The Top 5 Greatest Survivor Seasons

The upper echelon of reality television

1. Survivor: Cagayan

It’s no coincidence that Cagayan is the season that truly got me hooked on Survivor. It’s essentially the perfect season for a first-time watcher of the show, and it only gets better on a rewatch. With Cagayan, you get everything you want in a season: historic blindsides, epic tribal councils, and a fantastic winner, all brought to you by the best all-newbie cast we’ve ever seen. Cagayan marks the debut of legendary players like Sarah, Spencer, and “Chaos” Kass, but most importantly, it’s the first time we meet Tony Vlachos, who later becomes not only the show’s all-time greatest player, but it’s most legendary character as well. Tony’s crazy antics during the season are the cause for the season’s constant unpredictability, and just when you think you have a grasp on where the season’s heading, Tony blindsides your winner pick.

2. Survivor: Winners at War

You may call it recency bias but besides Cagayan, there isn’t a single season of Survivor that I enjoy watching more than Winners at War. 20 of the series’ greatest winners returned to the show in hopes of becoming Survivor’s most decorated player of all time, and it’s safe to say they did not disappoint. After striking out in Game Changers, Tony was back for a third season, and it’s clear that he learned from his mistakes, as he played a truly transcendent game that will never fail to amaze me. While the pre-merge may leave a bitter taste in a superfan’s mouth as old-school legends like Boston Rob, Parvati, and Sandra are all sent packing early on, there’s no denying that these blindsides make for remarkable television. And though you may feel that the mechanics of the numerous twists this season ruin Survivor on a game level, they’re what makes this season extremely entertaining, and when I look at each episode individually and fail to find one that doesn’t have me on the edge of my seat, that’s what I want in a season of Survivor.

3. Survivor: Heroes vs Villains

We’ve just seen a season that featured 20 Survivor winners yet Heroes vs Villains is still the most iconic and legendary cast of all time. And while most consider this season the best of the best, a few minor flaws keep it just outside the top 2 for me. Although the pre-merge is absolutely fantastic, without a doubt the most entertaining pre-merge ever, and that’s without even utilizing any tribe swaps, the post-merge essentially takes the shape of a “pagonging” (one tribe using their numbers to vote out the other one by one), and it becomes somewhat predictable outside of an entertaining Danielle vote. My other gripe with the season is the result of the final tribal council, Sandra winning the game, and don’t get me wrong, I love Sandra, but I would’ve liked to see either Parvati or Russell win, as I felt they were slightly more deserving than her. But all in all, Heroes vs Villains, highlighted by some epic idol plays and the most legendary tribe ever in the villains, is an exceptional season, very deserving of its top 3 spot.

4. Survivor: David vs Goliath

Production clearly took a risk with the David vs Goliath theme, but to say it paid off would be a massive understatement. The idea behind the season was to pit a tribe of “David’s” who host Jeff Probst describes as “people who throughout their life have had to overcome adversity” against a tribe of “Goliath’s” defined by Probst as people “who typically win” and see what happens. And what ended up happening was just about as perfect as you could have drawn it up from a narrative perspective, where the Goliaths started out on top, winning all the challenges and building a hefty lead over the Davids, but when it became time to put in the work of finding advantages and strategically using them to vote out the opposition, the Davids did just that, propelling themselves all the way back to a power position, ultimately giving Nick the win. The cast as a whole is phenomenal, and don’t be surprised if certain players from the season like Davie and Christian return to the show and perform very well, cementing not only their legacies but this season’s as well. The editing of the season is brilliant, by far the finest of the 30s, and not a single player (aside from maybe Alison) was under-edited, a rarity in Survivor. David vs Goliath is a model for how good modern Survivor can be, and I hope production attempts to replicate this masterpiece in the upcoming seasons.

5. Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs Favorites

Survivor’s first rendition of the “Fans vs Favorites” gimmick, and quite frankly the only one that features qualified superfans and fan favorites (sorry Caramoan) is often the primary reason why it’s era in the show’s history is often recognized as “the Golden Age”. I have three words to describe this season: Black Widow Brigade. Commonly referred to as the most iconic alliance of all time, what the BWB was able to accomplish in Micronesia, most notably convincing Erik to give up his immunity necklace only to turn around and vote him out immediately in what is a consensus top 3 moment in Survivor history, made for spectacular television. Specifically the final three of Parvati, Amanda, and Cirie remains one of the most recognizable, and all-time Survivor legend Parvati Shallow being crowned the champion only helps the season’s case. Add to that list the Ozzy blindside, the Jason blindside, and the fake hidden immunity idol and you’ve got yourself a fantastic season.