013 installment as well as its 2014 “San Juan del Sur” sequel, is more difficult than casting a “Heroes vs. Villains” or “Second Chance” season as it requires returning players to have a familial connection who’s also willing to deprive themselves of food, comfort and sanity in pursuit of the “Sole Survivor” title.
That being said, a number of former players have already been campaigning for this exact situation, including So Kim (“Survivor: Worlds Apart”), who was nearly cast on “San Juan del Sur” alongside her twin sister Doo Kim.
Devon Pinto (“Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”) has also expressed interest in competing alongside his mother, Sonia Pinto, on a future “Blood vs. Water” season.
CBSSimilar bids to compete on a third installment of the themed season have been made publicly by former players like Ricard Foye – who wants to compete alongside his husband, Andy Grier; Rizo Velovic (“Survivor 49”) – who wants to play with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Doqaj; and Sophi Balerdi – who would join the competition with her younger brother, Lui.
Other potential pairs to round out the hypothetical cast could include Cirie Fields and her son Jared, Terry Dietz and his son Danny, Colby Donaldson and his brother Reed, and Jerri Manthey and her sister Jennifer.
