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Survivor entered a “new era” during the season 41 premiere, and with it came many changes to the game. While some are more popular than others among fans, many would like the CBS reality competition series to revert to its original schedule of 39 days instead of 26 days. And one former Survivor castaway agrees with the fans.

Jeff Probst, who interacts with castaway in 'Survivor' on CBS, wears a light blue button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves, black pants, and a blue and white 'Survivor' baseball cap.
Jeff Probst | Photo: CBS

The CBS reality competition series had to shorten its seasons

Similar to other television shows, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shut down the production of Survivor following season 40. They weren’t allowed to return to Fiji until April 2021, but when they did, the producers had to make a few changes to the game.

All cast members and crew had to quarantine for two weeks upon arriving in Fiji. Coincidentally, the quarantine period cut into the standard filming time for the season. So, the producers decided to cut the length of seasons 41, 42, and 43 to 26 days. As fans recall, Survivor typically runs for 39 days.

With the shortened Survivor seasons came fewer resources for the castaways. They had less rice, rewards, and tools. However, some believe surviving on a deserted island for 26 days is easier to overcome than 39 days.

One former ‘Survivor’ castaway isn’t a fan of the shorter seasons

Eliza Orlins first appeared as a castaway in Survivor: Vanuatu in 2004. While initially unpopular among her all-female tribe due to her outspoken behavior, Eliza survived until the final four by joining a solid alliance. However, her three alliance members voted her out on Day 37. Later, Eliza returned for Survivor: Micronesia, where she finished in tenth place.

While Survivor Season 43 aired on CBS, Eliza asked her Instagram followers to “name the stupid s*** you feel extremely strongly about.” One of the submissions was “Survivor should be 39 days, not 26.” And Eliza agreed.

“Ohhhhhhhh hell yes!” the former Survivor castaway shared. “Coming in hot right here. How about 26-day Survivor seasons all deserve an asterisk? They’re not hard and Jeff [Probst] should stop shoving that bulls*** narrative down our throats?!”

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‘Survivor’ fans back up the castaway’s assertion

After viewing Eliza’s Instagram story, Survivor fans jumped on Reddit to discuss the former castaway‘s comments.

“As someone who hasn’t boarded the hate train on the new era (I’ve enjoyed them a lot sans some of the stupid production twists), I think the 26-day format is making the players play safer for the most part,” one fan wrote. “I would like to see it go back to 39 days. I wish production would listen to the vast amount of fans and previous contestants who agree.”

They continued, “Sadly, I think the money they are saving is probably significant and is a large factor in them sticking with the shortened (and worse) format.”

A Reddit user commented, “I was rewatching some episodes of Palau recently, and Stephenie [LaGrossa] didn’t join Koror until day 22. There were nine people left in the game, and still over two weeks left to play. The 26-day version is incomparable, in my opinion.”

“Twenty-six days seasons suck in the endgame,” another fan shared. “Production tries to edit it like a regular season, but then the day counter shows up on screen, and you realize last episode took place one day ago on location. It’s too fast, and no meaningful relationships can be developed in the game. Blindsides have no impact because these people couldn’t care less about each other. Half of the jury is done already, and it’s been like a week since they merged.”

We hope that whenever COVID-19 restrictions become looser, the Survivor producers will return to a 39-day schedule. But similar to many fans, we don’t see that happening any time soon.

Survivor Season 43 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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