12 Best Survivor Seasons That Everybody Should Watch | No Spoilers Given

Survivor is one of the best reality shows and has been running for 40 seasons! If You are not a regular audience of this top-rated show, you start feeling aloof. So, if you are thinking of getting a vibe of this show, here are the seven best Survivor seasons that you can start with.

All the fans have been waiting restlessly for the upcoming season of ‘Survivor’ since 2020, but the pandemic kept everything delayed. Thankfully the show will now be premiered on 22 September 2021 – just a couple of months before Frontier Season 4.  

Some of the best survivor seasons are the ones shot in Malaysia, China, Fiji, etc. Please go through the whole article to view the best season and the details about them.

Survivor is a binge-worthy show provided you know which are the best survivor seasons. When I am not watching a time-traveling anime, I watch Survivor.

12 Most Interesting Survivor Seasons You Should Not Miss

The following is a list of the most engaging and best survivor seasons – 

Rest assured if you think that spoilers are imminent. There is none! Of course, there’s a list of winners who have won the title, but that does not count as a spoiler because if you have not watched the show, there is a high probability that you would not remember those names. If you have an exceptionally sharp memory, you are advised to skip the tables containing the name of the winners.

1# Season 1 (Borneo)

Do not take the risk of skipping the first season of any show or series because the whole soul of the show lies in that. It is like having an appetizer before the main course. 

So to make this appetizer, the production team interviewed 800 out of 6,000 people from 16 cities. The final 16 (+2 alternatives) were selected after many Psychological evaluations, and background checks were done.

2# Season 28 (Cagayan)

I thoroughly enjoyed the cast of this season; they were entertaining to watch. However, my favorite player ended up being the runner-up. 

This season was ranked first by Survivor Oz (a survivor fan site)in 2014, and it was ranked fourth by The Purple Rock Podcast (another fan site). For the first time in the show’s history, it managed to get more viewership than American Idol.

3# Season 7 (Pearl Islands)

The theme of pirating and marooning won hearts from the very start. It was funny and intriguing at the same time to watch the contestants bartering and stealing to survive.

According to Joe Reid (The Wire) –  Fairplay and Rupert were “two of the series’ signature players who pretty much made the season.” Andrea Deisher (of Zap2it) called Dalton’s lie about his grandmother “Some next-level shenanigans never before seen on reality TV.”

4# Season 13 (Cook Island) 

This season was controversial for the segregation of its four tribes based on race. The four tribes were: African-Amerian, Asians, Hispanics, and Caucasians.

The magazine Advertising Age claimed that more than six significant advertisers like Coca-Cola and General Motors withdrew their advertising after hearing about the division of the tribes. Youtuber Peridiam praised the season due to “a surprising amount of standout characters.”

5# Season 18 (Tocantins)

Set in the highlands of Brazil, this show is remembered to date for its funny and ridiculous characters and is said to be one of the best survivor seasons. These characters returned for various other seasons as well.

The show was very much appreciated and welcomed due to its back-to-basics structure. The audience highly admired contestants like Stephen Fishbach and JT Thomas, and other notable contestants were Miss Ohio USA 2002, Miss USA 2003, etc.

6# Season 33  (Millennials vs Gen X)

This was the third season to divide tribes based on age. Millennials refer to the individuals born between 1984-1997, and  Generation X refers to the individuals born between 1963-1982.

On the 13th day of the season, a new tribe called Ikabula (Fijian word for turtle) was formed. Dalton Ross (Entertainment Weekly) said that “the season went from not bad to pretty good to legitimately great over a few months. 

7# Season 15 (China)

The tribes Zhan Hu and Fei Long stand for Fighting Tiger and Flying Dragon, respectively. Memorable characters, attractive location, and an intricate strategy are what defines this season. 

For this season, 800 applicants were shortlisted for interviews, and then 48 semi-finalists were selected. Then out of these 48 selected individuals, 16 were finalized to be a part of the season, which was one of the most memorable seasons in the history of the Survivor series. 

8# Season 25 (Phillipines)

This season bears differnece from other seasons because here the show tried to take the concept of tri-tribe to another level. Also, this season shined like anything.

Tribes that the season featured were Tadang (Rooster), Kalabaw (Carabao), and Matsing (Monkey). The most crucial highlight of the show was Stapley, who was the only one to survive all the Tribal Council Meeting of the season.

9# Season 40 : Winners At War

With this season, the makers celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show. That’s why they thought of bringing back the survivors from previous season with ‘Edge Of Extinction’ gaming mode. As a result, it became one of the best Survivor seasons.

This time, the game had Fire Tokens to offer as a currency so that the contestants advantages like food and other stuff. Interstingly, the strategy used here was to eliminate those who more connections outside the show. And it was highly interesting to see more strategies besides this.

10# Season 37 : David Vs. Goliath

This show came up with some of the most thrilling competitors. Besides this, the contestants were biforcated into “Davids” and “Goliaths”.

That’s not it, this season witnessed many moments full of amazement. And Davids were supposed to experience some of the most dangerous moments of the show. But they managed to overcome all the hurdles on their way with the help of tactical prowess.

11# Season 31: Cambodia Second Chance

Season 31 came up with the aim to spice up things for fans. That’s why, they were given the chance to choose contestants through voting. And the voting was between all the previous contestants who were eliminated. For me, this was one of the the best Survivor seasons.

Due to the addition of voting, it was necesary for the contestants to work on long-term alliances and complex strategies. Beacuse of strategic prowess this season was worth remembering in comparison to other seaons.

12# Season 20 : Hero Vs Villains

In this season, the fans were supposed to see the real version of their favorite contestants. For the same, they were categorized into “Heroes” and “Villains”.

This season was known for many cherishable moments enjoyed by the cast members. They had an amazing time during all the Tribal Councils meetings. Further, many castaways were seen using thier immunity twice.

In A Nutshell

So, this was the list of the best survivor seasons out there. I hope you have got a rough idea of which seasons must be watched with your friends. Which one are you planning to watch first and why? I will be waiting for your reviews for all these seasons!