Survivor 41

Survivor 41 is the forty-first season of .
After spending a year and a half on hiatus, Survivor returned for a new era, promising a more dangerous, fast-paced experience in a condensed 26-day game with the introduction of several novel twists. As the first season to be filmed following the adoption of the diversity initiative for CBS reality programming, Survivor 41 also focused on social commentary with its portrayal of the rise and fall of the All-Black Alliance. The season concluded with Erika Casupanan defeating Deshawn Radden and Xander Hastings in a 7-1-0 vote to become the first female Sole Survivor in 7 seasons.
==Production==
Production for the 41st and 42nd seasons were delayed due to the . As has been the norm since , the seasons were scheduled to be filmed back-to-back beginning in March 2020, but had to be put on hold due to the global outbreak of the coronavirus. Prior to the Fijian government allowing production to enter, domestically filming both seasons either in Georgia or Hawaii was considered.
In March 2021, it was announced that production for the two seasons had resumed in Fiji, but due to mobility issues, the production team modified their protocols to ensure the cast and crew's safety such as using a staggered arrival scheme. Each crew member and contestant had to test negative and be quarantined for 14 days. Production also coordinated with the Fijian Ministries of and , as well as the to establish a safe "bubble" within a chain of islands to be used as base camp, tribe camps, challenge sites and Tribal Council, allowing free movement within the bubble and prohibiting physical interaction outside of it.https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-22/fiji-positioned-to-become-tv-movie-production-hub/100717248 408 Fijian crew members were employed for the production of seasons 41 and 42.
This season was filmed over 26 days, 13 days shorter than the standard 39-day timeline due to the 1/3 of the production schedule being allocated for quarantine. To keep the shorter game just as challenging, the tribes were given fewer supplies and no food rations. Items won on Reward Challenges were also scarce. 
In response to complaints from past Survivor contestants about the fact that contestants only received one pair of underwear for the duration of the game, thus exposing them to urinary tract infections, production gave extra pairs of underwear to contestants with vaginas.
Beginning in 41, seasons will no longer be named after twists or overarching themes and will simply be identified by their season number.https://variety.com/2021/tv/features/jeff-probst-survivor-format-1235065597/ 
For the first time since , the winner was announced on location. In place of a live reunion show, a "deep dive" episode, also filmed on location moments after the Final Tribal Council took place with the finalists and jurors in attendance. According to Tiffany Seely, the jury and the finalists received $10,000 for appearing in the after-show immediately following the Final Tribal Council.https://robhasawebsite.com/survivor-41-tiffany-seely-deep-dive/ This on-location after-show would carry into all subsequent seasons for the foreseeable future.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-42-finale-jeff-probst-winner-interview/
===Casting===
In response to criticism over lack of racial diversity in its reality programming, CBS announced in November 2020 that Survivor and its other reality shows must cast at least 50% beginning with the 2021-2022 television season. Crew members will also have the same composition for a fairer representation of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds in the edited show. However, due to the year-long delay of the production on this season and the subsequent forty-second season, Survivor 41 was the first season to be cast after CBS announced this mandate.
Jeff Probst stated that contestants from the show's first 20 years will not be asked to return in the foreseeable future, though he has recanted his stance on this matter.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-jeff-probst-returning-players/
According to eventual contestant Zach Wurtenberger, the original cast of Survivor 41 were to be himself, Brad Reese, Erika Casupanan, Danny McCray, David Voce, Heather Aldret, Jonathan Young, Tori Meehan, Cassidy Clark, Jesse Lopez, Bruce Perreault and Matthew Grinstead-Mayle that were supposed to leave on March 2020. While Brad, Danny, Erika, Heather, and Voce were retained for this season, some of the contestants were eventually re-cast in future seasons: Jonathan, Tori, and Zach on Survivor 42; Cassidy and Jesse on ; and Bruce and Matthew on .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq93Hpn6Cpg
Tiffany Seely was brought onto the season last-minute as an alternate to replace future Survivor 42 contestant Lindsay Dolashewich, who had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the cast flying to Fiji.https://robhasawebsite.com/survivor-41-tiffany-seely-deep-divehttps://robhasawebsite.com/survivor-42-episode-11-recap/ (0:57:00)
===Game Within the Game===
A Survivor first, viewers will be given the opportunity to solve rebus puzzles hidden throughout the course of the episode, whether at challenges, Tribal Council, or in underwater shots; after which fans may answer online. The answers to the puzzles are iconic lines from the series' history.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-41-jeff-probst-home-game-within-the-game/ Jeff Probst explained the minigame was aimed for the younger audience and aspiring contestants.
==Twists/Changes==
* Shortened Game: The game lasted for 26 days, 13 days shorter than the standard 39. To retain the difficulty of a 39-day game in a shorter season, no food rations and limited camp supplies are given to the castaways and reward items won in challenges are scarce. This format has subsequently become the standard for all future seasons, except in the case of "special" seasons.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/controversial-twists/id1673596832?i=1000610798404
* Tribe Division: The 18 castaways were divided into 3 tribes of 6. No unifying theme was used in dividing the tribes.
* Penalties for Losing Immunity Challenges: As part of keeping the shorter season just as difficult, tribes that lost the Immunity Challenge had their flint taken away until the next time they win. 
* Shot in the Dark: By sacrificing one's vote at Tribal Council, a player in trouble may invoke this advantage for a chance to be immune at any vote until there were seven players left. While the chance of a favorable outcome was slim, if successful, the play acted as if a Hidden Immunity Idol was played.https://heavy.com/entertainment/survivor/season-41-jeff-probst-shot-in-the-dark/
* Journeys: Castaways from different tribes were taken to another island where they were given a choice between protecting or risking their vote on their next visit to Tribal Council. If all of them chose "protect", they kept their votes. If all of them chose "risk", none of them were able to vote at their next Tribal Council. If there was a split decision, those who chose "protect" get to keep their vote, but those who chose "risk" obtained a game advantage. The advantages available through this method were:https://ew.com/tv/recaps/survivor-season-41-episode-1/ 
** Extra Vote: A castaway may vote twice at any Tribal Council until there were six players left.
** Vote Steal: On Day 6, a Beware Advantage was planted at each camp, inviting its finder to meet members of the other tribes where they individually chose between taking a free tarp or a Vote Steal.
** Knowledge is Power: This advantage entitles one player to ask another castaway if they possess a Hidden Immunity Idol or an advantage at Tribal Council. If the target has either item in their possession, the player may steal it from them; otherwise, the advantage was rendered null. In the event that the target had more than one advantage in possession, they may decide which advantage to give up and do not need to reveal every advantage they had. This advantage can be played until there were six players left.
* Beware Advantages: Game advantages were hidden at camp in packages labelled "Beware Advantage", the contents of which may only be obtained if its finder opened it and fulfilled its demands; otherwise, they would lose their votes. The advantages that were disguised as a Beware Advantage were:
**Hidden Immunity Idols: Each camp had one idol, that if found, its finder had to utter a certain code before an Immunity Challenge, and if members of the other tribes respond with their own code sentences, all three idols will have power. Until then, the idols remained powerless and their finders without a vote at Tribal Council. If the conditions were not met before the merge, all three idols will be rendered powerless, though their owners will be able to vote again.
* Double Tribal Council: On Day 3, only the first place tribe won immunity, sending the two other tribes to Tribal Council to vote out one person each.
* Earn the Merge and : The 12 remaining survivors abandoned their tribe colors and competed in an Immunity Challenge in 2 teams of 5. The winning team earned individual immunity, a spot in the merge tribe and merge feast, and the power to choose which of the 2 players who sat out from the challenge will be joining them. The last player unpicked was sent to Exile Island until the next Immunity Challenge.
** Hourglass Advantage: The exiled player would be presented with an hourglass. If the player wished to "reverse" the events of the challenge, they must destroy the hourglass, stripping the winning team's immunity. The exiled player and the members of the losing team would be given individual immunity instead, while the members of the winning team would be forced to compete in the individual Immunity Challenge.
* Double Elimination: On Day 17, the Viakana tribe was subjected to a Double Elimination, where the tribe was divided into two groups of five and two castaways were eliminated through two separate Tribal Councils.
* : On Day 21, the first player to be eliminated from the Immunity Challenge was subjected to a game called "Do or Die", the mechanics of which were identical to the . At Tribal Council, the player had to select the box with the fire symbol to win individual immunity. If the chosen box contained a skull symbol instead, the player would be eliminated from the game with no official vote taking place and any advantage or Hidden Immunity Idols owned by the player cannot save them. The castaways were given the option to sit out of the Immunity Challenge if they did not want to take the risk.
* Simplified Final Four Tribal Council: Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the final four Immunity Challenge got to choose one person to take with them to the Final Three. The remaining two castaways competed in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be eliminated.
* Expanded Jury and Final Three: The Final Tribal Council was held with a Final Three facing an eight-person jury.
* Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Instead of having each jury member speak individually, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists. Unlike the previous format introduced in however, the discussion was no longer divided into three portions ("outwit", "outplay", and "outlast"), making for a more free-flowing exchange between the jurors and the finalists.
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Eric Abraham50, San Antonio, TXCyber Security Analyst	 	 	 	5
 	Sara Wilson23, Boston, MAHealthcare Consultant 	 	 	 	4
 	David Voce34, Chicago, ILNeurosurgeon 	 	 	 	3
 	Brad Reese49, Shawnee, WYRancher 	 	 	 	4
 	JD Robinson20, Oklahoma City, OKCollege Student 	 	 	 	4
 	Genie Chen46, Portland, ORGrocery Clerk 	 	 	 	3
 	Sydney Segal25, Brooklyn, NYLaw Student 	 	 	 	5
 	Tiffany Seely47, Plainview, NYTeacher 	 	rowspan="11" 	 	8
 	Naseer Muttalif36, Morgan Hill, CASales Manager 	 	 	8 	
 	Evvie Jagoda28, Arlington, MAPh.D. Student 	 	 	7 	
 	Shan Smith34, Washington, DCPastor 	 	 	9 	
 	Liana Wallace20, Washington, DCCollege Student 	 	 	10 	
 	Danny McCray33, Frisco, TXEx-NFL Player 	 	 	7 	
 	Ricard Foyé31, Sedro-Woolley, WAFlight Attendant 	 	 	9 	
 	Heather Aldret52, Charleston, SCStay-at-home Mom 	 	 	5 	
 	Xander Hastings20, Chicago, ILApp Developer 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	2 	
 	Deshawn Radden25, Miami, FLMedical Student 	 	Runner-Up 	7 	
 	Erika Casupanan31, Toronto, ONCommunications Manager 	 	Sole Survivor 	2 	
==Season Summary==
With the game shortened to just 26 days, the 18 castaways were subjected to a more brutal and relentless Survivor experience, having to live with fewer supplies, subsist on no food rations, and negotiate a barrage of game advantages. The majority of these advantages came from brief journeys to a separate island where castaways from each tribe could choose to risk their vote at a future Tribal Council for the chance at winning an advantage. Another added layer to the game was Hidden Immunity Idols being concealed in "Beware Advantages" and the Shot in the Dark mechanic.
Yase suffered from initial disunity, but rallied after losing the first two Immunity Challenges. Ua suffered a more extensive losing streak and quickly whittled down to just the alliance of Shan and Ricard, the former of whom acquired the tribe's Hidden Immunity Idol and advantages through a series of deceptions and betrayals. Despite reaching the individual portion of the game as a full tribe of six, Luvu was plagued by paranoia surrounding their enigmatic tribemate Erika, even attempting to throw Immunity Challenges to eliminate her. 
After an unusual merge on Day 12, Liana defected from Yase, having earlier forged an unbreakable bond with Shan during a trip to the Summit. The two women also recruited Danny and Deshawn to form an alliance of all the remaining African-American players in the game. Though this alliance was initially successful in voting out Liana's former Yase allies, they later suffered from miscommunication and infighting, particularly between Deshawn and Shan. This culminated on Day 19, when Danny and Deshawn joined the rest of the tribe in splitting the vote between Liana and Shan, eliminating the latter with the Ua idol in her pocket.
In the wake of Shan's departure, Ricard formed a new majority alliance with Erika, Heather, and Xander, eliminating the remnants of Shan's alliance until only Deshawn remained. Deshawn was spared however, after Erika led the charge to oust Ricard at the final five, citing him as the biggest jury threat remaining. On Day 25, Xander won the Final Immunity Challenge and chose Erika to join him in the Final Three. This subjected Deshawn and Heather to the fire-making challenge, which Deshawn narrowly won.
At the Final Tribal Council, Xander was praised for his overall congeniality, but was criticized for his lack of social awareness. Deshawn was lauded for his strong social relationships, but was chided for his sloppy and temperamental gameplay. Erika was highlighted for her role in orchestrating major power shifts without being seen as a large threat, but was questioned for not making enough close bonds with everyone. In the end, Erika's strategic acumen won the jury over, and she was awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 7-1-0 vote.
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* Survivor 41 is the first season of to not have a subtitle. The working title for the season during pre-production was Survivor: Dawn of a New Era, but this subtitle was scrapped prior to filming.
** did not have a subtitle when it aired, but was retroactively given one, making this the second season to air without a subtitle.
* Survivor 41 is the first season to have castaways born in the 2000s, and the first season to have castaways born after the premiere of Borneo.
* Survivor 41 is the first season to last fewer than 39 days.
** It is the second season to not last 39 days, after which lasted 42 days. 
*Survivor 41 is the first season to enact the CBS diversity initiative where at least 50% of the cast was BIPOC.
**This is the first season since to have at least 50% of the cast be people of color.
**This is the first season to contain six Black contestants.
*Survivor 41 was tied with , , and for the most openly LGBT contestants at the time of filming with 3: Evvie, Genie, and Ricard. This record was broken by with 5.
**After filming, Evvie came out as non-binary (using they/them as pronouns).https://twitter.com/EvvieJagoda This is the first time someone has changed their gender identity between filming and airing.
**With Erika coming out as lesbian in 2023,https://www.instagram.com/p/C1fKTCgxS5k/ Survivor 41 officially has 4 LGBT contestants. 
*Survivor 41 is the first season to contain multiple Canadian contestants: Erika and Shan.
**In addition, Survivor 41 is the first season to be won by a Canadian contestant since the rule allowing Canadian residents to participate was adopted prior to Island of the Idols.
*Survivor 41 is the first season since , and the first season with three starting tribes, to not have a tribe switch.
* Survivor 41 is the first season with three starting tribes where every tribe had someone sit out of at least one challenge.
*Survivor 41 breaks the record previously set in Game Changers for most contestants immune at a single Tribal Council; 7 contestants had individual immunity at the final 12 Tribal Council. This would be tied by the next two seasons.
**Survivor 41 also sets the record for most contestants to be immune at any Tribal Council; a total of 10 contestants had individual immunity this season.
*Survivor 41 is the first season since without any votes negated by a Hidden Immunity Idol.
**Survivor 41 is the first season since in which at least one idol was played, but no idols negated any votes.
*Survivor 41 is tied with , , and Kaôh Rōng for most tie votes, with 3.
**Because all 3 ties occurred after the merge, Survivor 41 holds the record for most post-merge tie votes.
*Survivor 41 is the first season since Game Changers to be won by a woman, breaking a six-season streak of male winners, the longest gendered streak of winners in the series' history.
**Erika also set the record for the highest percent of jury votes of any woman on the American version with 7/8 or 87.5%.
==References==
41
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
 
Category:Seasons with a reused location