There was always going to pushback to the Survivor 50 cast. Too many fans were advocating for too many former players to possibly please everyone. Deep down, I think everyone sorta knew that; so, after we all got out our complaints about who was picked and who wasn’t, the general consensus turned back to excitement. That excitement has been steadily building and turning into fun speculation the last few months on social media too, but unfortunately, the trailer for Survivor 50 just dropped and fans are back on exile island. I’m right there with them too.
Once again, the collective frustration is about who is on the island, though this time, it has nothing to do with the castaways themselves. The Survivor 50 trailer features an alarming number of references to celebrities and even in-person appearances by multiple celebrities. Mr. Beast and Zac Brown are shown in the trailer, seemingly in Fiji, and there are references to Jimmy Fallon deciding someone’s fate and a Billie Eilish boomerang idol.
These are, of course, far from the first celebrity appearances on Survivor. Actor and White Lotus creator Mike White is literally playing on 50, and celebrities like Tyler Perry and Rosie O’Donnell have gotten screentime during episodes in the past. It’s not necessarily out of character for the show to incorporate stars they think will make the show more appealing to casual fans and/ or make it seem bigger, grander and more culturally relevant. This feels different though.
A lot of the trailer’s runtime is devoted to bragging about what random celebrities are going to be involved, almost as if the show thinks their involvement is what the selling point is. Maybe it is a selling point to fans they’re hoping will try out the show or return to the show, but for those of us who have been here the whole time, it kinda feels like our rice was just thrown in the fire. It feels like the season we have wanted for so long isn’t for us. It’s for trying to please randoms who probably won’t watch the show anyway.
Not surprisingly, there are a lot of extremely negative comments on social media from prominent fans and outlets that cover Survivor regularly. Many of these comments are getting liked by hundreds of even thousands of people. Here’s a sample of what I’m talking about…
Look, I don't WANT to be a downer, but that #Survivor 50 preview was... not good. Celebrity guests? What are we even doing anymore?December 18, 2025
That’s just one piece of the slide puzzle too. A tweet pointing out Mr. Beast has more screentime in the trailer than Genevieve has more than a thousand likes. A snarky tweet about how we’re going to lose a legend because he didn’t collect enough Mr. Beast tokens is approaching two thousand likes. Fans are shouting HOW DID WE GET HERE in all capital letters and dropping that awkward Jennifer Coolidge and Haley Lu Richardson gif from White Lotus to describe their reactions. It’s a fire out there.
But maybe host Jeff Probst and the other producers think the backlash is worth it because if you look around, there are tons of outlets covering the trailer and most of them are talking about the big celebrity cameos. In fact, that’s the lead in the headline for most of the stories I’ve seen, and they’re overwhelmingly positive or neutral. So, maybe the producers are gambling that the hardcore fans are going to watch the show regardless (we will) and the trailer is there for lapsed fans and casuals they want to get on board (maybe they will).
Ultimately, the trailer doesn’t matter. No one is going to remember what was or wasn’t in it once the show starts, but I think, as fans, what does matter is the content of the show. Producers billed Survivor 50 as ‘In The Hands Of The Fans’ and let us vote on some of the things we wanted to see or didn’t want to see in the game. All the celebrity cameos or references in the trailer feel like they’re not for us, and that makes it hard not to wonder whether the actual episodes won’t be for us either.
Whatever. I get all the negativity and part of me is concerned, but I’d rather just figure out a way to stay positive and act like Keith Nale on that reward challenge in Cambodia. Despite its celebrity fixation, the trailer also gives us an extended sequence of all-time legend Coach quoting all-time legend Magellan. It gives us Q continuing to be the wildest one-man hype train, and it gives us great content from Mike White, Jenna Lewis and more. Cirie previously called this the best season ever, and I’m going to choose to believe her.
If you want to take a wait and see approach after watching the trailer though, I get it. Believe me, I do.
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