CBS Announces Season 34 Theme – Survivor: Game Changers

Twenty former castaways are set to change the game in the thirty-fourth edition of the long-running reality series.

Jeff Probst confirmed the theme for Season 34, which Inside Survivor first reported back in June, during tonight’s live reunion show for Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X. The new season, Survivor: Game Changers – Mamanuca Islands, will feature returning players and premieres March 8, 2017, in its regular Wednesday night timeslot from 8-9PM ET/PT.

The season, which was filmed in Fiji, will see twenty former castaways return in another attempt to outwit, outplay and outlast the competition. It marks the second all-returnee cast in under two years; CBS aired Survivor: Cambodia – Second Chance in September 2015, a cast made up of past players voted onto the season by viewers. Unlike the Second Chance competitors, the Game Changers cast was picked specifically by CBS/SEG.

The cast, some of who were in the audience during tonight’s reunion show,  is made up of second, third, and even four-time Survivor players, including former winners JT Thomas, Sandra Diaz-Twine (two-time winner!), and Tony Vlachos. Alongside those are fan favorites such as Ciera Eastin, Cirie Fields, Malcolm Freberg, and Ozzy Lusth. Last season’s runner-up Aubry Bracco also returns for a second shot, as well as Caleb Reynolds who was medically evacuated that same season. Also taking part are two castaways from this most recent season, Millennials vs. Gen X, Michaela Bradshaw who was shockingly eliminated just before the merge, and Zeke Smith who was taken out in ninth place due to being seen as a threat to win.

Stay tuned to Inside Survivor over the coming months for all your Survivor: Game Changers news and features, including cast retrospectives and interviews with former castaways who have played with the Game Changers cast. You can already view our previous Game Changers news and features in the Season 34 section.


Written by

Martin Holmes

Martin is a freelance writer from England. He’s represented by Berlin Associates for comedy writing and writes about TV and entertainment, currently for TV Insider and Vulture, previously Digital Spy, ET Canada, and Yahoo. A finalist for the Shortlist Sitcom Search in 2012 for “Siblings,” Martin received his BA in English with Creative Writing from The University of Hull. Martin is the owner and editor-in-chief of Insider Survivor.


31 responses to “CBS Announces Season 34 Theme – Survivor: Game Changers”

  1. Tony for first boot please. I was the true game changer, without me Tony would’ve been an inconsequential early-merge boot.

  2. The 2 peeps from the recently concluded season have a big advantage here.
    Since season 34 has already been filmed that means McKayla and Zeke are
    the only 2 nobody has seen play before. They are both uber strong with Zeke
    commanding the 5 person army at final 10 and McKayla learning from her
    aggressive leadership mistake(s) seemingly as it was happening.

  3. For the love of all things holy, please show the woman some respect and spell her name correctly. It’s Michaela, if you’re unsure, scroll up to the article you are commenting on, it’s right there, or copy and paste. This isn’t rocket science. Just think of the masculine version of her name, Michael, now add an A, and voila, you have the correct spelling of her name. Sorry for the rant, just a pet peeve of mine. Thanks

  4. Since Survivor is starting a few weeks later than it normally does, di you know when the finale will be? Wed., May 24 (12 weeks)? Wed., May 31 (13 weeks)?

  5. It’s not really “Survivor” anymore, it’s “coniveor”.
    The show has no heart or challenge anymore. Run out of food – Jeff gives you more.Shelter too flimsy they build them one. Remember seaosn 2 when the rice washed away And Colby basically gave the prize away. It was a GOOD show then
    Remember Rob and Amber or when the guy caught the shark?
    And someone should tell Sandra she’s NOT the only double winner.

    • The show has arguably gotten tougher the past couple of years. Case in point, in Survivor: Kaoh Rong last year THREE people were medically evacuated, more than any before in a single season.

      And yes, Sandra is the only double winner in the show’s history.

  6. Rupert has never won. He was awarded a fan-vote million dollars after the original All-Stars season, though, but that isn’t winning. Boston Rob came second in All-Stars, he was voted out pre-jury in his first season (Marquesas), then voted out pre-merge in his third season (Heroes vs. Villains), and then won in his fourth and last season (Redemption Island).

    Only Sandra won twice (Pearl Islands and Heroes vs. Villains).

  7. Since Richard Hatch won the first season the show has always been about alliances, conniving, social skills and manipulation. I agree there was more of a balance in earlier seasons, and these days it can be a bit too strategy focused, but I think there are a bad and good seasons no matter the era. Thailand was Season 5 and it was terrible. Fiji was Season 14 and terrible. One World was Season 24 and terrible.

  8. I would say if you only watch the challenges and the boot you are missing the most interesting part of the show – the human interaction, plus social and strategic play. But we all watch for different reasons. I personally find the challenges the most boring part.

    • I just recently saw an ad for the show in which they called it “the most cut throat season ever”.For me that pretty much says it all. There is no HUMAN interaction , just lies and back stabbing. But you are right, each to his own.. Glad they didn’t kill those goats.

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