One of the longest-running reality TV shows, Survivor has been a staple of television for over 20 years. Every season has been a ratings success, and viewers still clamor with anticipation at the reveal of a new season.
With the show's 43rd season set to premiere on Sept. 21, fans are excited to see what changes will be made to keep Survivor fresh. Seasons 41 and 42 were generally praised for the alterations that were made to surprise viewers and players alike, but more could be done to keep the show fresh in the eyes of Survivor's most vocal fans on Reddit.
Longer Episodes
According to Redditor Hysha92, one of the changes they would make to keep the show fresh is to have "longer episodes." From a TV ratings standpoint, this would be a risky maneuver, but on a narrative level, the change makes sense.
The average episode of Survivor is typically 43 minutes long, and while this amount of time works well for balancing the camp drama with the reward/immunity challenges and tribal council, an increased length of 60 minutes could allow for a better understanding of the cast and the camp dynamics.
Fewer Idols
When Survivor first premiered back in 2000, the only type of idols that could be obtained were if players won challenges. Hidden immunity idols wouldn't be introduced until Survivor: Guatemala, and since that time, more and more of them have been added to the game.
To counteract the sheer abundance of idols that have oversaturated Survivor, social skills during Survivor's pre-merge.
More Varied Film Locations
Since Survivor: Millenials vs. Gen X, each season of the show has been filmed in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. While a stable location makes it easier for the crew to produce the show, Redditor orangesonthebeach suggested the show should go to new locations because "everyone knows these beaches too well by now."
Beyond freshening up the visual aesthetic of the show, a change in locale could also add an element of excitement to the show. With an unfamiliar terrain comes new challenges for the contestants, and such challenges can make for a riveting season of Survivor.
Eliminate The Final Four Fire-Making Twist
Since the show's inception, a tie during the final four tribal council was broken by a fire-making challenge. This rule was modified in Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers so that a fire-making challenge always took place during the final four tribal council.
While the final four fire-making challenge is a great way of emphasizing the "survival" element of Survivor, the knowledge that every final four will result in such a challenge has led for some such as Redditor Dvaderstarlord to argue for the removal "of the F4 Firemaking twist." Doing so would add unpredictability to the show as players would be unprepared if the final four vote went to a tiebreaker.
Replace Tribe Swaps With Mutinies
In response to the question of what they'd do to change Survivor, Redditor Presidentialyeetoo said the show should "replace tribe swaps with a few mutinies per season." Such a choice would be controversial among the core fans considering how the swap has been a staple of the game since Survivor: Africa.
Though the tribe swap has always been effective in shaking up the social structure of Survivor, it has lost much of its shock appeal, regardless of how the show attempts to shake up the presentation of the switch. A mutiny, however, could offer up extra drama and tension for the show due to the power it gives players to choose whether they switch teams.
Focus More On The Survival Aspect
Like NASCAR, Survivor was once a property whose stakes rested in the potential for dangerous things to happen to its contestants. The show has rightfully put more safety regulations in place since its inception, but over time, these regulations have led to the program feeling rather manufactured.
While a complete rollback of the protections put in place would be wrong from a moral standpoint, Redditors like orangesonthebeach are correct in asserting that the show needs to "focus more on the survival aspect." Such a choice would not only break up the predictability of the scheming and searching for idols, but it would also inject the dose of reality that Survivor has been lacking for some time and make it the stuff of gossip at the water cooler.
Limit The Amount Of Idols That Are Re-Hidden
When suggesting changes that should be made to Survivor, Reddtitor shmegdar felt "there should definitely only be one idol re-hidden after the merge, and only if no idols are left in play." As a means of negating the overabundance of idols and advantages found in Survivor, it's not a terrible solution.
Idols have often been a point of contention among Survivor super fans, with many arguing for a limit on the amount of them. By only re-hiding one idol post-merge, the players would be forced to build their social game, and the show could spend more time on camp drama rather than following the contestants as they hunt for idols.
Greater Variety Of Challenges
One of the defining features of Survivor is its reward and immunity challenges. Encoming multiple terrains and testing both physical and mental endurance, they work to add flavor to an otherwise ugly display of human behavior.
Despite the fun that the challenges bring to Survivor, more offbeat Survivor challenges - similar to the ones Hysha92 mentioned - would be appreciated.
Kill All Advantages At The Final 6
One of the most aggravating things about Survivor's final six is that advantages can heavily alter the makeup of the final three. To counteract the potential for fan favorites to be booted out by "unworthy contestants," Reddit SparksCat suggested that "all advantages die at F6."
By removing advantages from the game during the final 6, the players would be forced to play the social game and work on alliances to make it to the end. Such a choice would wring more drama out of the season's conclusion, and give audiences a final two or three made up of Survivor's best contestants.
Experiments With Format
In one of the boldest suggestions offered to improve Survivor, Redditor SeaBearsFoam wrote "I want a season with 20 contestants, merge at 12, then when it gets down to a final 10, the contestants are at what they think is an individual immunity challenge when they're informed that it is actually a tribal immunity challenge" because there's another group of players who have been playing their own game on the other side of the island.
While the logistics of such a season full of 40 players would be a nightmare to produce, the idea of revealing an unknown group of contestants would be the talk of the town. It's a creative choice that could bring in viewers who had dropped off because of the Survivor's predictability and add a sense of uncertainty to what the show might do next.