SECRETS From THE SET

Just days before the landmark Survivor 50: In the Hands of Fans season began filming in Fiji, Us Weekly was there, getting behind-the-scenes intel from the cast

- Mara Reinstein

Once upon a time, summer TV was a barren landscape of reruns, so when Survivor premiered on May 31, 2000, viewers tuned in. What they saw was as absurd as it was intriguing: Sixteen strangers dropped onto a secluded island off the coast of Borneo, trying to outwit and outlast each other for 39 days to win $1 million. And, wait, were they eating rats?

More than 25 years later, the Emmy winner has not just survived but thrived, all while keeping its DNA intact. (Host and executive producer Jeff Probst still sends ousted contestants packing with “The tribe has spoken.”) The game is quicker and tougher than in its early days, and now, it’s marking an amazing milestone. Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans (premiering Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. on CBS and streaming on Paramount+) features 24 returnees, including fan fave Cirie Fields, The White Lotus creator Mike White and newly crowned champ Savannah Louie battling it out over 26 days. And, for the first time, viewers are part of the action: They've already voted on rewards and food rations, and will continue to influence the game as it unfolds.

Just days before Survivor 50 started in Fiji, competitors shared their thoughts — while swatting away mosquitoes — exclusively with Us.

Origin Stories

Jenna Lewis-Dougherty I remember seeing an ad looking for contestants for a TV show. It was something like, “Sixteen castaways and one will survive.” Like, they're going to kill 15 people on TV?! But it sounded really interesting, and I wanted to challenge myself. So I sat on the edge of my bed and made a video on a VHS tape.

Colby Donaldson It didn't take me long to be a fan of the game, and I wanted to go play it. After my first interview with casting, I scribbled on a Post-it, “I'm going to be on this season of Survivor.” I just felt the universe had put me in that place at that time.