Jury

## *Survivor* Gameplay

### Description

A group of recently eliminated contestants who vote to determine the Sole Survivor

### Appearances

Every season

The **jury** consists of a group of eliminated castaways (typically past the merge portion of the competition) that return to witness the remaining castaways' actions at Tribal Council. The information they take in from these visits is supposed to help them decide who to vote for to win the cash prize and the title of Sole Survivor at the end of the game. They are usually forbidden to speak, with the exception of the Final Tribal Council, where they are allowed to address the finalists and ask them questions. The number of castaways on the jury ranges from seven to ten depending on the season.

## Post-Elimination

When *Survivor* jury members get voted out, they are whisked away to a camp called Jury Villa (not to be confused with the base camp where the production crew stays). The 10 play website allows fans to see what happens behind the scenes as jury members enter the camp and re-assimilate to life in the outside world. Jury members stay at Jury Villa until the day after Final Tribal Council and are transported to every Tribal Council to get a glimpse at what is happening with the remaining castaways who are still in the running. While at Jury Villa, cast-offs enjoy movies, all the food they can eat, special excursions, bedding, showers, and many other luxuries not permitted during the game of *Survivor*. Additionally, the contestants get a chance to ponder on who they will vote for as the winner of the show, and conversations between the jurors at Jury Villa can decide the outcome of the season.

## Final Tribal Council

On the final day of the game, at the Final Tribal Council, after hearing the finalists' opening words, every jury member gives their jury speech, giving a chance to ask them a question or make a comment regarding their game and the moves they made. After all jurors have spoken, the finalists give their final statements, trying to convince the jury members to vote for them. The jury then votes for a winner.

Beginning with *Heroes v Villains*, a new format for the Final Tribal Council was introduced. In addition to having each jury member speak one by one, the host would now moderate an open discussion to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists.

## Trivia

* Luke Toki, Locky Gilbert, Harry Hills, Shonee Bowtell, Brooke Jowett, Flick Palmateer, Sam Webb and Shaun Hampson are tied for most times on an *Australian Survivor* jury, each of them appearing on two juries.
* The largest jury in *Australian Survivor* history is the 10-person jury of *Blood v Water*.
* Tessa O'Halloran holds the distinction of being the first castaway to be eliminated during the jury phase and not be present at the Final Tribal Council, as Jericho Malabonga voted her off the jury on Day 50 of *Australian Survivor* (2016) as part of the Juror Removal twist. She would be followed by Lee Carseldine in *All Stars*, who was evacuated due to his sick mother, and Shonee Bowtell in *Heroes v Villains*, who was voted off the jury on Day 45 by the final four.
* *Heroes v Villains* featured an 8-person jury made up exclusively of returning players, with the final three being new players.