Who should return for Survivor 50?

Seasons: Panama, Micronesia, Heroes Vs. Villains, Game Changers

Ahh, Cirie: truly the best to never win it. Cirie is widely revered as one of the greatest players to ever grace the game, and for good reason: She invented the 3-2-1 vote split, and it was, of course, her idea to convince Erik to give up his individual immunity necklace in Micronesia. (This is till one of the greatest Survivor moments of all time, obviously. More on that later.) The list goes on and on and on. While watching her torch get snuffed once again would be a genuinely devastating experience, it’s hard to imagine anything sweeter than a Cirie victory after all this time. She’s gone on to win a few other reality shows (the range!) but it’s just not the same. I never want Survivor to end, but if Cirie finally manages to nab the million, I think I could live with it. [Emma Keates]

Seasons: China, Heroes Vs. Villains

I’m sure Courtney would rather keel over than return to play Survivor. Still, nothing is more iconic than her and Todd’s constant clowning on the rest of the Survivor: China cast and her brutally honest observations about the “best of the best” on Heroes Vs. Villains. Courtney used her confessionals as mini-therapy sessions when she was stuck on the island, and I don’t blame her. Imagine being trapped with Jean-Robert and Coach. (I’d be losing my mind.) Her quips are legendary—my favorite being when she referred to Russell Hantz as a “bandy-legged little troll.” Courtney gave us some iconic television, and I need her sass back on my screen immediately. [Olivia Abercrombie]

Season: Micronesia

Natalie earned a blank check to return to the island whenever the hell she wants with her absolutely insane final tribal question to bestie/ally Parvati in Micronesia. (If this moment somehow isn’t seared into whatever part of your brain is reserved for niche Survivor references, Natalie used her precious last seconds on the show to ask Parv how her propensity for playing the flirt card “resonates for you in the bedroom.” It rocked.) But that speech was just one small piece of the chaotic, unbelievably entertaining puzzle that was Natalie’s presence in the one season she played. Who can forget her part in the Great Blindside Of Erik Reichenbach or the confessional where she said the terrible Survivor pizza was better than her first sexual experience? Natalie told Entertainment Weekly in 2020 that she would be ready to return if she was asked, and she and Parvati are still great friends. (They just did a photoshoot together a few months ago!) Maybe Natalie picked up some more of her counterpart’s cunning ways throughout the years. The show and I desperately need her back. [Emma Keates]

Seasons: Micronesia, Caramoan

Erik Reichenbach was the California ice-cream scooper who shocked the world when he gave his individual immunity necklace to Natalie Bolton at the Final Five tribal in Micronesia. Though it was one of the worst moves in Survivor history, production invited Erik back for Caramoan—making him the only castaway to be featured in both “Fans Vs. Favorites” seasons. Though Cochran took home the victory in Caramoan, you could argue that Erik was on track to win the whole damn thing until a medical evacuation robbed him at the Final Five—opening the door for the only remaining male fan, Eddie Fox, to try and make a run. (Spoiler Alert: He did not succeed.) Erik went from making one of the most boneheaded plays in the show’s history to being a beloved shoe-in cut down by a horrible, game-changing circumstance. Unlike in his first season, when the favorites decimated the fans tribe quickly and he was forced to win three individual immunity challenges in a row to stay alive, Erik’s second stint found him inching along because of a great social game. It would have been nice to see Erik come back for Game Changers, but I’d settle for another go on Survivor 50. Few castaways have had such an endearing and memorable arc, and he’s a good character from the second-half of the old-school era—so newer fans might be familiar with his game, too. [Matt Mitchell]

Season: Gabon

Poor, suffering Matty, who didn’t know squat about Survivor before he was scouted at a Whole Foods in 2008, and apparently doesn’t know much about it now either. An effervescent, thumbs-up kinda guy, Matty could have been a real contender on pretty much any season that operated with a shred of normal Survivor logic. Unfortunately, he was cast on Gabon, the season where players collectively decided to throw an idol into the ocean, almost every move was determined by the ever-changing whims of a pin-up model named Sugar, and Jeff got so frustrated that he almost quit the show entirely. While Gabon certainly has its merits—I like to think of it as Survivor’s gas leak season—Matty deserves to test his luck on a tribe with real stakes and real players, who will screw him over at the final four for strategic reasons rather than vaguely nebulous emotional ones. (His betrayal by Sugar is still one of the show’s most underrated heartbreakers.) Even if Matty doesn’t come back, he still gave us one of the greatest Survivor gifs ever with his shit eating grin after Marcus was blindsided. That should honestly be the only audition tape he needs for season 50. [Emma Keates]

Season: Samoa

Natalie White didn’t return for Winners At War, making her still just a one-time player. But I hope that all changes when it comes time to film season 50. Natalie’s victory in Season 19 is often considered an undeserved one, as many believed that runner-up Russell Hantz was robbed by a 7-2 jury vote. And while, yes, that’s likely true (Hantz played one of the greatest villain games ever), let’s not act like he didn’t completely fumble his jury management. You know who didn’t fumble such a consequential moment? Natalie White. While she’s tied with Chris Underwood for the least number of challenge wins as a victor (three), she holds the record for most to-win jury votes cast for a woman (seven) with four other players. I think Natalie ought to return to Survivor and try to show everyone else why her social game was good enough to warrant the million bucks over Hantz. Obviously, she doesn’t have anything to really prove, given that her 7-2 win happened 15 years ago, but it would be cool to see her come back as an old-school player and show us what she can do in a season not maligned by a cartoonish dolt. [Matt Mitchell]

Seasons: Cagayan, Cambodia

Spencer really has it all, which is probably why he managed to make it almost until the final day on both of his (very tough!) seasons. He’s incredibly cunning and strategic; his ingenious idea to memorize an unused puzzle from the season prior on the off chance it would be recycled for Cagayan is one of my favorite challenge hacks of all time. He’s also, in the most complimentary way possible, a huge mess. You can talk about how you want to bring a chess board to the island in your audition tape all you want, but it doesn’t matter if you occasionally fly off the handle and mutter “Kass, zero chance of winning the game” when one of your allies flips at tribal. (That moment, by the way, cost him at least Kass’ vote and maybe the game three whole seasons later in Cambodia.) He’s such a fun player and it would be so interesting to see what he makes of the new era’s shortened format. Unfortunately, it probably won’t happen. In 2020, he said he thought Survivor needed to be “radically re-invented,” as in, “a season where there is no voting for the first few weeks, or where tribes have to actually create their own structures and/or mechanisms for voting, elect[ing] leaders and form[ing] worlds.” There’s no way that happens, but I honestly can’t say I disagree with the point he’s making. [Emma Keates]

Seasons: David Vs. Goliath

I love Jeff, but I love it more when people mess with him. Christian’s five-and-a-half-hour rambling to Jeff as his captive audience remains one of my favorite Survivor moments and is exactly something I would do. However, my ramblings would be about much less impressive topics than Christian’s scientific experiments or fun facts. Christian was a great social player, managing multiple close-knit alliances throughout the game, including an unlikely team-up with The Mayor Of Slamtown, John Hennigan, and Dan Rengering. He also became a challenge threat in the first challenge of the season when he dominated the puzzle and was adept at finding hidden immunity idols. I won’t even lie. I mostly just want him back on my screen to learn more robotics facts and see if he will torture Jeff again. [Olivia Abercrombie]

Season: David Vs. Goliath

In the fall of 2018, we were blessed with Mike White’s presence on Survivor. The filmmaker (of Enlightened and School of Rock fame) began the season skittish, skirting around others in a semi-neurotic, writerly fashion. But as the nerd archetype on Survivor often does, he came into his own—but with a balance of acerbic wit, humane compassion, and social acumen, the latter of which made him one of the strongest players. There are many silly scenes that would probably play on a highlight reel of Mike’s stint on the show, but few live on in my head as much as Mike’s reactions to helping Angelina Keeley (another great) find an immunity idol in the season finale. “It’s like a job; I always have to do something,” Mike says as he gets up to help Angelina, red wine in hand. “You know, I really could use the manpower to find my idol,” Angelina says in a voiceover—all while Mike comically takes a (yet another) large swig of his glass of wine, bumps into a tree, and mutters the word bitch under his breath. What makes Mike so special is that he’s essentially an amalgamation of the greats, with dashes of Courtney Yates’ caustic humor (though no one quite reaches Courtney’s bite) and something like Aubry Bracco’s unlikely social acumen. Also, he inspired Jeff Probst to get rid of the stupid fire tokens twist. Survivor 50 would be lucky to have him. [Hafsah Abbasi]

Season: Edge Of Extinction

No player in Survivor history has charmed me more than Rick Devens, the newscaster who nearly played a perfect underdog game during Edge Of Extinction. After getting voted out from a truly laughable tribe pre-merge (and after forming a beautiful bond with returning player and fan-favorite David Wright), Devens went to the Edge Of Extinction and fought his way back into the game. He won individual immunity four times and found (and played) four hidden immunity idols, vetoing eight total votes in the process (one of the most successful individual runs in the show’s history). Few players have had such a pronounced impact on a season, and had Devens not lost the fire-making challenge to Chris Underwood (who’d been voted out one episode before Devens and didn’t re-enter the game until final six) at the Final Four tribal, Edge Of Extinction might not be marred as one of the show’s worst seasons ever. But “likable” would be an understatement when applied to Devens. He’s quite possibly one of the most charismatic players to ever touch down in Fiji, and he’s certainly the only player from Edge Of Extinction worth bringing back. The only returnees since season 38 have either been winners or Bruce Perreault, so Devens is a prime suspect for a season 50 return. In fact, I’d wager he’s probably one of the first names on the call sheet. [Matt Mitchell]

Season: 41

I don’t know if there is a world where you bring back Ricard Foyé without also bringing back Shan Smith, but I’d love to see the two of them team up again—or, at the very least, have Ricard come back and try to make a run without a pre-existing alliance putting a target on his back. During his season, Ricard was a huge physical threat and was inevitably sent home the moment he didn’t have any kind of immunity. To me, he’s one of the most likable anti-heroes of the new era. And he had the awareness and gusto to cut ties with Shan when he did. Few players on post-Winners At War seasons have been willing to make those kinds of big moves. Ricard played on season 41, when Survivor was still finding its groove with the new 26-day format, so I’d like to see him come back now that the show has its footing (though it would be great if we could go back to 39 days for a season with returning players). Above all, I need more confessionals with my favorite gay flight attendant. CBS, make it happen! [Matt Mitchell]

Season: 43

This is a no-brainer. Jesse is one of the most memorable players from the new era. With the cutthroat blindside of his closest ally Cody Assenmacher, his incredible life story of redemption and inevitable downfall in the final four fire-making, he is primed for a Survivor 50 return. The way he collected idols throughout his season was incredible. (I’ll never get over the reveal of him having Dwight Moore’s idol.) Though he would come in with an immediate target on his back—as anyone who used their closest ally’s idol against them would—I think Jesse is the classic Survivor underdog story we have seen repeatedly brought back. He’s the type of player we like to root for, and we know he would keep us on the edge of our seats in season 50. [Olivia Abercrombie]