Survivor 41

Episode 1 Stats

Rob Brodeur breaks down all the latest stats!

Photo: CBS

Each week Inside Survivor contributor Rob Brodeur will be collecting various Survivor-related statistics and information based off the latest episode of Survivor 41.

Season

  • This is the first season to go by only a number instead of a location/twist/subtitle.
    • Borneo was originally called “Survivor” when it first debuted but was later changed to Survivor: Borneo.
  • This is the first season since Edge of Extinction to have only 18 castaways.
  • This is the first season since Samoa without a casting/twist theme.
  • Every season since David vs. Goliath has a separate “island” that castaways are sent to.
    • Edge of Extinction & Winners at War had the Edge of Extinction.
    • Island of the Idols had the Island of the Idols.
    • Survivor 41 has the risk/protect advantage island.
  • This is the first time a filming location has been used 9 times in a row.
    • Season 33 (Millennials vs. Gen X) through season 41 was filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji.
    • This is the 9th consecutive season to be filmed in Fiji.
      • It’s the 10th season overall to be filmed in Fiji.
  • This is the first season to have fewer than 39 days.
    • The season will only be 26 days long.
      • The Australian Outback is the only other US season of Survivor to not have 39 days, as it was longer at 42 days.
  • This is the first season since Heroes vs. Villains to have a 2-hour premiere with only one immunity challenge.
    • In Heroes vs. Villains, only one tribe went to Tribal Council.
    • Survivor 41 resulted in a double elimination where both losing tribes had to attend Triba.

Cast

  • This is the first season to include more representation based on CBS’s BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Color) diversity pledge.
  • The average age of the cast is 33.6
  • JD is the youngest castaway this season.
    • He’s also the youngest ever Survivor player by birth date (March 18th, 2001).
    • Additionally, he’s the first player to be born in the 21st century, as he was born in 2001.
  • JD, Liana, & Xander are the first castaways to be born in the 2000s.
    • They were all born after the first episode of Borneo aired.
      • JD and Liana (both 20) are the youngest man and woman this season.
      • Abraham (50) and Heather (52) are the oldest man and woman this season.
  • Xander is the first castaway whose name starts with an “X”.
  • Ricard is the first hearing-impaired man to play Survivor and the third hearing-impaired player after Christy Smith from The Amazon and Nina Poersch from Worlds Apart.
  • Danny is the 8th person affiliated with the NFL to play Survivor.
    • Gary Hogeboom – Guatemala
    • Jimmy Johnson – Nicaragua (NFL Coach)
    • Steve Wright – Redemption Island
    • Grant Mattos – Redemption Island
    • Brad Culpepper – Blood vs. Water & Game Changers
    • Tyler Fredrickson – Worlds Apart
    • Alan Ball – Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers
      • Alan is the most recent NFL player, and he was on a blue tribe named “Levu” which is similar to Danny’s blue tribe “Luvu.”
      • Everyone on the above list except for Steve & Grant were on a blue tribe at some point on their season (Redemption Island didn’t have a blue tribe).
        • Gary – started on Yaxha
        • Jimmy – started on Espada
        • Brad – started on Nuku
        • Tyler – swapped to Escameca
          • Tyler is the only one who was swapped to a blue tribe and didn’t start on one.
        • Alan – started on Levu
        • Danny – started on Luvu
  • Naseer is the first male castaway of South Asian descent.
    • He’s originally from Sri Lanka, which is where Nadiya & Natalie Anderson are from.
  • This season is tied with Micronesia, Game Changers, David vs. Goliath, and Island of the Idols for the most LGBTQ contestants with 3.
  • Evvie is the first non-binary castaway on Survivor.
    • Evvie’s pronouns are she/they.
  • Brad is the first castaway from Wyoming.
    • Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, and West Virginia are the only states without castaway representation.
    • The last season with a new state being represented was Caramoan, with Sherri being the first castaway from Idaho.
  • Erika and Shantel are the second and third castaways from Canada.
    • They’re the first female players from Canada.
    • Tom Laidlaw in Island of the Idols was the first castaway from Canada.
      • Erika, however, is the first castaway to reside in Canada at the time of filming, as Tom lived in Connecticut and Shantel lives in Washington DC.

Tribes

  • This is the first season since Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers to start with 3 tribes.
  • This is the only 3-starting tribe season to start with blue, yellow, and green tribes.
    • Edge of Extinction had blue, yellow, and green pre-merge tribes, but the green tribe was an expansion tribe.
  • Luvu Tribe
    • Luvu is Fijian for “flood.”
    • Luvu is the 26th blue tribe in Survivor.
      • Blue is the most used tribe color in Survivor.
      • Fiji, Millennials vs. Gen X, and Ghost Island are the only seasons filmed in Fiji without a blue tribe.
    • Sydney (25) is the youngest player on Luvu, while Heather (52) is the oldest.
      • The average age of the tribe is 33.83.
      • Sydney is the only “youngest player” to not be 20.
    • Luvu is the only starting tribe with no players under the age of 25.
    • All the men on Luvu are POC.
      • Except for Cook Islands, that’s never happened before with a starting tribe.
    • The Luvu tribe is on the same beach as Dakal in Winners at War, Vokai in Island of the Idols, Kama in Edge of Extinction, David (Vuku) in David vs. Goliath, Malolo in Ghost Island, Yawa in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Tavua in Game Changers, and Vanua in Millennials vs. Gen X.
      • Luvu is the first blue tribe to be on this beach.
      • This beach has had a tribe color for every color in the rainbow.
        • Red – Dakal & Yawa
        • Orange – Malolo, David (Vuku) & Vanua
        • Yellow – Kama
        • Green – Tavua
        • Blue – Luvu
        • Purple – Vokai
  • Ua Tribe
    • Ua is Fijian for “wave.”
    • Ua is the 20th green tribe in Survivor.
    • JD (20) is the youngest player on Ua, while Brad (49) is the oldest.
      • The average age of the tribe is 33.83.
    • Ua is the first “U” tribe to not be blue.
      • Upolu & Ulong were both blue tribes.
    • Ua is the shortest tribe name in Survivor history.
      • It’s the first tribe name to be only two letters.
        • The previous shortest tribe names were 4-letter names.
        • There’s never been a tribe name with three letters.
    • Ua is the first green starting tribe since Ta Keo in Cambodia, 10 seasons prior.
      • Every green tribe since Ta Keo has been an expansion tribe.
        • Ikabula in Millennials vs. Gen X
        • Tavua in Game Changers
        • Yanuya in Ghost Island
        • Tiva in David vs. Goliath
        • Lesu in Edge of Extinction
        • Yara in Winners at War
    • Ua is the second green starting tribe in a season set in Fiji, after Moto in Fiji.
      • Moto is also the most recent strictly green starting tribe.
        • Dabu in Micronesia was a merged tribe.
        • Forza in Tocantins was a merged tribe.
        • Enil Edam in Caramoan was a merged tribe.
        • Luzon in Cagayan was a turquoise color.
        • Huyopa in San Juan Del Sur was a turquoise-colored merged tribe.
        • Ta Keo in Cambodia was a turquoise color.
          • The other tribes mentioned above were expansion tribes.
    • Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers and Island of the Idols are the only seasons filmed in Fiji to not have a green tribe.
      • Island of the Idols had an unused green tribe (it was planned to be an expansion tribe).
    • The Ua tribe is on the same beach as Yara in Winners at War, Lesu in Edge of Extinction, Tiva in David vs. Goliath, Yanuya in Ghost Island, Levu in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Nuku in Game Changers, and Ikabula in Millennials vs. Gen X.
      • Levu and Nuku are the only non-green tribes that have been on this beach.
        • They are both blue tribes.
  • Yase Tribe
    • Yase is Fijian for “lightning.”
    • Yase is the 23rd yellow tribe in Survivor.
      • The first “Y” tribe in Survivor was Yasur in Vanuatu, which was also a yellow tribe.
    • Liana (20) is the youngest player on Yase, while Abraham (50) is the oldest.
      • The average age of the tribe is 33.17.
    • The Yase tribe is on the same beach as Sele in Winners at War, Lairo in Island of the Idols, Manu in Edge of Extinction, Goliath (Jabeni) in David vs. Goliath, Naviti in Ghost Island, Soko in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Mana in Game Changers, and Takali in Millennials vs. Gen X.
      • This is the only beach in the Mamanuca Islands filming location that has never had a green tribe reside on the beach.

Tribal Council #1

  • Eric Abraham was voted out 5-1.
    • The most recent player to be voted out 5-1 was Aaron Meredith in Island of the Idols.
  • He’s the first Eric/Erik to be voted out pre-merge.
    • Erik Huffman – 6th Place – China
    • Erik Reichenbach – 5th Place, Micronesia & Caramoan
    • Erik Cardona – 12th Place – Samoa
    • Eric Hafemann – 13th Place – Edge of Extinction
  • Abraham is the 18th male to be the first player voted out of Survivor.
  • The oldest man (Abraham, 50) and the oldest woman (Tiffany, 47) received votes at this Tribal Council.

Tribal Council #2

  • Sara Wilson was voted out 4-1-1.
    • Exactly one 4-1-1 vote has occurred in every “decade” of Survivor (1-10, 11-20, etc).
      • Dirk Been in Borneo (1) was voted out 4-1-1.
      • Debbie Beebe in Tocantins (18) was voted out 4-1-1.
      • Tasha Fox in Cagayan (28) was voted out 4-1-1.
      • Sebastian Noel in Ghost Island (36) was voted out 4-1-1.
      • Sara Wilson in Survivor 41 (41) was voted out 4-1-1.
        • Sarah and Dirk are the only ones to achieve this in the pre-merge.
  • There have been 5 players in Survivor US with the last name Wilson.
    • Sara and Jeff (Palau) are the only ones to not make it to the merge. The others are as follows:
      • Alina Wilson in Nicaragua
      • Baylor Wilson in San Juan del Sur
      • Nick Wilson in David vs. Goliath & Winners at War
  • Sarah Lacina (Cagayan, Game Changers, Winners at War) is the only Sarah/Sara to make the merge.
    • Sarah Jones – 13th Place – Marquesas
    • Sarah Dawson – 13th Place – Philippines
    • Sara Wilson – 17th Place – Survivor 41
  • The oldest man on both tribes received votes in this episode.
    • Abraham (50) on Yase received 5 votes.
    • Brad (49) on Ua received 1 vote.
  • This is the first time in Survivor that two people were voted out on day 3.
  • This was the 10th time there was a double tribal council on Survivor. The others are as follows:
    • Episode 7 of Pearl Islands: Shawn & Osten voted out.
    • Episode 3 of Vanuatu: John P. & Mia voted out.
    • Episode 5 of Palau: Willard & Angie voted out.
    • Episode 6 of Guatemala: Margaret & Brian voted out.
    • Episode 6 of Cook Islands: Cao Boi & Christina voted out.
    • Episode 7 of Gabon: Ace & Dan voted out.
    • Episode 6 of Heroes vs. Villains: Tyson & James voted out.
    • Episode 6 of Nicaragua: Kelly B. & Yve voted out.
    • Episode 6 of Winners at War: Sandra & Parvati voted out.
    • Episode 1 of Survivor 41: Abraham & Sara voted out.
      • Pearl Islands, Winners at War, and Survivor 41 are the only three seasons where an entire tribe was immune as opposed to individual immunity winners. (The Outcasts in Pearl Islands, Yara in Winners at War, and Luvu in Survivor 41).

Reward Challenge: “Marooning”

  • Ua won the reward challenge.
    • Since Luvu and Yase lost, Ua is the only tribe to start the game with a flint. (Luvu & Yase earned theirs later due to completing the Sweat task on their beach).
      • Due to the new rule change this season, Ua and Yase had to forfeit their flint when they lost the immunity challenge.

Immunity Challenge “Bonus Track”

  • Yase lost both challenges this episode.
  • Luvu won the first immunity challenge.
    • They’re the 11th blue tribe to win the first immunity challenge.
      • They’re the second blue tribe to win the first immunity challenge in a season set in Fiji.
        • Nuku in Game Changers was the first.
          • Levu in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Manu in Edge of Extinction, and Sele in Winners at War all lost the first immunity challenge.
  • This is the first time there was a double-loss immunity challenge in the first episode.
    • Every other time there have been 3 tribes, the first immunity challenge always had 2 winning tribes and 1 losing tribe.

Advantage

  • Danny, JD, and Xander were chosen to go to the vote advantage island, which is a new twist.
    • Danny chose to protect his vote, while JD and Xander both chose to risk their vote.
      • JD and Xander both received an extra vote at Tribal Council.
        • Coincidentally, they’re both the youngest men this season and they’re the youngest men on their tribes.

Confessionals

  • JD had the highest number of confessionals this episode with 11.
  • Heather and Brad had the lowest number of confessionals this episode with 1.

Ratings

Episode Title

  • The episode title “A New Era” was said by Jeff Probst regarding the changes that were implemented this season.
    • Also, according to an interview with Jeff, before they settled on calling this season by its number, it was going to be called Survivor: Dawn of a New Era.

 


Written by

Rob Brodeur

Rob hails from Boston, MA. He studied Architectural Engineering at college and has been following Survivor since the first season. Rob is married and has a dog named Snoopy. He also used to host Survivor ORGs (Online Reality Games) on Facebook. Rob writes Inside Survivor’s weekly Survivor Stats feature.


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