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With 43 seasons under its belt, the CBS reality competition series Survivor was bound to have a few screw-ups along the way. Every fan has a season they dislike, a castaway they think is overrated, and many also can pinpoint the advantage that made them roll their eyes.

Jeff Probst, who hosts the reality competition series, 'Survivor,' on CBS, wears a black button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves, white shorts, and a black, white, blue, and green 'Survivor' baseball hat.
Jeff Probst | Photo: CBS

‘Survivor’ has featured numerous twists and advantages throughout the series

Survivor premiered on May 31, 2000, on CBS, and the series was an immediate hit among audiences. The competition had grabbed the attention of 51.69 million viewers by the time the finale aired. And the network has profited from Survivor ever since.

Almost 23 years later, Survivor is heading into its 44th season. And although viewership has waned over the years, it’s still one of CBS’s top-performing shows.

Survivor has evolved plenty of times over the course of the series’ 43 seasons. Producers always try to keep the competition fresh by throwing new advantages and twists at the castaways. And some have been more successful than others.

‘Survivor’ fans contemplate the worst strategic advantages in the series

While awaiting the premiere of Survivor Season 44, one fan started a Reddit thread titled, “From a strategic standpoint, what is the worst advantage in the game?”

A Reddit user answered, “Jamal [Shipman]’s ‘advantage’ in [Island of the Idols].” At the Island of the Idols, Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine gave Jamal a pencil and paper, allowing him to do whatever he wanted with it. He chose to create a fake Legacy Advantage and gave it to Dean Kowalski, but none of his tribemates bought it. And they sent him packing at the next Tribal Council.

“Reward steal,” one fan wrote. “It legit harms you if you ever use it in the merge cause stealing someone else’s hard-earned reward is a huge dick move.”

Another person commented, “Safety without Power would be my vote for weakest advantage probably. Leaving a tribal means your ‘team’ is still at risk. And I feel like you’re causing a lot of harm to your game by choosing to not vote. This is like seriously backed into a corner territory. And it’s not even gonna save you unless you can back it up with immunitys/idols/FTC.”

“The beware idols by far,” someone else added. “The risk/reward is just so out of balance. Specifically, the ones that involved the phrases. You lost your vote till all three were found and activated or the merge phase, whichever came first. Then you had to say that stupid phrase in front of everyone, making it a very public idol by the time all three were activated.”

They continued, “The person who gets the idol basically has to play their way out of a hole, holds their entire game at the mercy of their tribe, plus paints a target on their back.”

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‘Survivor’: Jeff Probst Has a List of Players Who Will Return ‘At Some Point’

When will ‘Survivor’ Season 44 premiere?

The CBS reality competition series will return with Survivor Season 44 on Wednesday, March 1, at 8 p.m. ET. And we couldn’t be more excited for the two-hour season premiere.

Based on the preview, the upcoming iteration of the game promises to be wild, ruthless, and entertaining. Fans are already picking out their favorite castaways from the trailer, even though CBS has yet to release the official cast list.

All seasons of Survivor are available to stream on Paramount+.

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