Fans Are Not On The Same Page About Mike White’s Chances On Survivor 50

Fans have been arguing pretty much non-stop since Survivor 50 was first announced. The loudest and broadest of those disagreements have been about who was cast and who was not, but beneath the surface, the superfans have been going way more in-depth with topics like the most likely first boot and whether certain OG players can adapt to a more modern style. To me, however, perhaps the most interesting conversation has been around former Survivor finalist and White Lotus creator Mike White and whether he has any shot here.

There was near universal excitement from the fanbase when Mike White was officially announced as a member of the cast. He wasn’t really in the rumor mill for most of the casting process, but that’s not because fans weren’t clamoring to see him come back.. He’s a fantastic social player and expertly rode the middle during David Vs Goliath, a season most fans consider amongst the best, but because of his schedule, there was an assumption that he wouldn’t be able to play. Turns out we were all wrong, but now that he’s on, whether or not he’s a real contender out there has become a matter of great debate.

There are essentially two schools of thought here. Some fans think his Hollywood success is going to help him, and some fans think The White Lotus of it all is going to be a serious detriment to his game. Let’s break down why the two groups feel the way they do.

Let’s start with the more optimistic viewpoint. There are some who think a lot of players out there are going to want to spend time with Mike White. He’s the showrunner of one of the buzziest programs on television, and he has an established history of giving his castmates cameos on the show. Many fans think the other players will be reluctant to vote him out, especially early, because while they’re all Survivor famous, he’s the only one who is legitimately Hollywood famous.

He’s also just really good at Survivor in a non-threatening way. He’s not a Boston Rob type or a Tony type who loudly dominates the game, but he’s a great strategic thinker who can build close social relationships with many different types of personalities. Throw in better than experted performances in challenges, and he’s the exact type of player who would go far in a majority of random seasons, which is why so many podcasters and journalists have him doing really well.

The thing is though, this isn’t an average season, which is why the other group of fans are less optimistic about White’s chances. Yes, all of the Hollywood stuff is really cool, but most of the legends coming back for Survivor 50 are presumably more interested in making another deep run and adding another chapter to their reputations. Plus, most of them are also obsessed with Survivor, which means they’re also going to be excited about getting to play with Coach, Cirie and other beloved favorites from the past.

A lot of those legends are really good at Survivor too. You could make a case that there are a handful of people who are better personalities than they are players, but in general, everyone on this season is way better than your average player on your average season. Mike White is really good, but it’s unclear from his one season whether he’s good enough to outwit most of these players. He might be, but we just don’t know.

We also don’t know if the players are going to be willing to vote for him if he does make it to the end. There are plenty of players who vote strictly based on who they think played the best game or who they like the most, but there are also plenty of people who vote based on who they think is more in need of the money, which assumedly, is not Mike White. In fact, there are a lot of podcasters who have said, while he could make a deep run, they don’t think they has any shot whatsoever to get enough jury votes to actually win the game.

I’m probably somewhere in the middle. I’m delighted to see Mike back, and I think he’s a genuinely good Survivor player who will make a really nice run this season. That being said, would I put him in the top half of players most likely to win the game? Probably not.

Survivor 50 will premiere next spring on CBS. Expect it to be one of the most talked about seasons in the history of the show.