5 Reasons You Need To Watch Australian Survivor

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Australian Survivor’s landmark tenth season premiered today. A group of 24 players (!) in two tribes (!) of both Brains and Brawns are squaring off in Samoa in the franchise’s sequel to the beloved theme. If any of that sentence excites you and you want to hear more, you’ve come to the right place.

If you haven’t jumped on the Australian Survivor bandwagon by now, what are you even doing? Here’s five reasons why it should be your next reality TV obsession.

Go Old School

We’re not here to New Era shame, but some corners of the fandom may be missing some of the mechanisms, structures and grandiosity of old school Survivor. Well, Australian Survivor has you covered. Really, a lot of the best “innovation” of the franchise is in elements that US Survivor already got bored of and discarded, which we then lovingly stole. We’re talking two tribes, swaps, themes and nary a Shot in the Dark in sight. Survivor AU actually does innovate well on this basis, and while some twists and non-elimination episodes may go too far or surprise US viewers as a structural necessity, some cool idol inventions, challenges, moments and gimmicks have revolutionized the global lexicon and helped the franchise make its own mark. Over here, we pledge allegiance to the Cookie Idol.

The Scale

To quote the inimitable Sandra Diaz-Twine talking about Australian Survivor, “the game is too long, there’s too many people, the challenges are hard and the pay day is not that great”. What I think she was trying to say is that Australian Survivor puts its players through their paces. They play for around 47 days (sometimes longer!), reaching the merge nearly a month into the game. Two massive tribes going head-to-head feels like two grand concurrent merges, that then swap before total chaos ensues. Everything is done for maximum effect, everything is epic. This style might not be for everyone, the edit may not be the most subtle and, as Sandra attests to, it’s a long journey, for both players and viewers. However, when it’s good, as it so often is, this journey is incredibly rewarding. You’ll watch three mammoth episodes a week and somehow still want more.

The Track Record

As stated, when Australian Survivor is good it’s fantastic, and we’ve seen that in droves in the last two years. A new team at the helm of the last two seasons – the half-returnee Heroes V Villains and all-newbie Titans V Rebels – have absolutely earned their stripes. Two years ago, Heroes V Villains produced a season so impressive it landed itself on the New York Times’ list of 2023’s best TV moments, for a show that doesn’t even air in America. They said (it was me, I said it) it couldn’t be matched, but then Titans V Rebels came along with superb casting, scintillating storytelling and the franchise’s best ever production decisions to prove them (again, me) wrong. I’m not sure that even one episode out of the season’s 24 was a skip. If this season’s pre-season cast bios are anything to go by, it looks like they’ve struck more gold. You’ll be joining the franchise on maybe the hottest run in Survivor history. I personally think that the last two seasons are the best back-to-back outing in all of global Survivor lore.

The Crossover

In case you missed it, a highly anticipated international grudge match is taking place later this year, with icons such as Parvati, Tony and Cirie already announced as the US representatives. That’s right, while Australian Survivor already dipped its toe into the Reality TV Cinematic Universe by casting Russell Hantz, Sandra and two seasons of Sandra’s daughter Nina (whom we’ve claimed as our own), later this year Australia V World is jumping all the way into the pool, throwing the franchise into the crosshairs and crossover that’s so popular in current reality television. Don’t just dive in for this exhibition season, step in now to understand the franchise, meet the ever-dashing JLP and even go back to discover some of the Aussie icons who will be taking on the global greats. 

The Movement

Beyond its place as a tough international competitor, Australian Survivor has won fans the world over for an often brilliant product, so much so that it’s become something of a movement. I know it’s niche to be obsessed with a three-to-four-hour-a-week commitment from a country you maybe only know thanks to Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, but you’re also reading a reality TV newsletter, so you’re exactly our kind of people. If you’re yet to find out what a Golden God is, if Macedonian Jesus is just a religious figure to you and if you were spared from the season-long meme of whatever a Juicy Dave is, then you have so much to learn. Welcome!

I’ll be covering every single episode (!) with episodic recaps, weekly feedback shows and exit interviews all season long, right here on RHAP. See you there!

-Shannon

Shannon Guss lives in Australia, where she is one of the great minds in reality television strategy globally. She is a podcaster, commentator, editor, journalist, host of international Survivor coverage on RHAP, host of Talking Tribal on 10Play, and has been a production consultant on Survivor South Africa. She also appeared on the seventh season of Australia’s Next Top Model.

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