Survivor: Guatemala

Survivor: Guatemala — The Mayan Empire, commonly referred to as Survivor: Guatemala, is the eleventh season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo National Park near the more popular Tikal National Park, located in northern Guatemala.

Applications were due on January 14, 2005. Around March 2005, 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS. Out of these 800, 48 semi-finalists were selected to go in Los Angeles sometime around April 2005. From these semi-finalists, 16 were chosen to participate the show between June to August 2005. This season also features the return of Survivor: Palau fan favorites Stephenie LaGrossa and Bobby Jon Drinkard, thus raising the cast roster to 18. Other notable castmembers include former beauty queen and model-turned radio announcer Danni Boatwright and ex-NFL quarterback Gary Hogeboom. Tina Scheer, a contestant on Survivor: Panama, was slated to be on this season; however, her son had been killed in a car accident and she backed out. Rodger Bingham and Michael Skupin from Survivor: The Australian Outback were also set to be on this season, but were instead replaced by Stephenie and Bobby Jon.

Aside from the staple twists such as the double boot and the tribe switch, a new twist called the Hidden Immunity Idol was introduced. Upon receiving their first post-merge Tree Mail, the new Xhakúm tribe received news that a tiny immunity idol was hidden somewhere at camp. The user must use the idol before the tribe votes. After usage, the idol will be discarded. The Hidden Immunity Idol will only be valid until the final four.

In the end, radio talk show host Danni Boatwright defeated pharmaceutical sales representative and returning contestant Stephenie LaGrossa in a 6–1 vote.

Stephenie LaGrossa competed for a third time as a castaway in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, where she was assigned to the "Heroes" tribe. She placed 19th.

The complete season was released on DVD exclusively through Amazon.com on May 22, 2012, however, some pre-orders were shipped early.