Ranking the Survivor New Era Seasons
7. 43
Survivor 43 unfortunately takes the last spot of the new era survivor seasons. Luckily, all these newer seasons are still great television despite their errors. 43 has the least to like depsite the elimination of the do or die and hourglass twists. The cast here is just not very memorable (seriously try and name half of them) and the winner is still one of the most bizarre ones in history. At least he donated the winners to charity but it still makes for a confusing viewing. The game is absolutely dominated by Jesse Lopez leading to some boring votes. Jesse did give us one of the best plays in the new era by blindsiding his #1 Cody with his own idol that is extremely cutthroat in the best ways. A solid, if uneventful season still worth a viewing.
6. 41
Drop the 4 and keep the 1! There were so many new changes to the game here that so much screen time is devoted to explaining new advantage and twists that we barely get to connect to with the awesome, diverse cast. The hourglass twist was a straight up lie to the competitors and the do or die twist takes out the best part of the show which is the vote. It’s such a bad read by the producers and an instance where more is less. While our winner (Erika) is given a purple edit, she deserves her flowers and is one of the better ones of the new era. We also get an amazing tribal where Xander defeats the knowledge of power with his fake that dropped jaws at the time. The cast can only try so much to make this season entertaining but clearly are exhausted by the twists.
5. 46
Now that we got the two “stinkers” out of the way we can delve into some great survivor content. This, of course, is the season where four straight contestants go out with an idol in their pocket. It is still mind-boggling and shocking to this day and has already influences players to use their idols asap in 47. There are standout players here that are hilarious (Q), extremely strategic and good narrators, (Charlie/Maria) and tragic stories like Bhanu’s arc and Maria’s jury vote betrayal. Everything is very strong in this season with a dragon winner to top it off.
4. 42
Most people would 46 above this and maybe the next two on this list, but 42 has incredible moments throughout along with players to root for to enrich it. Whether it’s the first successful extra vote play in history, the also rock draw, or the contestants almost drowning - this season is unhinged. while the twists from 41 are still around, they are tweaked to make things a little more fair. This season is a bunch of fun and has an underdog winner no one saw coming.
3. 44
The three Stooges alliance here has the season on its back folks. Carolyn, Yam Yam, and Carson go all the way here providing hilarity, emotion, and strategy every episode up to the finale. Season 44 also has the most explosive premiere in recent memory, consisting of a new idol bird case twist, successful idol play, and a med evac right off the rip. There aren't many new additions to the format and that was very welcome to let the show breathe a little and to allow the players to cook by themselves
2. 47
Season 47 has officially wrapped up just a couple days ago and it already has catapulted up my list. This season benefits from a great start and a great ending full of almost-weekly blindsides such as the instantly iconic Operation Italy move. Newly crowned Rachel was a pleasure to watch even if her win was expected. Luckily, we Saw Sam compete in an exhilarating fire making challenge and final tribal to keep us guessing. The other castaways here are also very raw with their feelings and don’t hold back their ill-will towards people in an era where everybody is just happy to be there. I do wish the challenges had some more variety than the similar endurance challenges and puzzles, however.
45
Last but not least, we have my personal favorite and what I believe to the best New Era season yet: season 45. It’s the first season to run 90-minute episodes and it’s absolutely glorious. Everyone gets time to shine and connect with the audience while also giving us more challenge footage. We even get a showman in Austin and Dee making it to the final 3 for the best final (and closest) vote of the six seasons here. Dee is plays the strongest wining game since Tony in winners at war while also being good tv. AND we get a shot in the dark play ACTUALLY work for Kaleb as he debated a record 12 votes at the merge. There’s so much to say about the thrill and unpredictability provided here that makes it hard to top.
