Survivor 50 cast: Dream list of castaways from 2 huge fans here at WDIV

Official cast to be revealed on Wednesday, May 28

Kayla Clarke, Senior Web Producer

Derick Hutchinson, Digital Executive Producer

Published: May 27, 2025 at 8:10 AM

This article contains spoilers from previous Survivor seasons, Peacock's The Traitors, CBS's The Amazing Race, and MTV/CBS's The Challenge. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

If you clicked on this article, I‘m sure you’re already aware: But the 50th season of Survivor is right around the corner.

Jeff Probst and his team have already finished filming season 49, and the cast for next spring’s landmark 50th season is going to be revealed on Wednesday, May 28.

Let‘s be honest, the hype surrounding this edition of the show probably won’t be surpassed until we get to 100. So it could be the most memorable season of our lifetimes.

No pressure.

So... who gets to play? We’re assuming season 50 will have a cast of all returning players. But does that mean players from the show’s entire history? Or just since season 41, the modern era?

Either way, Kayla and I are going to be fully locked in. We can’t wait. We’ve seen all 700+ episodes, and there are certain players we would love to watch again.

So here are our dream casts, along with our reasoning.

Derick’s cast

It was so hard for me to narrow down 48 seasons worth of players (because season 49 hasn’t aired yet) into a list of just 20. My first draft included 37 contestants and 10 “notable omissions.”

There are just so many people I want back on my TV screen.

Obviously, that‘s a great problem to have. Survivor has such a vast pool of amazing personalities to choose from that they almost can’t get this cast wrong.

Almost.

This season can’t just be “good.” It needs to live up to the hype of being the most iconic milestone of a show that‘s lasted fifty freaking seasons.

So how do I narrow it down?

Well, first I removed most (but not all) of the people who have been on more than two seasons. I really enjoyed Winners at War (season 40), but season 50 should be something different. If we have Boston Rob, Ethan Zohn, Parvati, Tyson and all the usual characters back, it‘s just going to feel like a rematch.

I also had to decide time and time again between great gameplay and straight chaos. Like a true Survivor fan, I tried to make a cast that gets us both -- as much as possible.

LAST WARNING: You read the thing about spoilers, right? These breakdowns contain spoilers for Survivor, The Traitors, The Amazing Race, and The Challenge.

Natalie Anderson

Original season: San Juan del Sur (season 29).

Natalie was an amazing competitor on her first season and went on to win despite her sister (everyone on the show had someone from their real lives on the opposite tribe) getting voted out first.

She got voted out first in her second season and spent almost the entire time on the Edge of Extinction, but she still proved to be possibly the strongest physical competitor of them all.

She’s been on The Amazing Race and The Challenge, so Natalie is widely viewed as an elite competitor. She’s not going to provide much in terms of chaos, but I‘d like to see her try to dominate another season physically.

Aubry Bracco

Original season: Kaoh Rong (season 32).

Like I said before, I tried not to include many castaways who played more than two seasons, but Aubry is an exception.

She was one of the game’s best-ever strategists in Kaoh Rong -- so much so that she basically had no chance in her second and third seasons because of the target on her back.

Michaela Bradshaw

Original season: Millennials vs. Gen X (season 33).

Most people just think of Michaela as a great physical player, which is true. But she’s also a really good strategist. In fact, it was her strategical demonstration with rocks and seashells that scared her tribe into voting her out.

Michaela can’t help but say what’s on her mind, which creates some great moments, like her reaction (“WHAT?”) and stare-down when realizing she had been betrayed by Jay.

She uses common sense to make her decisions, which is also refreshing. Yes, you’ll know if you’ve ticked Michaela off, but that doesn’t mean she’ll make a rash decision at the vote.

Give me another season of Michaela calling it how she sees it.

Q Burdette

Original season: 46

This is purely a chaos choice.

Q started his season as the guy who thought he was running the game and his confidence barreled way across the line of “cockiness.” Remember when he suggested an innocent game of hide-and-seek and used it to justify why he was going to eliminate everyone else from the game?

It made absolutely no sense, but it was hilarious.

And then there was the time he asked to be voted out, but it didn’t work.

“I don’t think anyone here coming to tribal counsel was voting for me, but I‘m going to ask everybody to vote for me,” he said. “Then all of these nine folks are going back to camp today.”

It caused complete chaos. Q remained in the game and actually somehow got himself on the right side of a few votes before getting the boot with an idol in his pocket. Classic Q. Get this man back on the island.

Charlie Davis

Original season: 46.

I‘m still shocked that Charlie didn’t win season 46. His No. 1 ally, Maria, voted against him in the final tribal counsel, which ultimately led to his second-place finish.

During the reunion, we all watched in real time as Charlie tried to process what had just happened. It was such a human moment.

Charlie is one of the best players of the new era, and he would probably be a huge target if he got on season 50.

Eva Erickson

Original season: 48.

There are a handful of players from the most recent season who could have been on this list. But I decided to go with Eva above them all.

Eva had an iconic moment when -- after revealing to Joe that she has autism earlier in the season -- she overcame an episode to complete a challenge and win immunity for her tribe.

She was crying. Jeff was crying. We were all crying!

Eva played an extremely loyal game and wasn’t necessarily the most creative strategist, but she was a fierce challenge competitor and an easy person to root for.

Cirie Fields

Original season: Panama (season 12).

Cirie doesn’t really need an introduction. Widely regarded as the best player never to win, I normally wouldn’t want to see someone get a fifth chance.

But then I watched Cirie on The Traitors. She was masterful, and even though everybody there should have known from the start that they would obviously make her a traitor, Cirie fooled them all and found a way to take all the money for herself at the end.

She’s a legend.

Tasha Fox

Original season: Cagayan (season 28).

I think Tasha was a very underrated player because she has such a well-rounded game.

Her first season, she was a beast in competitions. In her second, she managed to go from the bottom to a majority alliance and make the final tribal. She would probably do well in a all-star-type season with so many huge personalities.

Dreamz Herd

Original season: Fiji (season 14).

There are a few standout players on this list who I would be particularly excited to see again. Dreamz is one of them.

Dreamz is best known for his iconic betrayal of Yau-Man, who agreed to give him a truck at a reward challenge in exchange for safety. Dreamz went back on that deal and voted Yau-Man out to give himself a better chance to win.

It was the right move, even though it was savage. But overall, Dreamz was a strong competitor and a smart strategist in the game. I don’t know if he’d come back after all this time, but I‘d love to see it.

Todd Herzog

Original season: China (season 15).

Another excellent strategist, Todd won one of my favorite seasons, Survivor China. He ticked off pretty much everyone in the jury, but made one of the most compelling final tribal counsel arguments ever.

I‘m a sucker for a legendary final tribal counsel performance.

Todd has never returned to the game, which would make it even more fun to see him play a version that looks completely different from 35 seasons ago.

Kass McQuillen

Original season: Cagayan (season 28).

You think I‘m going to leave out someone named “Chaos Kass”? Not a chance.

Kass was definitely a villain on her season, but she actually plays a very smart and calculated game. Her dry delivery and sense of humor is an added bonus while everyone roots for her demise.

Devon Pinto

Original season: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers (season 35).

It would be a real tragedy if we never get to see Devon play again.

How does the best physical competitor in a season make it to the final five without his name getting written down even once? That takes a rare combination of social and strategic prowess.

Devon had his finger on the pulse of the game throughout, most notably when he cast a stray vote that saved him from elimination when eventual winner Ben played an idol.

He only lost because of the new fire-making twist. Justice for Devon in season 50!

Andy Rueda

Original season: 47.

Andy had a very public breakdown in front of everyone after the very first immunity challenge, and that’s usually a death sentence in Survivor.

But with a little luck, he made it to the merge and ultimately orchestrated the most brilliant strategic move of the season: “Operation: Italy.”

He capped a roller coaster character arc by going from debilitatingly insecure to so overly confident that it got him blindsided.

Chaos. Gameplay. A shocking lack of self-awareness. It‘s the real Survivor Holy Trinity -- please bring Andy back.

Zeke Smith

Original season: Millennials vs. Gen X (season 33).

Zeke out-dueled Sandra on Game Changers -- what else needs to be said?

He has a dangerous combination of strategic and social prowess, and he’s not a bad competitor, either. I feel like Zeke could ingratiate himself into any group of legendary players, and that makes him worthy of a third season.

Kim Spradlin-Wolfe

Original season: One World (season 24).

It would be hard to have a dream cast without arguably the best strategist in the show’s history.

Kim is the type of player who could probably win most immunity challenges, but she knows that’s a risky strategy, so she chooses not to and uses her social game instead.

She never really got into a position of power in Winners at War because of her reputation as an elite player. But that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t get to play once more.

Tai Trang

Original season: Kaoh Rong (season 32).

Tai was such a fun castaway. From his love for the chicken “Mark,” to his sense of humor, to his intense moral struggles, we felt all the emotions during his seasons.

Tai is amazing at finding hidden idols and advantages, and his alliances are always messy. That combination makes him must-see TV.

Dee Valladares

Original season: 45

It‘s hard to compare the recent winners to legends from before season 40, but Dee seems like the type of player who could succeed with any cast.

She was so dominant during her season that it was actually a bit boring to watch, and that’s saying something.

I‘d love to see her get a chance to play against some of the other greats from the past.

Carolyn Wiger

Original season: 44

There are rumors that Carolyn was cut from the season 50 cast because of her time on The Traitors. That would be weird, because her time on The Traitors only made me want to see more.

Carolyn gets underestimated because of her eccentricities, but she actually does have a pretty good strategic mind. We saw that even more on The Traitors, as she went up against reality icons like Danielle Reyes, Wes Bergmann, Derrick Levasseur, and Boston Rob.

There’s always going to be chaos when Carolyn is around, but she does it while also deploying a strategy that usually makes sense.

Coach Wade

Original season: Tocantins (season 18).

Coach is a very polarizing player. But I‘ve always found him entertaining.

He calls himself the “dragon slayer” and often demonstrates a shocking lack of self-awareness. I mean, how can you not want to watch that?

Coach was the runner-up to Sophie Clark in his third season and even got three jury votes, which is impressive because his antics make you want to disregard him as an actual player.

But that was 27 seasons ago. It‘s time to see what the dragon slayer has left in the tank.

Robb Zbacnik

Original season: Thailand (season 5).

Why are there so many Rob(b)s in the Survivor world?

This isn’t Boston Rob, or the Rob With A Podcast. It‘s the Robb from all the way back in season 5 -- which aired in 2002.

Robb didn’t even make the merge in his season -- in fact, he was the sixth person voted out and basically never had any power. But his development was fascinating.

Robb was 23 years old at the time of his season and it would be an understatement to call his gameplay “volatile.” He’s a bit of a controversial pick because he’s best known for grabbing Clay Jordan around the neck during a challenge and complaining for a really, really long time when it got him disqualified.

“We lost to a bunch of rules,” is still an iconic quote.

By the end, when Robb realized he was definitely getting voted out, he took it like a champ and showed growth. It was heartwarming, but his character arc was cut short.

Even though his age has doubled since then, I‘d be interested to see him come back.

Kayla’s cast

Listen. In my absolute dream world we’re getting 50 players, they’re on the island for 50 days, and the prize is $50 million.

Luckily for whoever has to handle the Survivor budget, my dream world is not reality. Wouldn’t that be cool to watch though?

Since we can’t get that, then I have some other demands. I need Jeff Probst standing on a precarious ledge at the beginning of season 50 when he says that iconic however many days, however many players, “one survivor” opening line.

I also need the live reunion to make a triumphant return. I want the pomp and circumstance. Jeff better carry those votes out of tribal council, get on a jet ski, or into a helicopter, or onto a motorcycle (or maybe all three of those things) and then show up at a recreation of tribal council. It‘s ridiculous, it‘s fun, and I love it.

Okay -- focusing now. Back to the dream cast list, which was not easy to make. There are so many players I‘d love to see again.

I tried my best not to pick anyone who also appeared on Derick’s list, but there are four names I just had to include. You’ll understand why.

Shii Ann Huang

Original season: Thailand (season 5).

A strong competitor with a strong personality that made her entertaining to watch. She showed her cards too soon in Thailand, which sent her home pre-merge.

A clutch immunity win kept her in the game a little longer in All-Stars, but she was sent home after losing the next Immunity Challenge.

Parvati Shallow

Original season: Cook Islands (season 13).

A four-time player, one time Sole Survivor, and a legendary player.

Honestly, I’m just a really big fan. She’s iconic. I’d love to see her give it another shot.

Though, even if she’s not on Season 50, we have Survivor Australia to look forward to. She’s a contestant on Australia v. World which is set to release this summer.

Eliza Orlins

Original season: Vanuatu (season 9).

Her argumentative personality may have made her unpopular around camp, but it did make for some good TV.

She was a victim of the infamous Car Curse -- if you believe in that sort of thing.

Her most memorable moment for me was when she was presented with an obviously fake hidden immunity idol, and said, “It’s a f****** stick.”

It was, indeed, a f****** stick.

I want Eliza on season 50 for her wit and for the chaos.