Survivor 49


Survivor 49 is the forty-ninth season of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. It premiered on September 24, 2025, on CBS in the United States. It was the seventeenth consecutive season to be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. The season ended on December 17, 2025, when Savannah Louie was voted the Sole Survivor, defeating Sophi Balerdi and Sage Ahrens-Nichols in a 5–2–1 vote.

Production

On December 15, 2023, Manoa Kamikamica, the Fijian Minister of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, announced that the Fijian Parliament had renewed its contract with Survivor for an additional two years. A preview trailer for the season was released on May 21, 2025, right after the finale of Survivor 48 aired. Like in the previous season, Survivor 49 and The [Amazing Race 38] retain the 90-minute runtime; the premiere episode of Survivor 49 ran for two hours.
The American broadcast of the finale was notably interrupted by an address by President Trump. The broadcast of the finale was not interrupted internationally, with the finale airing regularly in Canada, where the series airs on Global, and in Australia, where the finale aired on 9Go! as a special daytime airing alongside the intended American airing.

Contestants

The 18 castaways were officially announced on August 20, 2025. Notable cast members include Annie Davis, lead singer of the band Trashy Annie; former Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore, and former WANF news reporter Savannah Louie. It was also revealed that Michelle "MC" Chukwujekwu and Jason Treul had been alternates who replaced two players that violated sequester rules.

Future appearances

Savannah Louie and Rizo Velovic returned for the following season, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.

Season summary

Eighteen castaways were divided into three tribes: Hina, Kele, and Uli. Kele lost every challenge, and their strongest member Jake was evacuated due to a freak occurrence. Surviving members Alex and Sophi managed to fly under the radar through two swaps due to the Hina and Uli alliances going to war, and Sophi found new life with Uli majority members Rizo and Savannah.
Despite losing their ally Nate at the first merged vote, Rizo and Savannah took control of the game, reaching the final four with Sophi and outsider Sage. Sophi won the final immunity challenge and took Sage to the end; Savannah easily defeated Rizo at fire, and her firm control of the game throughout earned the jury's respect and the victory in a 5–2–1 vote over Sophi and Sage, respectively.
File:Modriki Island - panoramio.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The season filmed in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji.

Episodes


Voting history

;Notes

Reception

Survivor 49 received mixed reception from both critics and fans. While the personalities of Savannah and Rizo, as well as Savannah's winning gameplay and the entertainment value of the post-merge section were praised, the gameplay of the other castaways as well as the edit and the pre-merge section were criticized. Many also expressed feeling that the "new era" format of the show had begun to feel repetitive and uninteresting.

Controversy

During the sequester period at Ponderosa before day 1 of filming, some players were caught pregaming with each other. The situation became so severe that two original members from the Hina tribe, one male and one female, were ejected from the game before it started and replaced with Jason and MC, the alternates. Additionally, third place finisher Sage Ahrens-Nichols has alleged that two other castaways, Jake Latimer and Sophi Balerdi, also engaged in pregaming; these claims were corroborated by fellow castaway Annie Davis who was on the same starting tribe as Latimer and Balerdi.