‘Survivor’ Season 50 Cast: Which Returning Players Will Be Back?
Survivor Season 47 premieres this Fall on CBS, but we’ve already got our sights set on Survivor 50, the next returning players season.
With 46 seasons of casts at their disposal already, there is a treasure trove of worthy competitors that could come back for more. Jeff Probst has already teased who could be getting an invitation to return in the milestone season to TV Insider. Q Burdette, Survivor 46’s agent of chaos, is definitely on their list of calls, Probst said, because “he’s so unpredictable and so electric and polarizing.” But even he admitted that “there really are just so many” excellent options. Boy, are there!
We’ve already broken down the format changes we want to see in the next returning players season. Now, we’ve compiled our Survivor 50 dream cast.
The list includes past winners and fan-favorites who have never won from the previous era (pre-Season 41, when the game was 39 days long). You’ll see that some have played multiple times before, but none of them have ever competed against cast members from the new era (Seasons 41-current, when the game was cut down to 26 days).
That’s the main appeal of Survivor 50: Who’s more equipped to win, players from the old or new eras? These are the Survivor alums we’d like to see answer that question.
Survivor, Season 47 Premiere, Fall 2024, CBS
Sandra Diaz-Twine, Multiple Seasons
Dubbed the “Queen of Survivor,” Sandra Diaz-Twine is a must for any Survivor dream cast. She’s appeared in six seasons and was the first player in history to win twice (Season 7, “Pearl Islands,” and Season 20, “Heroes vs. Villains”), and we need her to go for the hat trick!
Tony Vlachos, Multiple Seasons
Tony Vlachos is the second Survivor player to win two seasons, making him another series legend that needs to come back for more. After winning Seasons 28 (Cagayan) and Season 40 (Winners at War), we want to see Vlachos go head-to-head with Diaz-Twine to try and become the first Survivor winner to win three seasons.
Parvati Shallow, Multiple Seasons
Probst once said that Parvati Shallow played a perfect game of Survivor. We want to see her do it again! The winner of Survivor: Micronesia, Fans vs. Favorites, has said she’s done with competing on Survivor. As she said of Season 50 to Entertainment Weekly, “If I play that game again, people will just try to get me out right away, and it kind of sucks. I want to be able to play. What was fun about The Traitors is they knew my reputation, but they were willing to keep me around.”
Diaz-Twine competed in The Traitors Season 2 with Shallow. Shallow said she would have a hard time in Season 50, too. “I feel like if Sandra goes back to Survivor 50, she’s out first too,” she said. We kindly ask them to test the theory…
Cirie Fields, Multiple Seasons
Cirie Fields may be the first-ever winner of The Traitors, but she’s never won Survivor despite competing in four seasons. She’s considered the greatest player to never win, so we obviously need to see her get a chance at victory in the next returning players season.
Plus, Fields said she was “salty” she didn’t get to compete in “Winners at War,” a season she considers to be one of the greats.
“I wanted to be there for that. Just to be on that season, being a fan of Survivor. Then, being on Survivor so many times and not being on Winners at War, I’m a little bit salty,” she told EW.
Let her heal that wound by casting her in Season 50! There are few players for which fans would be rooting harder.
"Boston" Rob & Amber Mariano, Multiple Seasons
“Boston” Rob and Amber Mariano are without a doubt Survivor‘s most famous couple. They met and fell in love while competing in the very first all-stars season (Season 8, which Amber won!), and played together again in Season 40, “Winners at War.” Rob has played in six seasons and won once, and Amber has competed in three seasons, winning once.
Rob previously told TV Insider that he and Amber aren’t that interested in competing again. “I love Survivor,” he said. “It’s been a huge part of my life for nearly half of my life now. I don’t feel any desire to go back there and play the game again, especially where they’re just gonna use me for a little bit and vote me out.” But we just can’t help but want this couple back onscreen together, especially if it means seeing them compete with some of the other Survivor legends on this list and give the new-era players a run for their money.
If it has to be one or the other, fine. But we prefer the pair.
Rupert Boneham, Multiple Seasons
One of the ultimate Survivor fan favorites, Rupert Boneham was the beating heart of Survivor: Pearl Islands (Season 7). Viewers were heartbroken when he was voted out, and they were delighted when he returned in three more seasons (All Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, and Blood vs. Water).
Like Fields, Boneham has never won, but we want to see this fan-favorite try his hat again. With his unique ability to connect with enemies and allies alike, Boneham could be perfectly equipped to go toe-to-toe with a pot-stirrer like Q Burdette from Season 46 (also listed below).
Rick Devens, Season 38
Rick Devens is also on the list of all-time memorable players. He was voted out fourth in Season 38, Edge of Extinction, but got a second chance when returning in a major merge twist.
He became an infuriating player when finding four idols, and in fact he holds the record for having the most hidden immunity idols in one season. He was the Sia prize $100,000 winner in Season 38. It’s time for him to play again.
Mike Turner, Season 42
“Hoboken” Mike Turner was one of Season 42’s most endearing players, and one who made it far without burning many bridges. His sweet personality and good game play would be a great addition to this cast.
Carolyn Wiger, Season 44
One of the funniest players, if not the funniest, to compete on Survivor simply must return. Some cast members and viewers of Survivor 44 didn’t think Carolyn’s emotional strategy was all that impressive, and we’d love to see her prove them wrong by competing again.
Carson Garrett, Season 44
Carson Garrett was one-third of the Tika Three alliance in Season 44 with Wiger and Yam-Yam Arocho. This trio was constantly considered the easy players to beat, but the joke was on the rest of the cast, as the three of them made it into the final four and Arocho won!
Garrett was so prepared for the puzzles thanks to his 3D printer that the show had to come up with entirely new ones for Season 45. Let’s see him try to solve the puzzles made because of his influence!
Kaleb Gebrewold, Season 45
Kaleb Gebrewold was voted out of Survivor 45 because he was too good a strategist and too charming. The entire post-merge tribe voted him out midway through the season, but he blocked the unanimous vote when becoming the first player to successfully use the Shot in the Dark advantage. He was promptly voted out in the next Tribal Council, which wasn’t surprising.
We don’t want to see the Shot in the Dark advantage return (it really only worked that one time and it was perfect!), but we do want Gebrewold to have another chance. We have a feeling he can make it far.
Austin Li Coon, Season 45
Austin Li Coon came in second place in Season 45 behind Dee Valladares, with whom he also had a showmance. We want to see him come back and put his excellent strategic playing to the test once more. And who better to make him return with than…
Drew Basile, Season 45
…his No. 1 ally, Drew Basile! Now a Jeopardy champ on a winning streak, Basile and Li Coon were a powerhouse duo in Season 45. Basile was especially good at changing the vote plan last minute, even though that’s ultimately what got him voted out in the end. Once he’s done on Jeopardy, send him back to Fiji!
Emily Flippen, Season 45
Emily Flippen started Season 45 one of the most hated players and ended it one of the most beloved. She learned the importance of social game quickly and was an expert persuader, having singlehandedly orchestrated one of the season’s most stunning blindsides. We’d love to see her return with the her three allies of Season 45, Gebrewold, Li Coon, and Basile.
Q Burdette, Season 46
Oh, Q Burdette. Probst himself called him a “maddening” player, and it’s because he constantly took the reins of the game into his own hands, consequences be damned. He’s a great driver of plot, but wasn’t the best at capitalizing on his own chaos. We want to see him try again and see if he can improve on that front.
Tiffany Ervin, Season 46
Like Burdette, Tiffany Ervin was one of the six players who helped set the infuriating Survivor record of being the season with the most players voted out with idols in their pockets. Prior to that major error, Ervin was one of the strongest social and strategic players and kept orchestrating votes with ease. We’d love to see her work with old-era competitors.
Charlie Davis, Season 46
Charlie Davis was one of Survivor 46’s best strategists and was just shy of winning it all. The betrayal from his No. 1 ally, Maria Shrime Gonzalez (seen below), became the biggest shock of the finale. A rematch between these two would be epic.
Maria Shrime Gonzalez, Season 46
Shrime Gonzalez’s decision to vote for Kenzie Petty instead of Davis made her a villain in the eyes of fans. It would be great TV if this strong strategist were to fully lean into the villain persona.
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