With the news that both Australian Survivor and Survivor South Africa will be back in 2021 (AU dates are still TBA, while SA will premiere in June), now’s the perfect time to jump onboard with these fantastic international iterations of our beloved Survivor. Sadly, Survivor New Zealand has been shelved and there don’t appear to be any plans to revive it.
Soon after Survivor: Winners at War coverage ended, the great Shannon Guss put out the call for super fans to get on the international Survivor train. I’d heard good things about the international versions, but wasn’t sure how to watch (we’ll get to that). Then in the off seasons, my attention would wander to more easily accessible entertainment. But this time, riding the high of Winners at War, I couldn’t hop on fast enough.
Once I broke that proverbial seal, it was off to the races. And it was nothing short of fantastic. So I’m here to urge any and all Survivor fans to get themselves acquainted with the international offerings. This will only be covering some of the English-speaking editions: Australian Survivor, Survivor South Africa, and Survivor New Zealand. There are numerous non-English editions of the game as well. But I do not have a way to access those.
Major spoilers (winners, specific boots, etc) will be avoided here. But I may tease smaller spoilers or teases as a way to convince you rather than simply saying, “This is good, trust me.” I wouldn’t expect any details I reveal to in any way lessen your enjoyment of a season.
Regarding the season numbering for Survivor AU and Survivor SA, both have earlier seasons before being rebooted. AU had two earlier seasons while SA had five. Depending who you ask, the first AU reboot may be referred to as season 1 or season 3. To avoid confusion, the newer seasons will be referred to by their year. For SA, the season numbering continued, so the first reboot is season 6 and will be referred to as such. That being said, I will not be covering the pre-reboot seasons for either addition of the show.
Why You Should Watch
The international editions of Survivor aren’t perfect, of course. But even though they do have their flaws (AU relies too much on the surprise Exile Beach twist and non-elimination episodes, for example), here we’re focusing on the positives.
More Survivor
This is the obvious one. You’ve seen all 40 seasons of the U.S. version (some likely more than once), and you need something else to satisfy that Survivor itch. For some, this may be all the reason you need. But for those that need more convincing, this is only the tip of the iceberg.
More Survivor, Part 2
AKA longer episodes and seasons. This is one of the best things the international versions do, Australia in particular. The U.S. edition has a normal runtime of about 42 minutes of actual show footage. Australia is often between 60 and 75 minutes, while rarely being under 50. The Australian competitions also last for more days. The first two rebooted seasons are 55 days, before switching to a 50 day format in season 3. The extra days also means larger casts, with each season featuring 24 castaways. More days and more castaways also requires more episodes. Seasons 1 and 2 ran for 26 episodes, with seasons 3-5 hitting 24 each.
The longer episodes allow for the individual episodes, the characters, and the season as a whole to breath a little bit more. You get to know more of the players, even the ones who are voted out early, in a way you don’t always get a chance to with the U.S. seasons.
These few extra clips may not always make much of a difference for any one episode. But they add up over the course of an entire season. The early boots often get a full arc (or as full of one as their limited time in the game can allow) without sacrificing the bigger players or those that make it deep into the game. It also allows for fewer players to receive the dreaded “purple edit.”
Both Survivor SA and Survivor NZ have longer episodes, as well, though not quite as long as AU. But the common theme remains: longer episodes are a good thing. I know it wouldn’t be a simple process for our U.S. edition to have longer episodes, but fans would be over the moon if CBS could somehow work it so episodes were even extended to 45-48 minutes of actual show time.
The Characters
The cast has always been the biggest thing for me. A good cast can overcome bad strategy, boring challenges, and dumb twists much more easily than good strategy, great challenges, and fun twists can overcome a bad cast. And Survivor AU has some of the best casts you’ll ever see. Throughout the five newer seasons , there have been very few misses on the casting side. The 2016 season probably has the weakest cast from top to bottom. But it’s still mostly solid, and that was also the first attempt at the reboot. It takes off in the next season.
Survivor SA and NZ only have two seasons apiece, so there’s less to draw from. But their casts, for the most part, are also great, particularly South Africa: Philippines.
Gameplay
This isn’t the place to really get into the weeds about the ins and outs and complexities of the gameplay and strategy. But suffice it to say that each of these international iterations bring their own style and flavor.
Do they value loyalty and integrity? Big moves? Do the castaways play hard from the jump or is it more of a slow burn? I’m certain at least parts of the varying gameplay is due to the respective cultures within each country. Different country means different culture means different personalities means different gameplay.
I’m not saying the gameplay is inherently better or worse than the U.S. counterpart, just different. And exposure to something new and different is almost always a good thing. In the case of international Survivor, it’s a great thing.
Challenges
If challenges are the main draw for you, then look no further than Australian Survivor. This production team consistently knocks it out of the park. These challenges often lean more into the physical side of things, but not at the expense of puzzles or mental aspects of the challenges that viewers also love (though it does happen from time to time).
The Future of U.S. Survivor
How much longer will Jeff Probst host the show? This is a question that has come up before, and will continue to come up for as long as he continues hosting. And it’s fair to ask. He’s been with the show since the beginning; 20 years, 40 seasons. That takes a toll on anyone. The questions then become, “What does Survivor look like without Jeff Probst?” and “Can the show *ahem* survive without him?”
And what these international editions prove beyond a doubt is that Survivor can exist – even thrive – without him. Yes, it would be weird at first and would take some getting used to. But the show can carry on without him.
While Jonathan LaPaglia (Australia), Nico Panagio (South Africa), and Matt Chisholm (New Zealand) are up to Probst’s level (at least not yet), they each bring their own pizzazz to the gig, and it works perfectly fine. They nail the main aspects of the job, and then they let the players make the season themselves. A fun, engaging host is obviously preferred. But at the most basic level, all you really need the host to do is be more or less a guiding hand to the castaways. It’s their show, after all.
This may not be much of an active reason to watch these other editions of Survivor. But it’s still an added bonus to know that the show can be just as entertaining without Probst at the helm.
International Season Rankings
1) Australia 2017
This season is, in a word, fantastic. It’s an all-time Survivor season. It easily cracks my top 10, probably even pushes for top 5. With arguably the best (non-returnee) cast ever, it’s a blast from start to finish. At merge, I liked 11/12 players. And the 12th I didn’t dislike; I was more indifferent. And the vast majority of those 12 had up to the point played a winning game, or had laid the groundwork for a winning game. Incredible stuff all around.
This season also could lay claim as the best ever season of challenges. Just amazing what the production team was able to put forth episode after episode. The strategy is really the only minor nitpick you could come up with. To be fair, there’s nothing bad about the strategy. But when comparing this season to the iconic greats, it doesn’t rise to the levels of a Heroes vs Villains or Micronesia (a feat, as a reminder, no other season has either). If, for some crazy, illogical reason you were only going to watch one international season, this would be it.
2) Australia 2019
Pretty much “2017 Lite,” which is nothing to sneeze at. 2019 had a bit of a step up in strategy, but didn’t quite have the deep cast or challenge consistency. The cast and challenges are still mostly great, just not quite on par with 2017. Also introduces one of the game’s best and most entertaining narrators we’ve seen in any iteration of the game.
3) Australia 2020: All Stars
Twenty-four of Survivor AU’s biggest characters and best players (with maybe one or two exceptions, but 22/24 ain’t bad) return for the show’s biggest season yet. With the casts being a consistent highlight of the first four seasons, it was an absolute delight to see these players come back. Big personalities, big moves, and of course big challenges, this All Stars edition is top notch.
One unique aspect for this season is revenge. A good chunk of the gameplay is motivated by one player or another wanting payback for events from a previous season. And there is So. Much. Revenge. It’s not always logical, but it’s juicy, and it’s petty, and I love it.
And just for good measure, it has a totally bad ass tribal immunity idol.
4) South Africa 6: Philippines
Beautiful chaos. That’s the best way to describe Survivor SA. Some of the decisions are simultaneously baffling and wildly entertaining. Considering going to rocks early in the game, both tribes trying to throw the same challenge. The South Africans play this game differently, and we all benefit from it.
I’m likely in the minority ranking this season this low. Most of the chatter I’ve heard and read puts Philippines right on par with, if not above, Australia 2017 and 2019.
And for an added bonus, there’s this. An instantly iconic Survivor image. Drink it in in all its glory.
5) South Africa 7: Island of Secrets
Island of Secrets certainly has its flaws. Many merge boots are edited as pretty obvious, which takes away a lot of the tension. But there is also some incredible gameplay, including some of the best strategic maneuvering you’ll ever see. Be warned, it does have some big down moments, but there’s enough fun and good strategy to overcome it. And the Island of Secrets twist works more than it doesn’t. I won’t give away what it is, but think Ghost Island. That’s probably the closest U.S. approximation.
6) Australia 2018
A great pre-merge run, highlighted by more great challenges and tons of fun rivalries. Unfortunately followed by a pretty weak and lackluster stretch run. But to be fair, I’m likely to be more biased here than some. Lots of my favorite players all went out in succession right around the merge, just before and just after. So I wasn’t left with anyone to really get behind and root for. I know of plenty of fans who think the post-merge is far and away stronger than the pre-merge.
7) New Zealand 2 – Thailand
What an incredible improvement from their first season. It’s a huge jump in all-around quality. Everyone involved should be applauded for the work put in to knock the show up a few levels. Every single aspect of the show improved from the first season.
The Outpost is a really fun twist that no other season has implemented. Each tribe sends one person to The Outpost where they compete in an individual challenge, with some sort of reward or advantage on the line. Production struck a great balance of airtime, not overdoing it with Outpost coverage while also providing enough to get and keep us invested and interested.
There’s one very interesting aspect of this season that makes it unique from every other season. Can’t really say more without going into spoilers. But if you want something new to debate with friends, this season has you covered.
8) Australia 2016
The Aussie’s reboot attempt is admirable and you can see the seeds that turn it into a fantastic rendition of the show. But being the first one, there are definite kinks that had to be worked out. Jonathan LaPaglia was finding himself as a host, which led to him getting a little too involved at some Tribal Councils. There are some editing and gameplay/twists decisions that didn’t quite work. Still a perfectly fine season, but well below the four that would follow.
9) New Zealand 1 – Nicaragua
This was New Zealand’s first ever attempt at Survivor, and it showed, big time. They definitely didn’t have a very big budget to work with. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the small scale challenges. An odd aspect of the challenges was the strange lack of puzzles early on. The low budget presents itself in the most hilarious way with a bag of chocolate as a reward, which predictably turns into:
Including Redemption Island in your first go was an interesting choice, and one that ultimately hurt the show in the end. But the cast still makes the season entertaining enough to watch.
Some (Maybe) Final Notes
Committing to this much extra Survivor is a huge time commitment, so I get it if you wanted to skip some seasons. But I would encourage you not to. But if you must, you could get by with skipping Australia 2016. Though you would miss out on meeting some great characters for the first time, which will bite you if you watch All Stars without watching this season first.
Note that if you watch any of the AU seasons out of order, you will all but certainly have the immediately preceding season spoiled, if not others as well. Another incentive to watch in order starting with 2016.
The only season that might truly qualify as skippable would be NZ: Nicaragua. They have a bit of a rough go of it the first time around. But again, there are some really good characters that add just enough to the weaker setup. And probably the biggest reason to watch it is that you will gain a much larger appreciation for the second season and all the improvements the show makes. But it’s easily the weakest season, and you won’t be missing a whole lot if you decide to ditch it completely.
But if you insist on paring down the seasons you watch, then I’d go with:
Australia 2017
Australia 2019
Australia All Stars (as long as you don’t mind a roughly even split on which players you know and don’t know)
Survivor SA: Philipines
Survivor SA: Island of Secrets
With both Australia and South Africa set to return, there’s no better time than now to catch up. Everyone needs something new to binge, right?
How to Watch
This is really what you came here for, right? To access the episodes, you’ll have to DM me on Twitter and I’ll get you set up.
Update: All six seasons of Australian Survivor, the three South Africa seasons since the reboot, and both New Zealand seasons are now Paramount Plus. That’s everything. You’re officially out of excuses for not watching international Survivor.
Update 2: All seasons of Australian Survivor, Survivor South Africa, and Survivor New Zealand have been removed from Paramount Plus. It seems to be a licensing issue, and only time will tell if or when they will return to the service.
Happy binging!
