One of the things that makes Survivor great to follow is the fact that it is so fun to debate Jeff Probst’s beloved reality show. In fact, even new fans who are figuring out which seasons to watch first and they don’t know some players have refused to return, tend to have fun opinions of the show. The kind of fan who knows who was medically evacuated first will also have strong opinions about which seasons are the best, who the greatest players are, and how to rank the winners.

Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that while watching Survivor 48, it seems like virtually every fan has the same opinion. The sad truth is that most fans seem to be finding Survivor 48 boring because of things like the horrible journey and the uninteresting strategy. With that in mind, this is the perfect time to look at why bringing Survivor themes back could rejuvenate the show.

Survivor Bringing Back Theme Seasons Could Make Things Feel Fresh Again

Since Survivor’s first episode aired, the show has proven to have a lot going for it that has made it last so long. Easily one of Survivor’s biggest strengths is the fact that the show has such an incredibly passionate fan following.

As a result of how much fans care about the show, there are a lot of people who seem like they know almost everything about Survivor’s history. For example, those fans will no doubt know that many Survivor seasons had themes.

Even though theme seasons were a major part of the show in the past, they have been gone for a long time. With that in mind, it is fascinating to look at how bringing back season themes could arguably make Survivor feel fresh again.

At first blush, it may seem ridiculous to argue that bringing back something from the past could make a show feel fresh. After all, things that are old aren’t fresh by definition and season themes wouldn’t be anything new.

With that obvious fact in mind, it is important to put the current state of Survivor in context of the show’s past and present.

During the early stages of Survivor’s immense popularity, the show was filmed in amazing locales all over the world. For example, Survivor seasons were filmed in places like Borneo, Australia, Africa, China, Cambodia, Brazil, and many other countries.

During that stage in Survivor’s history, simply putting the name of a season’s filming location was enough to differentiate seasons. The reason for that is because the show’s producers did a great job of having the filming location make the seasons look and feel different.

However, the current state of Survivor doesn’t allow seasons to feel different from one another because of their locale. The reason for that is simple, Survivor has been filmed in Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands for many years now.

As a September 2021 Men’s Health article shows, Fiji became the show’s only filming location, beginning with the production of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X. For those that don’t know, Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X was the show’s 33rd season, and it aired in 2016.

Since every season of Survivor is now filmed in the same place, that is one reason why the current seasons seem so similar to one another.

The other main reason why it can be hard to differentiate Survivor seasons now is because of how they are titled. In the past, Survivor seasons were named after their filming location, their theme, or a combination of them both. Looking back at that time, it is easy for fans to remember the differences between Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance, Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: China.

Since the show’s so-called “new era” began, the season names have lost any semblance of originality. Instead, since Survivor 41, each season has solely been numbered. That is a baffling decision considering that Survivor has never fel like it has taken the lazy way out.

No matter what the reason for the names solely being numbered, that has also made the seasons blend into one another in a major way.

If Survivor brings the themes back, they can get away from the numbered seasons. On top of that, bringing the themes back would make the seasons much easier to differentiate from one another again.

In short, Survivor bringing back themes would make seasons feel different from one another again, which would really freshen the show up again.

How Survivor Theme Seasons Have Recently Been Proven To Be A Great Idea

No matter how strong of an argument someone can make for Survivor theme seasons returning, those contentions can still be ignored. With that in mind, it is important to note that the strength of Survivor theme seasons has recently been proven.

After Survivor: Winners at War aired, theme seasons completely disappeared for many years. However, everyone recognized that it only made sense for Survivor’s 50th season to be special in some way.

Then, Jeff Probst publicly revealed that the upcoming landmark season would feature all returning players. Jeff later revealed that the season would also have a theme that its title communicates, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.

Since Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans was announced, the show’s fans have consistently been debating and talking about the upcoming season. As a result, there is absolutely no doubt that Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans is the most anticipated new season in years.

Unfortunately, there is absolutely no indication that theme seasons will continue after Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. In fact, based on Jeff’s past statements, it seems likely that the numbered seasons will quickly return. However, if Jeff wants to make the show fresh again, he has to pay attention to how much more fans care about Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.

Survivor

Release Date

May 31, 2000

Network

CBS

Showrunner

Jeff Probst

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