Contestants Who Don’t Stream ‘Survivor’ Can’t Win ‘Survivor’

After 17 years and 34 seasons, Survivor remains one of the most watched reality TV competitions airing today. Since premiering way back in May of 2000, the show has seen a total of 498 contestants and crowned 32—soon to be 33—Sole Survivors (Sandra Diaz-Twine being the only two-time winner). The first season, Survivor: Borneo, could be considered the dawn of the reality TV era, spawning several similar shows and international versions, and it’s a testament to Survivor’s appeal that the show is still on the air today.

Now that Survivor is 17 years old, today’s contestants are armed with significantly more information than those original first 20 survivors were when they first stepped onto a beach in the South China Sea. Players today know the game; they’ve grown up with it and have watched it for years. Seeing as how the show was recently renewed for the 2017-2018 TV season, and there’s no sign that CBS is going to shut down this cash cow anytime soon. At this rate, the show will soon be older than some of its younger contestants —Will Wahl, the youngest Survivor cast member of all-time, was only 18 when he filmed Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X— which means that some of these future participants will not have lived in a time where Survivor hasn’t existed.

Previously, only long time fans and followers of the show had the advantage of watching every season. But now, CBS All Access allows viewers to stream all past seasons of Survivor, and Hulu currently has 21 of the 34 seasons on demand (season 1 and 12-31), making it that much easier for potential contestants to learn and study the game. Now, a contestant who has never seen the show before is just a click —and a few weeks worth of binge-watching— away from an advantage in the game. At this point, if a contestant steps onto a Survivor beach and hasn’t studied past contestants, strategies, challenges, and the game of Survivor itself, they are putting themselves at a disadvantage. Training for Survivor by watching old seasons is similar to how football teams prepare for a big game by watching their opponent’s game tapes, or more appropriately, how Katniss and Peeta prepare for the Quarter Quell in Catching Fire. By watching the past games of the other victors they can discern their opponents’ game plays and what might work best for themselves given the situation. Knowing who is crowned Sole Survivor beforehand and then watching their season is like training with a champion or having your own Mentor while on the island.

Because potential contestants have familiarized themselves with the game of Survivor and the players that came before them, the show has evolved into a self-reflexive and meta-show with players frequently referencing the gameplay of previous players and how surreal it is to be on the show itself. Eleven seasons of the show have been particularly self-referential by featuring returning players (the first being Survivor: All Stars). This second chance gives survivors the opportunity to improve their gameplay based on their past performance, while also allowing viewers to root for their favorite players. Survivor: Second Chance specifically featured challenges that the returning players had already competed in and lost on their previous seasons in order to give the players a shot at redemption along with heavy “salt-in-the-wound” commentary from Jeff Probst.

Studying the game can prevent some new players from repeating stupid moves made by players past, but not messing up can only get them so far in a game like Survivor. Due to the popularity and accessibility of the show, Survivor has had to evolve to prevent itself from being too recursive and to remain challenging for new and returning players as well as interesting for spectators. This comes in the form of twists like hidden immunity idols, secret advantages, legacy advantages, Redemption Island, the Outcast tribe, and Exile Island. However, despite the addition of rules and new twists over the years, Survivor has always remained at its core a social, cultural, and psychological experiment with contestants trying to best their opponents in a way that still makes their opponents want to vote for them to win a million dollars and the title of Sole Survivor.

Regardless of recycled challenges and bonuses added to the game, the biggest and most unpredictable factor of Survivor continues to be the players themselves. Survivor continues to be interesting because each player will react to the environment and atmosphere of the game differently—this is as unscripted as reality TV gets. Potential contestants can practice the skills needed to survive and win challenges, but they can’t practice how to navigate the game’s unique social situation and Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast 19 strangers who are equally determined to win one million dollars—that aspect of gameplay can’t begin until Jeff Probst says, “Survivors ready? Go!”

The two-hour season finale of Survivor: Game Changes airs live tonight, May 24th, at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All-Access.

Laura Dunn likes long books and binge watching shows with at least four seasons. Also, sh still hasn’t gotten over the ending of HIMYM. And her twitter is: @lauracaroline95.