After the smash ratings success of Survivor 50, the show has promised it’s going to give us another season filled with returning players sooner rather than later. Exactly who those returning players will be or even what theme we’ll see are still being debated behind the scenes, but those of us who have been paying close attention are noticing a lot of smoke around one particular former castaway, who is increasingly looking like a lock to return. Oh how things have changed.
When the cast of Survivor 50 was first announced, there was no choice that caused more confusion than Tiffany Nicole Ervin. She was an engaging confessionalist and pretty memorable player on 46, but her eighth place finish was the lowest on a debut for any returning player on 50. Some fans even speculated the sole reason she was being brought back was out of the hope that she’d have more run-ins with huge personality Q Burdette, who was also returning from 46.
Ervin had her defenders, of course, and rightfully so given how much personality she has, but those cheerleaders weren’t exactly vindicated after she was consistently underedited through most of the season. Some fans were so shocked by her lack of confessionals that they openly speculated she did something to get on the wrong side of host Jeff Probst and the producers. Her presence picked up quite a bit near the end of the season, as she made a deep fifth place run and was depicted as a major threat to win the game, but because she was so underedited for so many episodes, fans never took her seriously as a potential winner.
You’d think these would all be signs Ervin was one of the more unlikely Survivor 50 players to return, but not so fast. During the finale, the show gave her a really nice spotlight, highlighting a huge round of applause she got from the live audience, and to the surprise of many, Probst asked her if she would play again if the show called. That’s not something the host typically asks players, and her very enthusiastic answer had many wondering if the show perhaps liked her a lot more than we thought.
Well, let me present some more evidence that the producers do. Survivor is currently doing interviews to promote the show’s recent Emmy nomination. Probst has, of course, been front and center hyping the show, but for Deadline’s Contenders roundtable discussion, the show decided to put forward longtime executive producer Matt Van Wagenen, editor Brian Barefoot, casting producer Jesse Tannenbaum and Tiffany Nicole Ervin.
Because the conversation was about Survivor 50, they were always going to have a returning player, but it certainly feels noteworthy that they picked Tiffany. She’s got plenty of media experience from her time at BET, but still, they’re not picking her for a prestigious conversation like this unless they really like her. They're not picking her unless they trust her.
None of this is obviously a guarantee that she’s going to be on the next returnee season or any returnee season at all, but I think it is a guarantee that she’s at least going to be strongly in consideration for whatever comes next. Survivor likes to work with former castaways they trust and want to showcase. There’s a reason why Boston Rob, Sandra, Parv, Ozzy, Coach, Cirie, Aubry, Colby and a handful of others have gotten the call four or more times. They know what to expect and feel like they’re good representatives of the brand.
Regardless, the expectation from many fans is that the next returnee season will be 54. The show hasn’t confirmed that, but Probst has been clear that it’ll happen soon and won’t be 51 or 52. Personally, I’m hoping we’ll get the long-awaited sequel to Heroes vs Villains, but it could wind up being Second Chances, Blood vs Water or a new theme we haven’t had yet. Fingers crossed it delivers, no matter who the show brings back for it.
