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A new season of Survivor is upon us, and we believe it might be the best one fans have seen in a while. The “new era” of the CBS reality competition series has been met with mixed reviews, with season 42 undoubtedly a highlight and season 43 a low point. But from everything we’ve seen and heard about Survivor Season 44, we have high expectations for the upcoming game.

Host Jeff Probst welcomes the 'Survivor' Season 44 cast during the premiere. The three tribes — Ratu, Soka, and Tika —stand on their designated mats on the beach as they await their first challenge. Probst wears a black button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves, white shorts, white gym shoes, and a white 'Survivor' baseball cap.
Jeff Probst and the ‘Survivor’ Season 44 cast | Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

The ‘Survivor’ Season 44 cast is energetic, entertaining, and eager

When CBS dropped the Survivor Season 44 trailer after the season 43 finale, we immediately fell in love with the new cast. They are:

  • Brandon Cottom
  • Bruce Perreault
  • Carolyn Wiger
  • Carson Garrett
  • Claire Rafson
  • Danny Massa
  • Frannie Marin
  • Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt
  • Josh Wilder
  • Kane Fritzler
  • Helen Li
  • Jaime Lynne Ruiz
  • Lauren Harpe
  • Maddy Pomilla
  • Matt Blankinship
  • Matthew Grinstead-Mayle
  • Sarah Wade
  • Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho

During the preview, we got a small glimpse into their personalities, and Carolyn and Yam Yam were immediate standouts. So we were optimistic that this new group of 18 castaways would breathe new life into the show, and their preseason interviews further proved our theory.

Many contestants have been watching Survivor since its first season in Borneo and are superfans of the game. They are all eager to jump in and start competing, and we believe that some will be among the best castaways to play Survivor. In particular, Carson will be one Survivor Season 44 castaway to watch. He knows the ins and outs of the show’s game theory, and we’re eager to learn how Carson tests his knowledge in Fiji.

Overall, the cast contains wildly differing personalities, and we are more than ready to see how they mesh onscreen. If anything, the season will be an entertaining ride with them at the helm.

Producers introduce an exciting new twist

Thankfully, the hourglass twist is dead and gone. However, as is always the case with the “new era” of Survivor, season 44 will be packed with surprises.

Since season 41, producers have unloaded numerous twists on the castaways; some have been more successful than others. But from what we’ve heard about the new twist in season 44, we believe it’s one of the show’s best ideas yet.

Inside Survivor reported that the upcoming game features an idol cage twist. Each tribe’s camp contains a birdcage with an immunity idol locked inside it. However, castaways have to search for the key (the cage comes with a clue as to where to find it) and then open the cage without anyone else noticing. If they can do so, they find two idols inside — one fake and one real. They take the real one, obviously, and leave behind the fake idol to make it seem like no one opened the cage.

The new twist, briefly teased in the Survivor Season 44 preview, reminds us of when players would journey to other tribes’ camps to find an immunity idol. Or when they would grab an idol during a challenge. The fear of being caught is exciting, and we can’t wait to see the cage twist play out in season 44.

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One element would majorly set ‘Survivor’ Season 44 apart

The preseason interviews and sneak peeks prove that Survivor Season 44 has a lot of promise. But there is only one way it can trump the other “new era” seasons — the edit must be superb.

One major downfall of Survivor Season 43 was that the edit didn’t make much sense. Most of the episodes’ runtimes were taken up by challenges or twists. And the series rarely showed what was happening at camp. So when Tribal Council came around, and contestants who we had never seen interact before were voting together, viewers were confused.

If season 44 is going to be successful, the editors have to highlight camp life and tribe dynamics. We need to understand why castaways make certain moves, and explanations don’t always come from challenges or the contestants’ origin stories. Plus, this is Survivor. Fans need to see the players trying to survive!

The special two-hour premiere of Survivor Season 44 airs on Wednesday, March 1, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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