Every Survivor Era, Ranked

This era of “Survivor” will probably win based on Season 16 alone, but the second era of “Survivor” is also quite extraordinary. Without Black Widow Brigade (though they obviously helped push this season to the top of the list). The golden age of “Survivor” began with the ninth season, “Vanuatu”, where we first met future superstars like Eliza Orlins and Amy Cusack, and in season 10, “Palau”, Stephanie LaGrossa and Tom Westman became favorites amid some of the best gameplay. Season 11, “Survivor: Guatemala,” was a bit forgettable, but season 12, “Survivor: Panama,” was not, introducing one of the show’s all-time best players: Siri Fields.

Things really took off in Season 13, “Survivor: Cook Islands,” even if the season’s conceit was questionable at best. With players divided by ethnicity – which was a terrible idea either way – “Cook Islands” had a strange atmosphere until the merger when great players like Parvati Shallow, Oscar “OG” Lust and Jonathan Penner got the chance to show what they were made of. Notably, the 14th season of “Survivor”, subtitled “Fiji”, was the first season set there before production moved permanently in season 33. Then in Season 15, we got “Survivor: China,” one of the most chaotic entries in the entire franchise. Amidst Courtney Yates beating most of her haters, James Clement was voted out by not one, but Two She had idols in her pocket, and in the end Amanda Kimmel chose her downfall, “China” was the one. Great season, but that pales in comparison to what happened after.

“Survivor: Micronesia,” the 16th season and first “fans vs. favorites,” gets its own paragraph. In first episodeNotorious snitch Jonny Fairplay begged his tribemates to vote him out first because he missed his family, and things didn’t stop from there. Just as Jonathan Penner, Ozzie Lust, Eliza Orlins, Siri Fields and Parvati Shallow made it among the favorites, some fans like Natalie Bolton and Alexis Jones forged paths on their own. After the merger, the all-female Black Widow Brigade formed the alliance and picked off the men one by one, culminating at Tribal Council, where Eric Reichenbach lost his hard-earned immunity to Bolton and sealed his fate as “the dumbest survivor in the history of Survivor”, according to Shallow. Following that feud, Shallow, a generational talent on “Survivor”, won her first title shot.

Season 17, “Survivor: Gabon”, was composed of a group of misfits, and season 18, “Survivor: Tocantins”, brought Tyson Apostol, Stephen Fishbach, and JT Thomas into the mix. “Survivor: Samoa” was a little unbearable thanks to the extremely evil Russell Hantz, but the aforementioned 20th season, “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” was easily the show’s best. You really can’t go wrong anywhere in the golden age of “Survivor.”

All of “Survivor” are available to stream on Paramount+.