‘Survivor’ Turns 25

This Saturday, May 31, 2025 marks the 25-year anniversary of the premiere of CBS’s Survivor.

This series changed the United States broadcast networks—and other forms of television—with what has been identified by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which administers the primetime Emmys, as Reality–Competition Programming.

Created by Mark Burnett, the series is hosted by Jeff Probst, and casts at least 16 “Castaways” who live on an island, in a real location (filmed on location), in efforts to “Outwit. Outplay. Outlast.”

The first edition of Survivor, which premiered on May 31, 2000, was titled Borneo. (Below picture is of its participating castaways.)

I was late to the series. I started with the second edition, which was broadcast in Spring 2001, titled The Austrian Outback.

Survivor won a top Emmy in 2001. Probst won four Emmys for Outstanding Reality-Competition Host.

I stopped watching Survivor after the Fall 2019 edition included a participant who inappropriately touched at least one woman, and wasn’t timely pulled from the game, but was finally taken out late in the game. That did it for me.

During the time I regularly followed, it was an intriguing concept to have people from different areas of the U.S. live together on an island, struggle, participate in competitions, and strategize to stay in the game to go all the way to the end. And win. That is Survivor.

I have not watched Survivor since 2020. 

Respect to all who still enjoy it. 

🥂 🎂 Happy 25th Anniversary, Survivor! 🎂🥂