Plus, exclusive video of Jeff Probst starting the game.

Survivor 50 Mystery Box: Is Survivor 50 the best new era season?

Plus, exclusive video of Jeff Probst starting the game.

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

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May 12, 2026 10:15 a.m. ET

The cast of 'Survivor 50'. Credit:

- Vote on if you think *Survivor 50 *is the best new era season so far.

- We've got exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Jeff Probst starting the game (and getting whipped in the face by sideways rain).

- A former *Survivor* winner stops by to offer her take and name her winner and loser of the week.

I posed a relatively simple question two months ago: What is the best new era *Survivor* season? And that question was asked in poll form, with thousands of fans voting for their numero uno. *Survivor 47* won that poll, followed closely (and very surprisingly!) by season 43… and then 46 and 45.

But with two episodes left of *Survivor 50*, is there a new contender for the “best new era season” crown? After some early stumbles (Zac Brown spearfishing, distinct lack of women’s voices), the installment has been on a post-merge roll, delivering a string of strong and dramatic episodes. And the cast has delivered in a major way — making big moves and delivering wildly entertaining confessionals from day 1 on.

While the last two episodes will have a lot to do with the final ranking for *Survivor 50,* there are already some signs that the season will finish strong. For one thing, there are no goats out there. Everyone has at last a measure of agency and is playing the game. For another, I can’t help but have faith in my fellow *Survivor* fans and that they voted the final four fire-making off the island. And let’s not forget that we also have our first live reunion in seven years, already giving this installment bonus points over the filmed-in-Fiji with just half the cast who had not seen anything, so they could not react to what people said about them while playing after-show.

Jeff Probst and 'Survivor 50' cast members.

Robert Voets/CBS/Alice Morgan

Even if *Survivor 50* does not have an absolute banger of a finale like, say, *Survivor 45*, it’s hard to imagine it being super unsatisfying either. But, as of now, is *Survivor 50* the best new era season? That is the question. I would say yes: The cast has been lights-out, and while I haven’t loved all the twists (the Jimmy Fallon punishment especially), the paired elimination was fantastic, and I really enjoyed the strategic possibilities of allowing one player to travel back and forth between voting groups last week.

Ah, but mine is just one opinion. So what say you? Is *Survivor 50* the best so far? Hit our poll below and weigh in with *your* vote. And your reward for doing so? I’ve got some exclusive videos for you below that, along with a former winner weighing in, and some outtakes from my interviews with Ozzy and Emily. It’s time to open our last *Survivor 50* Mystery Box of the season!

The reigning (raining?) host with the most

This is an important behind-the-scenes video to watch. Not just because it is Jeff Probst officially starting *Survivor 50* by yelling “Bring in the barge!” to open the season, but it also shows the insane degree of difficulty this guy operates in. You’ve heard me for years talk about how Probst is the only host in the biz operating without an earpiece or teleprompter, but he is also doing it all out in the elements and far away from the air-conditioned comfort of a studio. Listen to the wind whipping in this video. It was so strong he had to keep adjusting his hat to make sure it didn’t fly away.

And then look once it gets to the 40-second mark, how the rain picks up and is coming in SIDEWAYS and hitting him right in the face. And everyone — the cast, the crew, the host, and yes, even the press — just had to sit there and take it. No rainouts on *Survivor!* And watching the Hostmaster General work in these conditions and never miss a beat never fails to impress.

If you’ve been wondering how we captured that insanely cool ** *Survivor 50* cover, here’s a little behind-the-scenes taste. You can see the players elaborately lined up in the shape of a “50” as the drone circles around, giving each of them their hero shot. Eventually, the camera would fly straight up into the air, where the 50 shape would be revealed. So cool. Anyway, check out the snippet below to see what it looked like to us in the moment from down the beach a bit.

A winner’s take

We’ve had quite a lineup of *Survivor* all-stars stop by the Mystery Box this season. I mean, check out this list:

Rachel**Tyson**Parvati**Wendell & Brice**Kelley**Fishbach**Kellie**Zeke**Sandra**Rob Cesternino

I knew we had to finish strong for our last Mystery Box, so I reached out to one of my favorite players ever, *Survivor 42* champion Maryanne Oketch. Her joy is so infectious, and she makes the perfect person to bring it all home, so check out Maryanne’s take on the most recent *Survivor 50* episode, and see who she picked as her winner and loser of the week.

The last word(s)

*An outtake that did not make it into my *pre-game interview with Ozzy*, on who from the cast he planned to model his game after:*

“I think that the pace of the game I'm ready for. I'm ready. I've been studying it, I've been watching it, I've been cramming it, I'm ready for this new pace. But that just underlines the need for super strong alliances. And that's why I really respect the way that Kamilla and Kyle played their game. I'm taking inspiration from them, and I think that they did something that was really cool and I'm stoked to be able to play with them. But they also got to know everyone's going to be looking at them like, ‘Y'all are the first to go.’”

Ozzy Lusth on 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

*An outtake that did not make it into my *pre-game interview with Emily*, on how she thought the other players saw her:*

“I don't think they've spent a lot of thought about me, to be honest with you. But I think they'll view me as somebody who is outspoken, but also loyal. I think that's a pretty accurate representation of the game that I played on 45. But there are so many big threats out here that I genuinely think that if you ask them, I’m not even probably on their radar from the perspective of somebody that they're coming in with a lot of preconceived notions of. I could be wrong about that. But there's just a lot of big characters here, people who played arguably better games. I think I'm one of the lowest-placing people in this season, actually, if I'm not mistaken. So I don't think they think about me at all.”

Emily Flippen on 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

Screenshot of the week

Aubry and Emily. Emily and Aubry. Best facial expressions of the season, which explains why one of two of them seems to be here every week. Aubry’s eye roll to Ozzy gets it this week.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor 50'.

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Survivor”