After what felt like forever, Survivor is almost back, much to the delight of fans all over the world. Survivor’s return, however, comes with notable changes that may or may not sit well with fans: dropping the titles in favor of just the season number and reducing the game to just 26 days.
We asked some Survivor fans from a couple of local fan groups (Survivor Superfans – Philippines & Official Pinoy Survivor Fans) if they’re okay with a 26-day game setup and found that out of 216 responses, 59.2% felt the shortened days won’t be a problem, while 20.4% said they prefer the usual 39 days. The remaining 20.4% don’t really mind.
Then a thought occurred to me: how would former players react to these changes? So I reached out to some of our favorite Survivor players to find out what they think about these literal game-changers.
Tijuana Bradley-Collins
Pearl Islands
How do you feel about reducing the number of days to just 26? How do you think this will impact one’s gameplay?
That’s a quick game! That’s removing just about two weeks. There is so much strategy that escalates during that time. I think the viewer would miss out on some great entertainment, and [for] the players, the opportunity to strategize further.
Relationships pívot and more things are learned about each other with more time, obviously. Two weeks taken away from the game destroys that.
In relation to the show dropping the subtitles for the new season, what would you “drop” from your gameplay if ever you get the chance to play again?
I’d have dropped the Outcast tribe. Just overall, bringing back players who have been officially voted off is bogus to me. They lost fair and square; they shouldn’t get a second chance!
How have you been since the last time you appeared on the show?
Things are well. It’s been just about 20 years since Pearl Islands (Season 7). I’m living in Chicago with my husband, bonus daughter and Golden Retriever, Spartacus.
Being on Survivor strengthened my desire to continue to have new adventures and to continue to travel the world. I’ve been to 24 countries and counting.
Lastly, I think it’s awesome to still see this show running and a continued growth of new fans. I hadn’t seen my season in so many years and didn’t realize it was on Prime! So I purchased it and checked it out! Shout out to the fans for keeping Survivor going!
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Bonus is an odd name for the daughter. Spartacus, on the other hand is a great name for a Golden Retriever.
A bonus child is another term for step-child, so I think Tijuana was saying this is not her biological daughter but is helping raise her with her husband, not that the child’s name is Bonus.