Now don’t get me wrong.
Survivor is still the greatest social experiment of all time and the best show on TV.
Even bad Survivor is good television.
Here a few changes I think Survivor can make to become great again.
Major Overhaul To Casting
This should be the number one priority.
This show needs villains.
It needs people that you are rooting against.
I want angry jurors.
Survivor is at its best when you have a diverse cast of characters.
Every season feels like it’s filled with the same characters.
Super fan baristas from Williamsburg who have a sad story to tell.
We need more diversity in characters, not just in demographics.
And this is not me saying CBS should get rid of the diversity quota.
I think that’s totally fine to keep and shouldn’t be an issue.
But they need to also cast different personalities.
You need the old guy who’s just there for the adventure.
You need the hot girls there for a tanning trip.
You need the dumb jocks there to flex their abs and dominate challenges.
You need the nerdy super fans.
You need the total wild cards and weirdos.
You need the great social players.
You need it all.
But some of them just feel unnecessary.
The hourglass twist was historically bad.
The Beware Advantages mostly sucked.
Knowledge Is Power was way too powerful.
Most advantages that come from that random hill they climb have been total duds.
I would love to see a season where they just go back to the basics.
you could have a hidden immunity idol and maybe one more wild card thing, but that’s it.
It wasn’t as bad this season.
Survivor is at its best when it is character driven, not advantage driven.
I can’t take every week being some obstacle course and puzzle.
It gets so tiresome and repetitive.
I basically zone out during challenges now.
Challenges have become a check your phone break for the last few seasons.
There also need to be new rewards.
I can’t take the sanctuary anymore.
I miss the helicopter rides.
I miss seeing the cool sites of the region.
I miss seeing them go to the local villages and interact with the natives.
That was compelling television.
Watching people eat chocolate cake in the same little shack every week is not.
But I guess when you’re on the same islands every single season, your options are limited.
Which brings me to my next point….
New Locations???
This one probably isn’t feasible.
Survivor basically has its own island in Fiji now where they shoot every single season.
But god damn do I miss having a new location every year.
The location itself almost felt like a character on the season.
China, Africa, Australia.
Everywhere offered something unique and different.
Seeing the wildlife so close to camp.
The different aerial shots of the countries.
That was all so cool and gave each season its own identity.
Now they all just blend into each other.
Bring Back The Simple Things
-For the love of God, hey bring back the theme song.
It was such a great way to set the mood for every episode.
Hopefully they do it next season with 90 minute episodes.
-Bring back the auction and take advantages out of it.
(Based on the Season 45 preview, it does seem like it may be back).
I’d also like the “how well do you know your tribe mates?”
challenge back and things like that.
-Getting rid of opening/closing statements at Final Tribal Council is unfathomably stupid.
You don’t need both, but you need one.
-I’d also love to bring back individual juror questions instead of this open forum nonsense.
Individual jury speeches gave us some all time moments through the years.
Now it’s just people talking over each other and is pretty god damn boring.
Wednesday’s might have been the worst ever.
-I’d love to see the live finale and reunion brought back.
I always loved seeing the final contestants all dolled up and looking like brand new people.
Running to hug their family in the crowd after winning.
That added a whole new dynamic when you got to see what people said about you.
The reunions now are absolutely abysmal.
So there’s my plan on how to make Survivor great again.
Hopefully Jeff Probst reads this.
If you do, c’mon also consider casting me.
