With the premiere of Survivor: Edge of Extinction a little less than a month away. we now know who will be gracing our television sets with their presence during the 38th season of the hit CBS reality show. For now, I will list minimal information besides each person’s name and age. For more detailed bios, check out the cast gallery at EW.
This season will have 18 players split into two tribes. The cast twist is each tribe will have two returning players. The tribes are below and we’ll get to the Edge of Extinction twist after that.
Kama Tribe
The Kama Tribe members, from top row, left to right:
Gavin Whitson; 23; YMCA program director; Erwin,Tennessee
Ron Clark; 46; teacher; Atlanta
Eric Hafemann; 34; firefighter; Livermore, California
Joe Anglim; 29 (returning player); multimedia artist; Ogden, Utah
Julie Rosenberg; 46; a toymaker; New York, New York
David Wright (returning player); 44; TV writer; Sherman Oaks, California
Reem Daly; 46; sales; Ashburn, Virginia
Lauren O’Connell; 21; student at Baylor University; originally from California
So there we have our two tribes. Once I get a chance to read over the bios and listen to some podcasts, I’ll have my (likely inaccurate) cast and show preview out prior the premiere.
So what is the Edge of Extinction?
Well, as the title alluded to, host Jeff Probst “explained” what fans can expect. And I say “explained” because, as you could have guessed, he provided the bare minimum amount of information. In an interview with “Entertainment Weekly,” he said,
The gameplay is — you don’t know this, it’s a secret — but when you’re voted out, you’re going to leave Tribal and walk around the corner and finally come to this lighted torch with a signpost. And the signpost will say, ‘You have a decision to make. If you’re done playing and you want your adventure to end, keep walking. If, however, you want a chance to get back in the game, take the torch and get in the boat.’ That’s all you know.”
The best television host working today went on to add,
“Do you want to go into the unknown for a shot to get back in, or am I done? That’s the twist. That’s the premise. What they don’t know is what they will be going into. Where they’re going is Edge of Extinction. You will arrive at night in pitch black with a lighted torch to a beach. And the first person there will be the only person there. And that’s it.”
“Everything you do will require way more effort than you were doing back on that thing that you thought was tough called Survivor. And you’re doing it all on the idea that you have a shot to get back in.”
However, while Probst said “that’s it,” that’s not quite it. He also said that any contestant living on the Edge can choose to leave the game for good, saying,
“If it becomes too much, raise a sail and a boat will come get you.”
On the surface it sounds like some kind of mixture of the season 7 Outcasts twist and Redemption Island. The Outcasts twist was not well received, and you have to think that was taken into consideration when planning this new season. While I’m iffy about this twist at the start, we’ll have to wait and see how it actually plays out over the course of the season. There are a few questions to consider that hopefully will be answered for us right away.
Will the contestants start the game knowing about the Edge of Extinction?
When someone is voted out, does everyone know that person has the choice to leave the game for good or take their shot at redemption? If it were up to me, they would know. I don’t want to say it’s unfair if they don’t; that gets a bit messy. Typically, nothing in Survivor is unfair. But this feels different. It fundamentally changes the game. Something like that is something the contestants should know about. It can also change the voting strategy, potentially making for interesting television. Would you still vote someone out knowing there is a chance you could see them again later in the game?
On the other hand, can you imagine seeing the look on the players’ faces when they go from being voted out to finding out they still have a chance? The first one would be great, but it might quickly fall the under the law of diminishing returns. And the Edge can absolutely work without the players knowing about it beforehand. I just think the show gives it the best chance of succeeding with letting the players in on it from the word go.
Edit: I listened to the first episode of Josh Wigler’s First One Out, in which he confirmed the castaways will not be told about the Edge of Extinction twist.
How many players are eligible to return? And when can he/she/they re-enter the game?
These two go hand in hand. I’d have to imagine production limited it to one or two players. Any more than that, and you’re looking at gigantic merge, the most likely time for the player(s) to come back. The show could also borrow from the Outcasts twist, and make the remaining Edge of Extinction players a de facto tribe for one challenge. The results of that challenge could then determine who comes back into the game. I’m hoping they go a brand new route rather than rehash old ideas.
Will players on the Edge be periodically eliminated?
On Redemption Island, the contestants participated in periodic challenges, fully eliminating one or more players from the game. Will the Edge function the same way? Or will anyone who goes there remain as long as they can last? My preference would be they can stay there as long as they can manage it. I do, however, want to see challenges for minimal rewards. This could prove tricky, however, as this would make three challenges to show in most episodes. That might be hard to manage from an editing standpoint.
We may not know until the end of the season how successful the Edge of Extinction twist is. But even if it fails, this is one thing (among many) I love about Survivor. They’re always thinking outside the box, coming up with fresh ideas. And they’ve done incredibly well for a show about to begin its 38th season. While I hope the twist succeeds, they’ve built in some serious good will if it does falter.
Survivor: Edge of Extinction premieres Wednesday, February 20th at 8 PM/7 CT on CBS.
