It's hard to believe that Survivor has been on TV now for 20 years, currently airing its 40th season that pits former winners against one another. The show, one of the first real reality competition series, takes contestants to a remote and exotic location where they have to live on the land, provided only with some rice to get started. They must start their own fires, build their own shelter, and find their own food. They compete in various team and eventually individual challenges and vote one another off every week until two (now three) people remain to plead their case for a million dollars.
While you might be a superfan, there are probably some things you don't yet know about the show. Here are some interesting behind-the-scenes and other facts.
Teams Can Discuss Challenges Ahead Of Time
It might seem like when the teams arrive at the immunity or reward challenge, they are viewing the competition course for the first time. In reality, they actually get a head's up as to what the competition will be and are able to strategize before making decisions like who will do what, who might sit out, and how they will approach tasks.
So while the show might make it seem like they only have "a minute to strategize" as Jeff Probst always says before cutting to the start of the challenge, they have actually already walked through the course and gotten an idea of what is involved.
The Idea Was Actually From the '90s
While we know Survivor from the American version that premiered in 2000 and has been gracing our television screens every year since the concept for the show was actually presented almost a decade prior.
Charlie Parsons came up with the idea in the U.K. in 1994, and the first show based on that idea launched on screen in 1997. The show was called Expedition Robinson and followed the same format: contestants were put into survival situations, everyone voted someone out each week, and a final winner was named. The show continues to air to this day.
Employees Test Out The Challenges
Imagine if your job was to travel to exotic locations and try out complex obstacle courses that will be featured in a reality show? That job actually exists. Called The Dream Team, these 20-something-year-old men and women are tasked with trying out the challenges before the competitors do.
They need to ensure that the course is safe and do-able, that it is not too easy or too challenging. This isn't all they do, however. The same team also reportedly helps to build and paint the challenges in the first place.
Some Scenes Are Re-enacted
Die-hard fans of the popular show might be disappointed to find out that some of the most compelling scenes are actually re-enacted so the camerapersons can get a better shot. This isn't to say it isn't reality. The events really did happen. However, what you see on the final cut might not be the exact footage.
Sometimes, the show has even used body doubles to make sure they get a perfect shot and angles that will translate well for the camera and captivate viewers.
Everyone Gets Paid
Even if a player doesn't go home with the first or even second place cash prize, they still come out ahead. Every player is paid a wage for being on the show so it isn't all about fun and games. The sum varies, however, depending on how long you last.
So even if a player thinks they have no shot at winning (and really, you could never know this since the game changes so quickly from week-to-week), they can still fight to stay as long as they can and get more money. Reportedly, the second-place finisher gets $100,000 and the third-place finisher $85,000, and it goes down from there to about $2,500 for the last-place finisher.
Not Everyone Auditions
You'd love to think that every contestant on the series fought their way to get there, sending in a goofy audition tape and application and trying their best to show how they would be great for the show. But that isn't always the case.
Like in many other reality shows, sometimes models and actors are cast. Because, of course, who doesn't love looking at beautiful shirtless men and gorgeous women in bikinis? Keep in mind, though, they if they are scouted, they still have to go through the casting process like everyone else to find out if they would actually be suitable for the show.
Only Two People Have Played Perfect Games
In 20 years, only two people have ever played "perfect games:" John Cochran in season 26 and JT Thomas in season 18.
What makes perfect games? Not only did they both win via unanimous vote but they also never had a single vote cast against them at any tribal council throughout the entire game. That truly is an impressive accomplishment and a tremendous feat to pull off in such a competitive game where alliances are always shifting and people are constantly backstabbing or even throwing votes one way or another to cause chaos. Regardless, no votes ever flew their way on their respective seasons.
Phil Keoghan Almost Hosted
By now, Jeff Probst is pretty much synonymous with Survivor. But way back when, he almost didn't get the job. Probst said back in a 2013 interview that he had to face off with another now popular reality TV show host for the gig: Phil Keoghan.
Keoghan went on to snag a pretty sweet gig himself, as host of The Amazing Race, a job he still holds today. Could we imagine them swapping spots or Probst not being part of the Survivor family? It seems impossible.
They Really Are Starved
While you might like to think that the contestants are snuck an extra bag of rice or some cheeseburgers when the cameras aren't rolling, this isn't the case at all. While the crew might indulge in local delicacies when filming is over or they are on break, contestants really do have to stick it out and eat rice or swim or hunt for their own food.
Because of this, combined with dehydration, the often humid conditions, and the physical challenges they endure, many contestants have been medically evacuated from the game. Some evacuations dealt with injuries, but others, like in the case of Caleb Reynolds, were due to heat exhaustion.
The Game Is Played in 55 Countries
While Survivor originated in the U.S. (or technically Sweden), a version of the show now airs in 55 different countries and regions around the world, from Spain to Poland, Pakistan to Mexico, the Netherlands to Australia.
It would be interesting to find out where contestants from Survivor in Africa, for example, go to play the game, or where contestants playing on the version in the Philippines may take players to film their version of the series. Do they stay local or travel elsewhere as is done in the American version?