List of Survivor (U.S. TV Series) Contestants

List Of Survivor (U.S. TV Series) Contestants

Survivor is an American reality television show, first broadcast in May 2000. Contestants are called Castaways in the show, and they compete against each other to become the "Sole Survivor" and win one million U.S. dollars. The series first aired in 2000. There have been twenty-five seasons, which have been filmed on five different continents. The twenty-fifth season, Survivor: Philippines, premiered in September.

A total of 396 participants have competed, and 53 of them have competed in multiple seasons: 39 of them competed in two seasons, 13 competed three times, and one competed four times. So far, there have been 8 seasons which featured returning players: In 2004, an All-Stars edition aired, with the cast being eighteen past competitors; in 2005 as part of a surprise twist, two past contestants from Survivor: Palau competed again in Survivor: Guatemala; in 2008, Survivor: Micronesia featured a tribe of ten returning contestants against a tribe of ten new contestants; in 2010, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains featured 20 returning contestants, including nine that were competing for the third time; and in 2011, two past castaways returned for Survivor: Redemption Island and two other past castaways returned for Survivor: South Pacific. In 2012, three past castaways who were medically evacuated from their previous seasons returned for Survivor: Philippines. In 2013, ten returning castaways competed for a second time against ten new castaways in Survivor: Caramoan.

Contestants usually apply to be on the show, but the series has been known to recruit contestants for various seasons. For Survivor: Fiji, the producers had hoped to have a more racially diverse cast, and hoped that a more diverse group would apply after the success of the racially segregated Survivor: Cook Islands. When this did not happen, the producers turned to recruiting and in the end, only Gary Stritesky had actually submitted an application to be on the show. Also for Survivor: Fiji, Mellisa McNulty, a 27-year-old talent manager from Los Angeles, would have been the twentieth contestant on the show, but dropped out and returned home the night before the show began because of panic attacks. Because of the timing and lack of alternates, her spot could not be replaced and the season only had nineteen contestants. For the most part, contestants are virtually unknown prior to their Survivor appearance, but occasionally some well-known people are cast.