When the first season of Survivor aired in 2000, fans watched contestants spend 39 days in the wilderness for a chance to win $1 million. In the modern era of the show, contestants reach their final tribal council after 26 days. Some fans have not liked the changes, while others believe they make for a more humane show.

‘Survivor’ fans are divided on the length of new seasons

The new era of Survivor has seen a number of changes to gameplay, and one of the most controversial has been the length of a season. 

“39 days is SO much more taxing,” former contestant Eliza Orlins wrote on Reddit. “I made it to day 37 and 24 respectively and so I have a pretty solid basis for comparison and it’s not even close. Physically and mentally.”

The drain of 39 days of survival appeared to wear on contestants far more than 26 days.

“There are seasons where the players are so hungry and exhausted that all they can do is lie around and drink water,” another Reddit user wrote. “In the last few seasons (26 days), you can for sure tell that it’s not the same. The contestants still have energy, they’re still using their brains.”

Some ‘Survivor’ fans think the game has gotten too easy

Other fans think the length of each season isn’t the only way in which the show has gotten easier.

“I’ve been a fan since season 1, but Season 48 really drove it home the ‘new era’ feels way too soft,” one Reddit user wrote. “The challenges are tame (I had a tougher time getting to school in 1970s Australia ), there’s so much food, and the whole thing feels like a diversity-themed team-building event instead of a survival game.”

Contestants often win food in challenges. Viewers also watch them spend far more time strategizing than working to survive. 

“You and everyone else. I thought adult summer camp but corporate retreat fits,” wrote another person in response.

Several people made the comparison to a corporate retreat. 

“Lol yeah it’s definitely giving ‘we work in an office 49 weeks out of the year let’s reconnect with nature’ energy,” wrote another person. “Just doesn’t compare to the competitiveness of older seasons.”

Other former competitors feel the same way. Former player Bruce Kanegai, who appeared on Survivor: Panama, believed the game has gotten easier in every way.

“The players seem to get more items, clothes or medical attention,” Kanegai told Entertainment Weekly in 2020. “That’s why there is the old school group from the first 14 seasons who suffered more in horrible places. One change that I would like would is to make it like the Old School with more physically and tiring challenges during the first three weeks with less awards. It’s called Survivor.”

Others are happy about the changes

While many view the changes to the game as a problem, others have defended them. Former player Kass McQuillen recently commented on a viral X (formerly Twitter) post about competitor Spencer Bledsoe’s dramatic weight loss during his two seasons. She believed the competition permanently altered his personality. Bledsoe now goes by Reiman.

“Sadly, Spencer started the game and Reiman finished it. It’s more than physical destruction and the bastards know it,” she wrote. “Personally, I wouldn’t let my worst enemy play the game.”

A number of others believe it’s a good thing that competitors no longer reach their physical and mental breaking points. People noted they felt uncomfortable watching contestants visibly losing weight over the course of a season.

Host Jeff Probst said he believes the more recent seasons of Survivor are more difficult than the early ones. He added that production does not currently have plans to extend the seasons.