Well this is dumb. I’m just going to come right out and say it. According to an article from Martin Holmes at Inside Survivor, the CBS reality show is bringing back one of its most controversial twists for the much-hyped all winner season: the Edge of Extinction. The twist, introduced in the 38th season, received strong backlash from fans. It didn’t help matters that the season’s winner, Chris Underwood, spent the vast majority of his time in the game on Extinction Island, cozying up to and becoming friends with almost the entire jury.
In general I was no fan of the Edge of Extinction twist. Was I fine with it as a one-off season? Sure, I love the fact that production keeps trying new things. Not everything is going to be a home run. So if it had been season and then abandoned, I would have been able to make my peace with it. But now this? On the all winner season? The season fans have been wanting for years? I can’t think of a worse time to bring it back.
Unless CBS is anticipating Survivor airing for another 20 years, they really only have one shot at an all winners season. And bringing back the Edge of Extinction could be all that’s needed to tank it before it even begins. That being said, I’m still holding out a bit of hope. On the one hand, this rumor could be wrong. No one from CBS has confirmed this publicly yet. Though this is more of a pipe dream, as Holmes is rarely (never?) wrong when it comes to this kind of news. And the Edge of Extinction in season 40 could be different than the Edge of Extinction we saw in 38. Maybe it ends at the merge, with one or two players coming back. Maybe there are elimination challenges, similar to Redemption Island.
So why would CBS bring back such a controversial twist so soon after its original appearance? A common fan theory is it’s being done to compensate for rumored large appearance fees for some players. Again, this is something else that isn’t confirmed, but it’s thought that many of the returning players received an appearance fee in addition to the regular game placement winnings. If Boston Rob, for example, is voted out first, CBS would have spent a large chunk of money on someone who ultimately was only in one episode. They’re trying to protect their investment, in a sense. If that’s true, while I understand from the business side, it’s beyond disappointing from a product standpoint.
Or it’s possible CBS thought the theme would be a hit, made the decision well in advance, and didn’t have time to adjust. This one is somewhat believable. The season 40 cast left for Fiji shortly after the season 38 finale aired. With press and any other pre-game details, filming probably started a week or two after the finale. You could argue there wasn’t enough time to make such a fundamental change to the season’s gameplay. I could buy that, but only to a point.
In reality, how hard would it have been to eliminate the Edge of Extinction? Ponderosa still needs to be ready to go in case someone quits, is medevaced but doesn’t need to go to a hospital, or someone goes to the Edge and quits right away. It’s not like the eliminated players wouldn’t have a place to go. As for the Edge challenges to get back into the game, there would only be one or two of those. Take them out, give the contestants another off-day, or make those reward challenge days. Whatever the reasoning may be, I’m sure there will be plenty of talk of the Edge’s return, be it pre, mid, or post-season (likely all three).
Everyone’s wanted an all winners season for a long time. I’m still excited, but expectations are definitely tempered. And for now, I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope that the unthinkable happened, and Holmes’ scoop is wrong for once.
The yet-to-be-titled 40th season of Survivor will air in early 2020.
Agreed. Winners don’t get voted off. A new rule for the all winners season should be if you finish in the bottom half you are never allowed to be on the show again.
Agreed. Winners don’t get voted off. A new rule for the all winners season should be if you finish in the bottom half you are never allowed to be on the show again.