Survivor 47, Survivor 48 will not have returning players

As we get prepared for the Survivor 46 premiere at the end of the month, we know there are no returnees on board. In general, this is a trend that the show has steered clear of for the past several seasons, with the sole exception being Bruce — someone who barely was on the beach the first time he was on the show. By virtue of that, we don’t really count him.

So is this going to change in the near future? Based on what we are hearing now, it doesn’t seem as though there is some desperate push to make it happen behind the scenes.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, host Jeff Probst confirmed that there are no plans for returnees through at least the 48th season, which should air in February or March of 2025. Why is that? It really has to do with the quality of newbies:

“It’s just a constant flow of fascinating people. Why would we want returning players? Not yet. Time is on our side. Let’s just keep going here. And that’s how I feel about seasons 47 and 48. We’re already meeting the people who are going to be playing months from now and we are jazzed about it. So until you said that, I don’t think I’d given it any thought. There was no thought about returning players in 46 or 47 or 48.”

Maybe in a different world it would be a little more frustrating that we weren’t seeing returning players that frequently; however, there are a lot of other outlets for them now including other shows like The Challenge USA, The Traitors, or even on occasion the Australian version of the show. We do think that returnee seasons are hit-or-miss, largely because there are inevitable pre-game alliances that happen and players are more self-aware. Sometimes, you get a great season like Heroes vs. Villains or Winners at War. Other times, you get Game Changers.

What do you think about Survivor steering clear of returning players for a little while?

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