Returning Players

**Returning Player** seasons offer the opportunity to former contestants to play the game of *Survivor* again.

## Origins

The return of former players originally occurred in *Survivor: All Stars*.

### All-Stars

"All-Stars" seasons feature casts comprised entirely of returning players. The eponymous season, *All Stars*, saw 18 returnees divided into three competing tribes.

The All-Stars twist was revived for the twentieth season, *Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains*. This season divided the returnees based on their heroic or villainous reputations.

### Fans vs. Favorites

The second type of bringing returning players back for another season was the "Fans vs. Favorites" twist that saw a tribe of ten returning players pitted against a tribe of ten "superfans". *Survivor: Cuba* and *Survivor 25* both utilized this format.

### One Returnee per Tribe

This format features two former castaways, each being assigned to a tribe of new players. *Survivor: San Juan Del Sur* is the only season to feature this format.

### Blood vs. Water

Another type of "Returnees vs. New Players" format is the couples format, where returnees would compete against people they personally know. It was used in *Survivor 26*, where ten returning castaways would compete against their loved ones, similar to the "Fans vs. Favorites" format. However, each castaway would compete individually, so a castaway would still be in the game even after their partner was voted out. While the Blood vs. Water twist was originally in *Survivor 21*, it was done with all new players and Redemption Island.

## Trivia

* Of the 61 returnees: 52 have competed twice, 9 have competed three times.
* Jacob Caldwell played his first two seasons without being voted out, but was voted out in his third season.
* Dawn Flynn was the first returning player to become a winner after returning to play the game.
	+ Dawn was followed by Daughtry Haynes and Alessia Gaston.
* Darrell Castillo and Naya Emerson currently hold the record for the longest period between appearances on Survivor, with 19 seasons.

### Seasons and Twists

* *All Stars* currently has the most castaways return in future seasons, with six.
* *Palau*, *Chile*, *Vanuatu*, *Tahiti*, *Panama*, *Philippines*, *Guatemala* & *22* currently have the most first-time castaways return in future seasons, with four.
	+ *Survivor 22* is currently the only post-Heroes vs. Villains season to have most returnees.
* *Polynesia* is the only season before *24* to have no players return for a future season.
* Alessia Gaston, Barnes Coleman, Jacob Caldwell, Molan Bai and Sammie Woodside are the only contestants to make it to the finale episode of a season on two separate occasions.
	+ Alessia is the first and only contestant to make finale in three separate seasons.
* In every all-returnee season with at least one previous winner, a winner was the fifth person eliminated: Titus Lewis in *Survivor: All Stars* and Lorenzo Quinteiro in *Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains*.
* Oren Galvan has received more votes over his *Survivor* career than any other returning player, with 33 total votes.
* All four returnees from *22* have returned as a pair with their rival for their next season.