It's a thrilling time for Survivor fans, because the next season coming up on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription) will finally bring back returning players. The long-running competitions series is arguably one of the best reality shows on the air, and some of the best Survivor seasons have featured repeat contestants. Survivor 50 will feature celebrity cameos from the likes of MrBeast and Jimmy Fallon, with host/producer Jeff Probst recently telling CinemaBlend the origin of this twist.
The cast of Survivor 50 is stacked, and in addition to the beloved contestants who will compete in Fiji, we'll also see a number of celebrities factor into the action. CinemaBlend caught up with Probst at SCAD TV Fest, where the Emmy-winner shared how the concept of bringing in celebrity cameos was came about. In his words:
The idea of turning the show over to the fans and calling it 'In the Hands of the Fans' was step one. And then step two was, I was just thinking about how many friends I've made that are celebrities, but I've gotten to know them because of Survivor, like Jimmy Fallon. And sometimes those people have said to me over the years, 'I'd love to do the show, but I can't ever leave for that long from my job, but if you could ever use me in a small way.'
Points were made. While we've seen some celebs like Mike White and Nate Moore play Survivor, names like Jimmy Fallon would have a hard time taking the time away from their jobs to try and compete in the epic game and the money that comes with playing Survivor. Additionally, someone that famous likely would end up being targeted early. I mean, who does't know who Jimmy Fallon is?
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The upcoming 50th season is titled In The Hands of the Fans, and throughout 49 viewers were able to vote on various details related to the game. But no one expected to see folks like MrBeast in the sneak peek for the forthcoming season. Later in his same conversation with CinemaBlend, Jeff further explained how those cameos came to life, offering:
And so that was just lingering in my brain over the years. All the people who've said, 'If you could ever use me, let me know.' And so that's really what birthed it, is maybe this is the time to ask if they want to be a part of it.
And that's exactly what happened. There will be a number of celebrity tie-ins so Survivor 50, including the aforementioned names and Zac Brown and even recording artist Billie Eilish. It's already been teased that the latter will introduce the "Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol" although the details about how this new twist will actually works remains to be seen.
Check out the first trailer for tne new season below!
Answers will start coming when Survivor 50 premiers on February 25th as part of the 2026 TV schedule. I'm just hoping that my favorite returning players don't end up having their games ruined by these mysterious celebrity-related twists.