Survivor (US TV series)

''Survivor'' is the American version of the international '' Survivor'' reality competition television franchise, itself derived from the Swedish television series ''Expedition Robinson'' created by Charlie Parsons which premiered in 1997. The American series premiered on May 31, 2000, on CBS. It is hosted by Jeff Probst, who is also an executive producer along with Mark Burnett and the original creator, Parsons.

''Survivor'' places a group of strangers in an isolated location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in challenges including testing the contestants' physical ability like running and swimming or their mental abilities like puzzles and endurance challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow contestants until only one remains and is given the title of "Sole Survivor" and is awarded the grand prize of US$1,000,000 ($2,000,000 in '' Winners at War'').

The American version has been very successful. From the 2000–01 through the 2005–06 television seasons, its first eleven seasons (competitions) rated among the top ten most-watched shows. It is commonly considered the leader of American reality TV because it was the first highly-rated and profitable reality show on broadcast television in the U.S., and is considered one of the best shows of the 2000s (decade). The series has been nominated for 63 Emmy Awards, including winning for Outstanding Sound Mixing in 2001, Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002, and was subsequently nominated four times for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program when the category was introduced in 2003. Probst won the award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program four consecutive times after the award was introduced in 2008. In 2007, the series was included in ''Time'' magazine's list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. In 2013, ''TV Guide'' ranked it at #39 on its list of the "60 Best Series of All Time".

In March 2022, the series was renewed for a 43rd and 44th season, and the 44th season is scheduled to premiere on March 1, 2023.

Format and rules

The first U.S. season of ''Survivor'' followed the same general format as the Swedish series. Sixteen or more players, split between two or more "tribes", are taken to a remote isolated location (usually in a tropical climate) and are forced to live off the land with meager supplies for 39 days (42 in '' The Australian Outback'', 26 in post-COVID seasons). Frequent physical and mental challenges are used to pit the teams against each other for rewards, such as food or luxuries, or for "immunity", forcing the other tribe to attend "Tribal Council", where they must vote off one of their tribemates.

Signaling the halfway point in the game, survivors from both tribes come together to live as one, making it to the "merge". At this point, survivors will compete against each other to win individual immunity; winning immunity prevents that player from being voted out at Tribal Council. Most players that are voted out after the merge form the game's "jury". Once the group gets down to two or three people, a Final Tribal Council is held where the remaining players plead their case to the jury members. The jury then votes for which player should be considered the "Sole Survivor" and win the show's grand prize. In all seasons for the United States version (excluding '' Survivor: Winners at War''), this has included a $1-million prize in addition to the Sole Survivor title; some seasons (particularly earlier seasons) have included additional prizes offered during the game, such as a car, as well as fan-favorite prizes awarded at the finale. All contestants are paid on a sliding scale based on the order they were voted out: the first player voted out has been given and the amount increases from there. Some of the seasons that have featured returning players have increased these amounts: '' Survivor: All-Stars'' featured payouts starting at , while ''Winners at War'' had a minimum payout. All players are offered for participating in the finale show.

The U.S. version has introduced numerous modifications, or "twists", on the core rules in order to keep the players on their toes and to prevent players from relying on strategies that succeeded in prior seasons. These changes have included tribal switches, seasons starting with more than two tribes, the ability to exile a player from a tribe for a short time, unannounced returning players, hidden immunity idols that players can use to save themselves or others at Tribal Council, special voting powers which can be used to influence the result at Tribal Council, chance to return to regular gameplay after elimination through the "Redemption Island," "Edge of Extinction" or "The Outcast Tribe" twists, and a final four fire-making challenge as of season 35.

Series overview

The United States version is produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by Jeff Probst, who also serves as an executive producer. Each competition is called a season, has a unique name, and lasts from 13 to 16 episodes. The first season, '' Survivor: Borneo'', was broadcast as a summer replacement show in 2000. Starting with the third season, '' Survivor: Africa'', there have been two seasons aired during each U.S. television season. Starting with the forty-first season, no subtitle has been used in promotion of the season. Instead, the show began following a number format similar to '' Big Brother'' and ''The Amazing Race''.

In the first season, there was a 75-person crew. By season 22, the crew had grown to 325 people.

A total of 644 contestants have competed on ''Survivor''s 43 seasons.

Production

Concept

The original idea of ''Survivor'' was developed by Charlie Parsons in 1994 under the name ''Castaway''. Parsons formed Planet24 with Bob Geldof to produce the show and tried to have the BBC
...