The following interviews were conducted on location in Fiji before filming began for “Survivor 50.”
It’s been a long time since “Survivor” has welcomed returning players back to Fiji’s shores. Ten seasons ago, 20 winners went to war, but since then, the new era has been swarmed with new Sole-Surviving hopefuls looking to fulfill their dreams and make names for themselves in the reality TV space. Looking all the way back to “Borneo,” a whopping 751 total players have attempted to outwit, outplay, and outlast, which means the cast for “Survivor 50” could’ve been built a gazillion different ways.
Before the game began, we asked the lucky 24 chosen ones who should’ve made the cast for this landmark season (which debuts on CBS Wednesday, February 25 at 8/7c with a three-hour premiere). From the jump, Richard Hatch, the series’ inaugural winner, was name-dropped by Ozzy Lusth, with Mike White in total agreement.
“I don’t know if I was expecting him to be here, but I would’ve been stoked to see Richard Hatch here,” White told TVLine in the video embedded above. “He played such a memorable game in that very first season, so it would’ve been cool to see Richard play in this new era.”
Plenty of players mentioned the usual suspects and legends of the game — the Boston Robs, Parvatis and Tonys of seasons past — but others chose to “dig deep” (as Jeff Probst would say), serving up some truly compelling what-if scenarios. “Survivor 48” winner Kyle Fraser wanted the “thoughtful and intentional” Earl Cole, the “Survivor Fiji” winner, back for another go-around. As for Cirie Fields, she mentioned someone from her original “Panama” season that immediately got this journalist’s attention: Shane Powers.
“I didn’t think he would be here, but how fun would it have been if Shane Powers made another appearance on the beach?” she posed. “As crazy as Shane is, I think this would’ve been phenomenal. He probably would’ve gotten voted out first, but Shane is hilarious!”
Hear the rest of the “50” cast’s thoughts on who should’ve joined them on the beach (Jerri Manthey! Davie Rickenbacker!), then hit the comments with your own “should’ve been there” picks!