How to watch Survivor (without spoilers)
Why is this reality TV guide on a game development blog? Because we are obsessed with Survivor, we think it is brilliantly designed, and it provided us with the spiritual framework for our social deduction game Pecking Order. If you want to play, come hang out in our Discord!
As we’ve said before, Survivor is the best game show of all time. But it is also has a ridiculous number of seasons. So where do you start? Which seasons are best? Do you need to watch it in order? This guide is a systematic way to get you started with Survivor, help you avoid the bad seasons, and make sure that you don’t get spoiled on the best seasons by watching in the wrong order.
Definitions
Types of seasons:
Standalone: A season with all new cast members.
Reunion: A season with returning contestants from previous seasons. Each of these seasons has prerequisite seasons that introduce the contestants from the reunion season. These seasons are significantly better if you understand the context of the key players, so you should consider seeing the prerequisites before watching the reunions.
Tiers:
T1: Must see TV. Your Survivor experience is categorically incomplete if you miss it.
T2: Highly recommended, but not essential if you only want to watch 5-10 seasons.
T3: Adequate. If you’re a Survivor fan, there’s plenty to enjoy, but it’s not great.
T4: The only people who should watch this are Survivor Completionists.
How to use this guide
If you are unsure about watching Survivor at all, whet your appetite with either Season 7 (very old school, standard definition) or 37 (very new school, high definition) as a litmus test. They are both delightful, and won’t spoil you on anything. If you try one of those and don’t enjoy it, just jump ship immediately — Survivor is not for you.
Begin watching T1 standalone seasons in chronological order (7, 13, and so on). You can jump around between standalone seasons, but in general the show is most enjoyable in chronological order.
If you like what you see, and want to watch more than 5-10 seasons, go back to the beginning and check out some of the T2 seasons. If you LOVE what you see, watch some T3 or T4 seasons. But maintain chronological order if you can stomach the SD early seasons. If you become bored, just skip forward to the next T1 season.
Treat each Reunion season as a stopping point when you should consider whether or not you want to watch some of the lower tier prerequisite seasons. If you’ve seen all the T1 prerequisites, you might want to proceed and see the reunion. If you’re hungry for more, watch some of the T2 or T3 prerequisites before proceeding.
Where to watch
The only place to watch all of Survivor is on Paramount+. There are many seasons on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu as well.
Season Guide
This list is in order (the number on the left is the season number). T1 seasons are bold. Reunion seasons are in italics.
Borneo: T2
Australia: T2
Africa: T4
Marquesas: T3
Thailand: T4
Amazon: T3
Pearl Islands: T1
All Stars: T3
T1 prerequisites: 7. Pearl Islands
T2 prerequisites: 1. Borneo
T3 prerequisites: 2. Australia, 4. Marquesas, 6. Amazon
T4 prerequisites: 3. Africa, 5. Thailand
Vanuatu: T4
Palau: T3
Guatemala: T3
Panama: T3
Cook Islands: T1
Fiji: T3
China: T1
Fans vs. Favorites: T1
T1 prerequisites: 7. Pearl Islands, 13. Cook Islands, 15. China
T3 prerequisites: 12. Panama, 14. Fiji
T4 prerequisites: 9. Vanuatu
Gabon: T3
Tocantins: T2
Samoa: T3
Heroes vs. Villains: T1
T1 prerequisites: 7. Pearl Islands, 13. Cook Islands, 15. China, 16. Fans vs. Favorites
T2 prerequisites: 18. Tocantins
T3 prerequisites: 2. Australia, 4. Marquesas, 8. All-Stars, 10. Palau, 11. Guatemala, 12. Panama, 17. Gabon, 19. Samoa
Nicaragua: T4
Redemption Island: T3
T1 prerequisites: 20. Heroes vs. Villains
T3 prerequisites: 4. Marquesas, 8. All-Stars, 19. Samoa
South Pacific: T4
One World: T4
Philippines: T2
T1 prerequisites: 13. Cook Islands, 16. Fans vs. Favorites
T3 prerequisites: 2. Australia, 19. Samoa
Caramoan: T3
T1 prerequisites: 16. Fans vs. Favorites
T2 prerequisites: 25. Philippines
T3 prerequisites: 17. Gabon, 22. Redemption Island
T4 prerequisites: 21. Nicaragua, 23. South Pacific
Blood vs. Water: T1
T1 prerequisites: 7. Pearl Islands, 13. Cook Islands, 20. Heroes vs. Villains
T2 prerequisites: 1. Borneo, 18. Tocantins
T3 prerequisites: 2. Australia, 8. All-Stars, 12. Panama, 19. Samoa
T4 prerequisites: 24. One World
Cagayan: T1
Blood vs. Water 2: T2
Worlds Apart: T4
Cambodia Second Chance: T1
T1 prerequisites: 7. Pearl Islands, 15. China, 27. Blood vs. Water, 28. Cagayan
T2 prerequisites: 1. Borneo, 18. Tocantins, 25. Philippines, 29. Blood vs. Water 2
T3 prerequisites: 2. Australia, 12. Panama, 19. Samoa
T4 prerequisites: 30. Worlds Apart
Kaoh Rong: T2
Millennials vs. Gen X: T1
Game Changers: T2
T1 prerequisites: 7. Pearl Islands, 13. Cook Islands, 16. Fans vs. Favorites, 20. Heroes vs. Villains, 27. Blood vs. Water, 28. Cagayan, 31. Second Chance, 33. Millennials vs. Gen X
T2 prerequisites: 18. Tocantins, 25. Philippines, 32. Kaoh Rong
T3 prerequisites: 2. Australia, 12. Panama, 22. Redemption Island, 26. Caramoan,
T4 prerequisites: 23. South Pacific, 24. One World, 30. Worlds Apart
Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: T3
Ghost Island: T3
David vs. Goliath: T2
Edge of Extinction: T3
T1 prerequisites: 31. Second Chance, 33. Millennials vs. Gen X
T2 prerequisites: 29. Blood vs. Water 2, 32. Kaoh Rong, 34. Game Changers
T4 prerequisites: 30. Worlds Apart
Island of the Idols: T4
Winners at War: T1
T1 prerequisites: 7. Pearl Islands, 13. Cook Islands, 16. Fans vs. Favorites, 20. Heroes vs. Villains, 27. Blood vs. Water, 28. Cagayan, 31. Second Chance, 33. Millennials vs. Gen X
T2 prerequisites: 18. Tocantins, 25. Philippines, 29. Blood vs. Water 2, 32. Kaoh Rong, 34. Game Changers, 37. David vs. Goliath
T3 prerequisites: 2. Australia, 4. Marquesas, 8. All-Stars, 11. Guatemala, 22. Redemption Island, 35. Heroes vs. Hustlers vs. Healers, 36. Ghost Island
T4 prerequisites: 3. Africa, 23. South Pacific, 24. One World
Survivor 41: T2
Survivor 42: T3
Survivor 43: T4
Survivor 44: T2
Survivor 45: T2
Survivor 46: T4