Survivor is arguably one of the best reality shows of all time, and longtime fans like me are thrilled that Season 50 has officially arrived on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription). The three-hour premiere was thrilling, and two-time player Rob Cesternino, who is also the founder of the Rob Has A Podcast network, spoke to CinemaBlend about the way Savannah Louie came out to her cast as a winner.
The cast of Survivor 50 is stacked, although the pre-game press revealed that a number of players are targeting Rizo and Savannah because they filmed without getting a chance to watch Season 49. Rob Cesternino is chatting with CinemaBlend after every new episode, and during our conversation about the premiere he praised how Savannah broke the news of her win to her new tribemates. As he told me:
But Savannah I thought is doing great to come out and not only be the person that they don't know, but also to come out and be the winner. And just like we're talking about with that Mike White idea of like, 'I'm gonna say the thing that people are already speculating and because I've sort of came out and said it, it takes away the power of other people to say it about me.' So I thought she really handled this as well as you possibly could have. And it's been interesting to see her in a solid position again, where even though she won Survivor 49, she was kind of playing on the back foot for so much of the second half of the season. It's nice to see her come into a stable situation.
And this is why Rob is a Survivor know-it-all and the foremost expert in podcasting about the beloved game. He spoke about the power of both Savannah Louie and Mike White addressing the elephants in the room early on in Season 50. While the White Lotus creator called out the fact that he was playing with two of his previous castmates, Savannah shared the truth about winning Survivor 49 with the rest of the Cila tribe. We'll just have to see if this makes bigger targets out of their of the fan favorite players.
Cesternino has been on some of the best Survivor seasons ever, and his years providing commentary on the game makes him uniquely qualified to speak about what's going on with Season 50. While Savannah went into her second season with a target on her back, it seems like she might be winning her tribe over. Later in our same conversation Rob spoke about her appeal as a social player, offering:
And people question that about her during Survivor 49 where people said like, 'Oh, but Savannah, she's good in the challenges, but does she have a bad social game?' But we got to see that, especially when she's feeling good and she's in a comfortable situation, I think that Savannah can really shine in the social game.
On the same note, Rizo was able to win over Colby Donaldson, despite originally annoying the Survivor OG around camp. So while there were lots of players targeting the two Season 49 players, maybe they'll be able to change minds and get deeper into the game of Survivor 50.
Aside from how much money Survivor contestants make, a big question surrounding the current season is how the generations of players will interact with each other. It's been delightful seeing all these new crossovers and pairings, and we'll just have to wait and see if Savannah's honesty and social game serves her with a cast of returning players.
Survivor airs new episodes Wednesdays on CBS as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Stay tuned in to CinemaBlend's social media accounts to see more of my weekly conversations with Rob Cesternino. And be sure to check out all things RHAP if you haven't already!
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