Survivor 50: Will live reunion return be one-time thing?

There have been several great announcements for Survivor 50 over the past few months, with the return of the live reunion being a big one. This is something that defined the earlier seasons of the show, but it went away during the pandemic — remember that the winner reveal for Winners at War had to take place virtually.

Much like many things that happened in 2020 / 2021, live reunions never quite went back to normal after the fact. CBS opted starting in season 41 to do an aftershow immediately following the final Tribal Council, and that is something they’ve stuck with ever since. That has allowed them to be more flexible with runtimes during the finale, but we’d argue it creates a very different and less eventful in product.

SUBSCRIBE to Matt & Jess on YouTube to get more SURVIVOR reviews!

In the end, though, it feels like the Survivor 50 reunion may be a one-time thing, and it comes down to a simple explanation: Money. In comparing the live versus pre-taped on location reunion to Parade, here is what host and showrunner Jeff Probst had to say:

“You have to sometimes put your producer hat on and say, ‘This show costs millions. This one costs nothing.’ The content is arguably just as interesting. It’s not the pomp and circumstance, but it’s interesting because they’re still raw. They haven’t had the time to go home and read social media. So you make the argument, and those are the decisions you’re gonna have to face in your own art.

“That’s the live show issue for me … It would be really fun to do, but it’s millions of dollars. And if it’s not 50, I’m not sure we’ll do it again in 51.”

In general, cost-cutting measures have hit TV in all shapes or forms ever since pandemic restrictions lifted. For scripted series, we’ve seen shorter episode orders and regular cast members appearing in fewer episodes per season. Survivor had already scrapped going to different locations every season or two; cutting out the live reunion is unfortunately the next step.

Related – See more talk about Survivor 50, in particular one player the producers wanted badly

Are you at least glad that there is a live reunion for Survivor 50?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do that, come back for some other updates.