There are several reasons why Survivor is one of the longest-running reality shows ever. For example, Jeff Probst’s show has featured great seasons, amazing players, incredible winners, and even truly emotional moments like when players have been medically evacuated. All of those amazing facts about Survivor have allowed it to accumulate millions of dedicated fans who can’t wait to watch every new season.

On the other hand, Survivor also has a lot of newer fans who have to figure out which seasons to watch first. Most of those new fans don’t know a lot of facts about the show, including that Survivor has gross rules. Even most dedicated fans don’t know that Jeff Probst has revealed many stunning facts about Survivor 50’s fan votes.

Fans Will Not Be Voting On Survivor 50’s Cast

In 2015, fans got to watch a season that featured all returning players titled Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance. Widely regarded as one of the best iterations of the show ever, Screen Rant named Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance the fifth best season ever.

One of the keys to the season’s success was the fans got to help choose who was part of its cast. Out of 32 options, a fan vote was held, and 20 players were chosen to play during Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance.

Since it resulted in one of the best seasons ever, many people have called for fans to be allowed to vote on a season’s players again. Despite that, Jeff Probst confirmed that fans will not get to vote on Survivor 50’s cast.

After it was announced that fans would get to vote on elements of Survivor 50, Jeff Probst spoke to Entertainment Weekly in February 2025. During that interview, Jeff revealed many facts about the plans for Survivor 50’s fan votes.

While talking to the outlet, Jeff explained why Survivor wouldn’t have a fan vote to decide the season’s cast.

“For Survivor 50, you can assume we’re going to be bringing back some legends, and you just can’t ask a legend that you built the show on their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.”

Jeff went on to elaborate on why he didn’t think it would be right to have fans vote on Survivor 50’s cast.

While talking about the idea of fans voting on Survivor 50’s cast, Jeff explained that the idea made him uncomfortable.

As Jeff told Entertainment Weekly, he imagined how strange it would be to ask legendary Survivor players to expose themselves to a fan vote.

“It never worked for me. It always felt weird. I imagine somebody calling me and saying something similar and I think, ‘Gosh, I’ve proven enough that you either want me or you don’t.’ So that was really it for me.”

On top of feeling like it would be wrong to ask Survivor legends to deal with a fan vote, Jeff revealed another reason why fans won’t decide who plays during Survivor 50.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Jeff explained that he didn’t want fans to cast Survivor 50 because that had been done before. Furthermore, Jeff explained that he thinks fans getting to make choices about Survivor 50’s production choices is a lot more exciting.

“Plus, we had done it and we’ve never done this. To me, this was a much more exciting idea because what I normally hear from fans is “If I was in charge, this is what I would do.” And so well, now you are, and really that’s it.”

The Fan Vote Is Going To Have A Big Impact On Survivor 50

In February 2025, Jeff Probst spoke to USA Today about the plans for Survivor 50’s fan vote.

While speaking to USA Today, Jeff made it very clear that the results of the fan vote are going to be very impactful on Survivor 50.

USA Today’s article also listed several of the aspects of Survivor 50 that fans will get to vote on.

Survivor 50’s fan vote will allow fans to decide if the season will feature immunity idols and the final four fire-making challenge. On top of that, fans get to decide whether Survivor 50 will have a live reunion like the earlier seasons or a post-show like the new era.

When Survivor 48’s premiere was airing, the first round of the Survivor 50 fan vote opened. That round allowed fans to decide on the fire-making challenge and if there will be a reunion or a post-show. Additionally, the first round allowed fans to decide the tribe colors for Survivor 50 and whether the players would be given rice.

Jeff Probst Revealed That Survivor 50’s Fan Vote Might Affect Future Seasons

Throughout Survivor’s history, the show’s relationship with its fans has been interesting. After all, there are some things about Survivor that fans have complained about that haven’t changed. On the other hand, when fans really hate something, like the hour-glass twist from Survivor 41 and Survivor 42, producers move quickly to get rid of it.

By the time that Survivor 50 begins filming, the show’s producers will at least know what the fans think they want.

With that in mind, it is fascinating to know what the show’s producers will do with that information in the long run.

During the aforementioned Entertainment Weekly interview, Jeff revealed that the fan vote might influence later seasons. On the other hand, Jeff also explained that the results of the fan vote may only affect Survivor 50.

Jeff went on to explain why they may disregard the fan vote results after Survivor 50. “I think there’s [sic] two things that you have to remember when you’re listening to advice from a fan. One is that’s really how they feel and you’ve got to consider that. The other is your job is to produce an entertaining show. I’ve met people who said, “You should go back to Season 1. No idols, no advantages, no twists, nothing.” And I say, “Okay, we’ll probably never do that because that was 25 years ago and that game would be boring. And I can tell you why, because an alliance of four can beat an alliance of three because there’s nothing that can stop anyone. You’re going to not be entertained.”

Survivor

Release Date

May 31, 2000

Network

CBS

Showrunner

Jeff Probst

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