The core concept surrounding the long-running reality TV series Survivor has worn thin, and it's time for producers to shake things up permantently.
One of the longest-running reality shows on TV right now is Survivor. The concept of sending a group of strangers onto an island to compete for $1 million is clearly something that viewers haven't gotten tired of over the years, despite it staying relatively the same throughout the seasons.
While the format is still clearly something that works in the eyes of long-time fans, it can always be freshened up here and there. Survivor is a unique and interesting show that still entertains viewers to this day, but, with a few reinventions, it could be an even better show than it already is.
One thing that Survivor does very well is that it starts each season with a brand new format of how the tribes are formed. Healers, Villains, Heroes, Millenials, Goliath, every single season it's brand new, and it works incredibly well. In order to keep the show feeling interesting each season, tribes need to keep being formulated in fun ways that can actually affect how the season progresses.
One thing that the show doesn't do too often is iterate on its hidden immunity idols. We've seen a few niche idols such as the 50/50 coin flip, but, beyond that, new idols with advantages and disadvantages don't come around too often. If included more often, these idols could make holding tribal council a lot more interesting and varied in ways that viewers would never see coming.
Every once in a while, the show will give players the opportunity to collect a hidden immunity idol during the middle of a challenge, which comes with a huge risk of your tribe catching that castaway in the act. Other times, these hidden idols are hidden in the other tribe's camp.
We definitely want to see more of these; they are always super tense and a ton of fun to watch. Players will risk anything for a leg up in the game, and it makes for a great time for viewers.
To be blunt, individual immunity challenges are the same, and not even just from season to season, but from week to week, too. A solid 90% of the time they're just holding onto a pole, or standing next to a pole, or holding something that is keeping a pole standing.
It's gotten way past old. Move away from the poles. Give viewers some new competitions, please.
Survivor twists usually tend to be better than Big Brother twists, but, lately, they all seem to be about taking castaways from one island and putting them on a different one where something happens. This is fine, but the next few seasons could use a different format when it comes to twists. They're getting a smidge predictable.
Every season of Survivor starts its castaways out in tribes. How large these tribes are and how they're formed varies, but, what if the producers just... did away with that for a season? What if the show started out in a fully merged tribe or two separate ones that play their own games as individuals from week to week? It might not work, or it could be the start of a brand new era for the show. There's no way to know without trying.
The past few seasons of Survivor have all been set in Fiji, and, while that isn't inherently a bad thing, the scenery of the show is certainly getting a bit samey.
The locale could certainly do with a shake-up. There used to be varied environments that the show took place in that could affect the game in huge ways. Seeing that return would certainly be welcomed.
One thing that the show hasn't experimented with all too often is hiding secrets within each tribe's camp. While the producers sometimes hide idols or clues in camps, why not take things a step further? Why not hide additional secrets and powers around camp, or make castaways wonder about their whole camp. More excitement is always a good thing when it comes to Survivor.
One of Survivor's most unique seasons was Blood vs. Water in which returning players joined the show with a loved one. From there, the producers simply let the cards fall where they may. This is a novel concept that created a fantastic season and twisted how votes were perceived on a week to week basis that shook the game to its core. Blood vs. Water deserves another shot. It was a twist like no other, and it delivered with a fantastic season.
While the show has been better about this in recent seasons, Survivor can be known to cast stereotypes on certain seasons. Strong, buff, not-so-smart man, very smart nerdy man, those sort of stereotypes. It's always the same kind of people that one can expect on a show like this.
The show is slowly moving to become more progressive and inclusive, and the series is generally just casting more interesting people nowadays, so this is certainly a trend that needs to keep moving forward, as it only makes the show more unpredictable. Survivor is at its best when viewers never know what is going to happen.
