Survivor: Winners at War

***Survivor: Winners at War*** is the fortieth season of *Survivor*.

This season featured twenty of the show's previous winners to commemorate its 20th anniversary. Tony Vlachos beat Natalie Anderson and Michele Fitzgerald in a 12-4-0 vote, becoming the series' second two-time winner.

## Production

The season was filmed in May–June 2019, two weeks after *Survivor: Island of the Idols*.

Much like every previous season to feature an all-returning player cast, challenge producer John Kirhoffer revealed that classic challenges return to commemorate the show's 40th season and 20th anniversary.

The pay scale for the season is significantly increased, with the winner receiving $2,000,000. The first person voted out is guaranteed to take home at least $25,000 instead of the standard $2,500.

Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, who both appeared as mentors on *Island of the Idols*, only had two weeks to prepare for the upcoming season.

Due to an unprecedented incident of inappropriate touching in *Island of the Idols*, beginning this season, new guidelines regarding personal space, inappropriate behavior and how to report violations were imposed. Anti-harassment, unconscious bias and sensitivity training were also given to cast and crew members alike pre-production.

The announcement of the winner was done virtually due to the outbreak of COVID-19. As such, there was no reunion show for the season. The contestants, however, were all in the video conference to witness the announcement of the winner.

### Casting

According to host Jeff Probst, the cast was assembled to equally represent winners from the earlier seasons, the middle, and the more recent seasons. Despite initial hesitancy from some who came back, according to Probst, nobody refused.

The past winners who did not make the cast were:

* Richard Hatch (*Borneo*), who was initially invited and was set to compete, but was cut due to his controversial actions during *All-Stars*, the memory of which Probst felt would not sit well with the modern audience, especially following a recent similar incident during *Island of the Idols*.
* Tina Wesson (*The Australian Outback*), Tom Westman (*Palau*) and Todd Herzog (*China*), who were invited, but cut from the final roster.
* Vecepia Towery (*Marquesas*), Brian Heidik (*Thailand*), Jenna Morasca (*The Amazon*), Bob Crowley (*Gabon*) and Mike Holloway (*Worlds Apart*), who were not contacted.
* Aras Baskauskas (*Panama*), who was invited, but declined.
* Earl Cole (*Fiji*), who was invited, but declined in order to take care of his wife who was undergoing premature labor at the time.
* Chris Daugherty (*Vanuatu*)
* J.T. Thomas (*Tocantins*)
* Natalie White (*Samoa*)
* Fabio Birza (*Nicaragua*)
* John Cochran (*Caramoan*), who was invited and would have been given a spot, but stood by his previous statement to never play again.
* Chris Underwood (*Edge of Extinction*), who was invited, but declined as he received the call on his wedding day.
* Tommy Sheehan (*Island of the Idols*), who was not invited because he would not have known that he won at the time of filming, as *Island of the Idols* and *Winners at War* were filmed only three weeks apart and the former season had yet to air.

## Twists/Changes

* **Returning Winners:** Twenty former *Survivor* winners returned for a chance to win another Sole Survivor title.
* **Increased Prize Money:** For this season, the winner received $2,000,000, the biggest prize given in the series and reality television history. Further, the pay scale was significantly increased, with the player finishing last receiving at least $25,000.
* **Fire Tokens:** A new twist, Fire Tokens allowed the castaways to purchase creature comforts, food, or game advantages.
* **Edge of Extinction:** The Edge of Extinction returned this season with the same rules and premise, but the inclusion of Fire Tokens added a supply and demand system between those still in the game and those who were on the Edge of Extinction.
	+ **Effort Tasks:** The players living on the Edge of Extinction will have to perform tasks requiring herculean effort to earn Fire Tokens.
* **Hidden Immunity Idol:** A Hidden Immunity Idol was hidden at each camp. However, these idols had two halves, one of which had to be given to another castaway before sundown on the same day that it was found. When combined, both halves worked as a regular idol.
* **Edge of Extinction advantages:** The following game advantages were available thru the Edge of Extinction and sold by its finder to a castaway still in the game before sundown on the same day that it was found:
	+ **Temporary Hidden Immunity Idols:** These idols were only usable for three Tribal Councils after they are purchased.
	+ **Safety Without Power:** The castaway was able to leave Tribal Council before the vote, effectively making them immune, at the cost of not voting. This advantage was usable until there were 10 active castaways left.
	+ **Vote Steal:** A vote steal was hidden at the opposing tribe's camp, which the purchaser must retrieve the night after the transaction was completed.
	+ **Idol Nullifier:** This advantage would have been able to void the use of a Hidden Immunity Idol and would have been usable until there are 5 active castaways left.
	+ **50/50 Coin:** The player who purchased the coin may use it at any Tribal Council up until there were 7 active players left. If flipped and landed on "safe" the player who used it became immune the same way a Hidden Immunity Idol would.
	+ **Extortion Advantage:** Found on the Edge of Extinction, the eliminated player who found it gave the power to "extort" an active castaway into giving them an amount of Fire Tokens of their choosing before the next Immunity Challenge. The demand had to be met before the next Immunity Challenge.
	+ **Challenge Disadvantage:** Once purchased, an active player was able to anonymously disadvantage another person at the Day 34 Immunity Challenge.
* **Tribe Expansion:** With 15 active castaways left, a tribe expansion occurred, introducing the Yara​ tribe.
* **Double Tribal Council:** On Day 16, only the first place tribe won immunity, sending both losing tribes to Tribal Council to vote out one person each.
* **Merge:** This season merged with 12 castaways in the game; eleven in the main game and one from the Edge of Extinction.
* **Simplified Final Four Tribal Council:** Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the Final 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.
* **Final Three and Expanded Jury:** Three finalists faced a 16-person jury.
* **Reformatted Final Tribal Council:** Instead of having each jury member speak one by one, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists.