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Any show that has over 43 seasons is bound to have a few dissatisfying installments, and that’s the case for Survivor on CBS. Overall, the reality competition series is exciting and entertaining. Unfortunately, one season has to be on the bottom of Survivor fans’ rankings, and not everyone agrees on the most disappointing game.

Jeff Probst, seen hosting 'Survivor' Season 39, wears a black button-up shirt rolled up at the sleeves and a blue, green, and white 'Survivor' baseball cap.
Jeff Probst | Photo by Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images

‘Survivor’ has been on the air since 2000

Survivor Season 1, aka Survivor: Borneo, premiered on May 31, 2000, on CBS. And the series was an immediate hit.

Ratings skyrocketed for the network, and many critics praised the premise and execution of the show. And just like that, host Jeff Probst obtained job security for the next 23-plus years.

Forty-two seasons after Survivor: Borneo, the series continues to pull in excellent ratings for CBS, thanks to its loyal fan base. While dedicated to their love of Survivor, viewers aren’t afraid to speak their minds when there is a season they don’t like.

Fans disagree over which ‘Survivor’ season is the worst

Survivor fans jumped on Reddit to discuss the show’s most “disappointing” season. And there were differing answers.

“Ghost Island,” a Reddit user wrote. “So much of the cast was just playing on auto-pilot.”

Someone agreed, “I think the concept so such a promising one, but then they just used it to feed people idols/advantages with little consequence. It would have been fun to have storylines around the relics and give them a life of their own. And also, ghost island should be scary. It should be bad to go there, not good.”

“Maybe not the worst, but Worlds Apart was disappointing because Jeff hyped the season a lot, probably because of Mike [Holloway]’s epic immunity run,” one fan commented. “However, he didn’t realize that 2/3 of the cast was extremely unlikeable.”

Another person added, “This is the answer to me. Newer fans won’t realize just HOW hyped Worlds Apart was as a season. It had major hype, and then it gradually slid and slid before free falling in opinion.”

“Island of the Idols had SUCH a strong cast, but the entire second half and legacy of the season was marred by the Dan [Spilo] drama and fallout,” a Reddit user posited.

One fan commented, “And that generally underwhelming use of ‘the idols’ even though I love Sandra [Diaz Twine] and Rob [Mariano].”

Other submissions for the most disappointing Survivor season were Game Changers, One World, Winners at War, Edge of Extinction, Thailand, and Survivor 41.

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When does ‘Survivor’ Season 44 premiere?

Hopefully, the next season of Survivor won’t disappoint viewers. Survivor 44, the series’ fourth installment into the “new era,” premieres on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

The first episode will be two hours long, and based on the trailer, it will be a rollercoaster. The Survivor 44 preview shows a new group of castaways facing a brutal game. In one scene, a player falls from a rock in the ocean, and in another, Jeff Probst has to call in the medical team to check on a contestant during a challenge.

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

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