Happy Holidays, Inside Survivor readers!
Another year of Survivor has come and gone, and, on the whole, it was another strong offering from one of reality TV’s longest-running franchises. Australian Survivor somehow surpassed the high expectations set by the preceding Heroes vs. Villains season while Survivor US held its own, with the New Yorker ranked Survivor 46 and the highly enjoyable Survivor 47.
Now, it’s time for you to decide the biggest moments and best characters of the year in the annual Inside Survivor End of Year Awards.
YEAR IN REVIEW
Australian Survivor kicked the year off, premiering on January 29 with its Titans vs. Rebels season. The show had big shoes to fill coming off the back of the high-octane and chaotically entertaining Heroes vs. Villains. Somehow, the season stepped right into those shoes and paved its own path, delivering one of the finest editions of Survivor in recent memory.
Of course, Australian Survivor has its pitfalls, usually regarding lopsided editing and non-elimination twists. However, the characters and gameplay of Titans vs. Rebels overcame any shortcomings, providing memorable moment after memorable moment right to the very end.
Packed with personalities from Kelli Harris to Valeria Sizova, Titans vs. Rebels was defined by its on-and-off rivalries between Feras Basal & Kirby Bentley and Mark Warnock & Caroline Courtis. The gameplay and strategy were ever-evolving, with countless blindsides and switching allegiances, and one of the show’s greatest-ever winners in Feras.
Survivor 46 was up next, premiering on February 28, and also had an uphill battle coming after the well-regarded Survivor 45. If Survivor 45 was remembered for its strong gameplay of eventual winner Dee Valladares and the Reba 4 alliance, Survivor 46 was marked for its larger-than-life characters and constant gaming mishaps (five people went home with idols in their pockets!).
Bhanu Gopal dominated the first few episodes, and your mileage may vary on how much Bhanu you can handle. But Bhanu’s big personality was a sign of things to come for a season of some of the new era’s kookiest characters. From Q Burdette and his Q-skirts, Venus Vafa and her spiciness, and Liz Wilcox and her reward challenge breakdown, Survivor 46 delivered the drama.
Amid all the chaos, there were the more level-headed gamers, including Charlie Davis, Maria Shrime Gonzalez, Tiffany Ervin, and the most down-to-earth of all, Kenzie Petty, who used her charm and likability to walk away the victor.
Survivor 47 followed on September 18 and brought with it a very different energy than Survivor 46. In a way, the season and its cast felt very old-school. There were still big characters, such as Rome Cooney and Andy Rueda, but the cast overall was more grounded. This made for a season of strong gameplay and constant power shifts.
The pre-merge was marked by blindside after blindside, with the Kishan Patel and Anika Dhar votes being some of the most impactful of the new era. The post-merge perhaps lacked the unpredictability of the pre-merge. Still, its shifting dynamics meant multiple players got time to shine at various points, from Andy to Genevieve Mushaluk to Sam Phelan to eventual winner Rachel LaMont.
THE NOMINEES
It’s now time to honor Survivor in 2024. As usual, most of the categories are Survivor US-focused, as that’s the edition the majority of our readership is interested in. However, there are categories for Best International Character, Best Season, and Best International Move.
Over the past few days, the Inside Survivor contributors and Patrons nominated their favorite episodes, characters, and moments from Survivor 46 and 47, plus their favorite International characters and moves from Australian Survivor. There are four nominations in each category, except for Best Character, which includes eight.
Now, you, the Inside Survivor readers, can vote on the overall winners from each category below.
BEST SEASON
BEST EPISODE
BEST CHARACTER
BEST MOVE
FUNNIEST MOMENT
MOST SHOCKING MOMENT
BEST INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER
BEST INTERNATIONAL MOVE
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