Another Survivor Returnee Season Is Coming After 50, And I Know What The Theme Should Be

We had to wait more than five years between Winners At War and Survivor 50. Thankfully, whatever returnee season comes next is going to happen a lot more quickly. We don’t have the official date or season number yet, but host Jeff Probst confirmed there’s a “one hundred percent” chance we’ll see some of our favorites back on the island within the next few years. I’m elated, and I already know what the theme should be.

Survivor fans have had a lot to say during the New Era. They haven’t been shy about reacting to the changes they’ve liked and the changes they haven’t liked. What they mostly haven’t liked could be at least roughly sorted into three buckets: the reduction from 39 days to 26 days, the relentless positivity/ lack of obvious villains and always starting with three tribes instead of two. Probst and company have been clear the production schedule is not going to change back, but there’s a beloved Survivor theme that would solve the other two problems: Heroes vs Villains.

There is perhaps no season of Survivor more universally praised by fans than Heroes vs Villains. The landmark 20th season of the show featured the return of 20 popular contestants who were sorted into two competing tribes based on whether they were perceived as heroes or villains. The immunity challenges very quickly started producing real animosity. Lies and crazy schemes were commonplace, and the larger than life personalities delivered big character moments throughout. It’s basically a perfect season of reality television, and now is the time to bring the same structure back.

Probst and the other producers clearly want to push New Era talent. They want to develop new legends of the game, and I think that’s, in general, the right approach. We don’t need nostalgia seasons that exclusively feature people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, but the strong ratings and positive fan reaction to the premiere of Survivor 50 is showing that a mix of players from different eras is a great way to get everyone excited.

I think the theme I’ve heard fans most consistently calling for is Second Chances. It’s the format we saw in Survivor: Cambodia. Fans were given 32 former castaways who had all played only once and lost. The 20 with the most votes were then selected to play. I’m not saying I wouldn’t be down for that again, but there are two big problems with that.

First, it eliminates most of the non-New Era players that fans were most upset about getting cut from Survivor 50 at the last minute. Jerri would be out. Abi-Maria, Penner and Amanda Kimmel would be out. If we want to see those players again, particularly Jerri and Penner, it’s probably a now or never situation. Second, it eliminates all of the New Era players that were invited back for 50. If Survivor is serious about creating new legends, it seems weird to exclude all 12 of the players they selected as the first crop to bring back.

To be clear, I’m not saying I only want to see people who have played a bunch of times. It’s important to work first time returnees into these seasons, but what I want is a format that allows us to pull many different types of contestants. I want to see Carolyn, Jesse, Shan and Ricard, but I might also want to see Q or Genevieve or Emily or Rizo. I want to see a few legends who just missed the cut on 50 and may never get a chance to play again. I want an assortment that offers the best of the past and a pathway to the future. I think Heroes vs Villains 2 is the best way to do that.

Exactly when it’ll happen is unclear. Probst told USA Today they waited so long because they wanted to build up a group of contestants to pull from. They’ve more than done that. Now is the time to start mining that pool and mixing in some favorites we all want to see again.

You can catch new episodes of Survivor 50 on Wednesday evenings on CBS or you can stream it over on Paramount+.