Every “Survivor” fan has one season of the long-running reality competition series that sticks out as their all-time favorite.
Whether it’s because of the season’s most memorable castaways, unforgettable challenges, game-changing strategies, or just general “vibes,” fans have spent the last 25 years debating which of the series’ seasons deserves the accolade of the best “Survivor” season ever.
That being said, with 48 seasons wrapped to date, a 49th season currently on-the-air at CBS, and a milestone 50th season set to hit the network in February 2026, there’s plenty of room for the debate to continue.
Now, the cast of the currently-airing “Survivor 49” are weighing in, casting their votes for the ultimate season of “Survivor” in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. Here’s a closer look at what the latest batch of castaways had to say.
‘Survivor: Borneo’ – Annie Davis
CBSAlt-rock singer Annie Davis selected the very first season of “Survivor” as her standout favorite.
“I liked season 1, and I liked it so much because it was something like we had never seen,” Davis told EW. “It still is a show that combines things when you talk about the physical, the mental, the social, all of that.”
The castaway, who finished the currently-airing “Survivor 49” in 17th place, added that “Survivor: Borneo” has “stood the test of time.”
“It just blew the doors off of what reality TV could be back then and how we could challenge ourselves as humans and how much we like to watch each other struggle out in the world and say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re all going through this.’”
‘Survivor: The Australian Outback’ – Jeremiah Ing
CBSMoving forward, castaway Jeremiah Ing selected Season 2 – “Survivor: The Australian Outback” – as his personal favorite from the series.
“I love season 2,” he said. “That’s what I got hooked on, watching season 2 of ‘Survivor’ with my dad.”
Now 39, Ing added that he was just 14 years old when the sequel season aired all the way back in the spring of 2001.
“I bought the buff from the CBS store in New York,” he revealed. “There was just so much chaos during season 2.”
‘Survivor: Pearl Islands” – Steven Ramm
CBSNASA rocket scientist Steven Ramm jumped forward to 2003’s “Survivor: Pearl Islands” when selecting his all-time favorite season of the show, referring specifically to the introduction of fan favorite castaway Rupert Boneham as the deciding factor.
“I just think OG Rupert and that old-school play, it just is what made me fall in love with the show,” he explained. “And so, for me, it’s always like a warm glass of milk. It’s just very comforting, like a warm blanket.”
‘Survivor: Cook Islands’ – Alex Moore
CBSPolitical communications director Alex Moore revealed his “controversial” favorite season as 2006’s “Survivor: Cook Islands.”
The reason Moore referred to his pick as such is due to the fact that the season separated its tribes on the basis of players’ ethnicity.
“I know the racial aspect of it was definitely something that was scrutinized, and we have diverse casting now, which is great,” he admitted before revealing that his love for the season began when castaway Billy Garcia declared his love for Candice Woodcock at Tribal Council, despite never having had a proper conversation with her.
“I was dying. It had me ever since that because he said he won because he found love, and this girl had no idea,” Alex explained, adding that the rivalry between contestants Ozzy Lusth and Yul Kwon really pushed the season over the edge for him.
“That season brought everything, and iconic players who really played the game.”
‘Survivor: Micronesia’ – Sophi Balerdi
CBSWhile “Survivor 49” castaway Sophi Balerdi was tempted to select the iconic “Heroes vs. Villains” as her favorite season of all time, she ultimately landed on its predecessor “Survivor: Micronesia” – which saw the birth of Parvati Shallow’s infamous “Black Widow Brigade” alliance.
“Honestly, ‘Micronesia’ did a lot for me as a 12-year-old girl watching that for the first time – the girl power, the manipulation of men, and then probably [Parvati] winning to top it all off,” said Sophi. “Even though Cirie [Fields] winning would’ve been the cherry on top for me, but it was still good enough.”
“It just has everything you want with the blindsides and then a satisfying winner, too,” she added. “So I’m going to say ‘Micronesia.’ It was empowering as a woman to watch.”
‘Survivor: Tocantins’ – Rizo Velovic
CBSGiven his pre-game interviews, it’s no surprise that castaway Rizo Velovic – who previously declared former winner JT Thomas as his “Survivor” crush – selected “Survivor: Tocantins” as his favorite season of all time.
“‘Tocantins’ was the origination for me,” Velovic told EW. “I was an 8 or 9-year-old kid scrolling through the TV and I loved ‘Legends of the Hidden Temple.’ And I remember scrolling through the TV and I see Jeff [Probst] go, ‘JT, do you want this tooth back?’ JT is like, ‘Yeah.’ And then he flicks the tooth and I’m like … ‘I love this show!’”
Rizo similarly declared JT as his “favorite player of all time,” before adding that, in his opinion, the entire cast of “Tocantins” is composed of top-tier “Survivor” players.
“You got Stephen Fishbach, you got Coach [Wade], you got Tyson [Apostol], you got Taj [Johnson-George]. Even Erinn [Lobdell] was hilarious, Brendan [Synnott] was crazy. You got medevacs. I mean, you had an idol that was never played, the location,” Rizo gushed. “It’s got so many great character moments, and I think that’s what makes ‘Survivor’ what it is. It isn’t the advantages, it isn’t the idols, it’s the people playing the game.”
‘Survivor: Samoa’ – Jason Treul
CBSWhile plenty of the castaways on “Survivor 49” are openly superfans of the series, Jason Treul was the first to admit to EW that he hasn’t watched each and every season of the show.
In fact, Treul revealed that he only started watching the show when one of his favorite professional “Super Smash Bros.” players – Ken Hoang – joined the cast of “Survivor: Gabon” in 2008.
Despite his connection to “Gabon,” however, Jason revealed that 2009’s “Survivor: Samoa” is his all-time favorite season so far.
“It’s a historic season that changed the game forever. If you’re doing a ‘Survivor’-like history or paleontology or whatever, you need to observe and dissect ‘Samoa’ and the people’s reaction at the time live with the Russell Hantz of it all,” Truel explained. “I know that the gameplay was very lopsided and not everybody was an all-star there, but to understand ‘Survivor’ and to understand what kind of ‘Survivor’ fan you are, you need to watch ‘Samoa.’”
‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’ – Savannah Louie & Sophie Segreti
CBSBoth Savannah Louie and Sophie Segreti selected “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” as their all-time favorite “Survivor” season. Renowned for its iconic cast and stellar theme, both current castaways praised the show’s 10th anniversary season during their discussion with EW.
“It’s such a nostalgic season,” said Louie. “I remember watching it as it was airing and it was just so fun. It was also part of the time when ‘Survivor’ was really at its peak. For me, it’s not only just a great season to watch, but it’s also when you think about Christmas as a kid, it’s almost like ‘Survivor’ Christmas…You look back on that time and you’re like, ‘Dang, that was so fun.’”
Speaking as a longtime fan and a student of the game, Segreti added, “I think the gameplay was really great…I remember just watching it live and loving every second of seeing Sandra [Diaz-Twine] and Rob [Mariano] and just all my favorites back again.”
“Everyone has such fire, too,” she added. “You don’t always see that fire in the pit of somebody’s stomach with all of the contestants in all of the seasons, but in that season, you had it.”
‘Survivor: Cagayan’ – Kristina Mills, Nicole Mazullo, Nate Moore & Jawan Pitts
CBSOf all 48 completed seasons of “Survivor,” the cast of Season 49 overwhelmingly praised 2014’s “Survivor: Cagayan,” with four separate castaways – Kristina Mills, Nicole Mazullo, Nate Moore and Jawan Pitts – selecting the season as their all-time favorite.
“I think you just got a lot of really good players who you didn’t really start off liking too much, and by the end you’re like, ‘Okay, I get why you’re on the show,’” said Mills, specifically naming castaways like Sarah Lacina, Spencer Bledsoe, and the season’s eventual winner Tony Vlachos, who has since become the series’ first male two-time winner.
“That was the season that really hooked me on the show,” added Mazullo. “I saw Woo [Hawng] stealing Spencer’s note and I saw three grown men in their underwear running around the jungle chasing after one another over a piece of paper…I will never forget that feeling of being like, ‘Oh my God, this is it!’ That’s the best season, in my opinion.”
Former Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore echoed the sentiment, telling EW, “I thought there were great characters. I thought it was surprising. It looked big. It was wild. You could root for a lot of different people so you weren’t hung out to dry with only one protagonist…I just thought it was really entertaining.”
Finally, Jawan Pitts jumped on the “Cagayan” bandwagon: “The casting was just firing all cylinders. And I think it was the balance with the twists too…I feel like they just really trusted the cast and it was a perfect storm. Anytime I recommend it to anybody else, they’re hooked. It’s 100 percent acceptance rate.”
‘Survivor: Edge of Extinction’ – Matt Williams
CBSAs the oldest castaway on “Survivor 49,” Matt Williams surprised by selecting a relatively new season – 2019’s “Survivor: Edge of Extinction” – as his all-time favorite.
“When Chris [Underwood] was the third guy voted out, came back and won it, I don’t know it controversial is the right word, but it polarized the fan base,” Williams explained. “Everyone thinks it sucked and this guy played for a minute and a half and won the game. But I say good for him!”
“It was a unique season, and it proved that somebody could get booted and still win,” Matt added. “And I think it came together nicely. Just watch it.”
‘Survivor: Winners at War’ – Shannon Fairweather
CBSBoston native Shannon Fairweather selected the show’s 20th anniversary season, “Survivor: Winners at War,” – which welcomed back 20 former champions for a second shot at the title of “Sole Survivor” – as her personal favorite.
“I know that’s kind of a corny answer,” she admitted, “but I thought ‘40’ was so powerful.”
“There was just so much great gameplay in there…I loved the iconic players. I loved that they were all winners,” Shannon explained. “You had the fun dynamics of Wendell [Holland] and Michele [Fitzgerald], and Rob [Mariano] and Amber [Brkich], and then I’m crying because all their families are on both beaches…That was a great season.”
‘Survivor 44’ – Michelle ‘MC’ Chukwujekwu
CBSWhile the vast majority of the “Survivor 49” cast selected their favorite seasons from the “old era” of Survivor, castaway Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu broke that trend by naming “Survivor 44” as her favorite season to date.
A staunch defender of the “new era,” MC told EW, “My first-ever season of ‘Survivor’ watching was season 47. Since then, I’ve binged and watched a lot, but they all kind of blend together.”
That being said, MC revealed that she loved “Survivor 44,” mainly because of its winner, Yam Yam Arocho.
“I just loved him as a person from the beginning,” she said. “I wanted him to win. Even when he was getting close to the end, I didn’t think he would, but I wanted him to.”
‘Survivor 47’ – Sage Ahrens-Nichols & Jake Latimer
CBSFinally, some recency bias might’ve come into play for castaways Sage Ahrens-Nichols and Jake Latimer, both of whom selected “Survivor 47” as their all-time favorite.
Considering that “Survivor 48” wouldn’t have finished airing before they flew to Fiji to film “49,” the 2024 season would’ve been the last the players watched before beginning their own “Survivor” journeys.
“I’m going to be a schmoozer here, but I really genuinely do love season 47,” said Sage, who was actually an alternate for the season. “I just feel like that entire cast was such good vibes and I feel like they had such a blast playing it and it was so fun for me to watch it…Maybe it’s because I got to see them beforehand, but I’ve heard so many people be like, ‘Man, that’s an old-era cast in the new era.’ And I have to agree.”
Jake Latimer, who made “Survivor” history with his unprecedented medical evacuation earlier this season, similarly selected Season 47 as his favorite, telling EW, “There’s just a lot of action in that… I like watching Sam [Phelan], Genevieve [Mushaluk], Rachel [LaMont]. They were fun to watch. The casting department made absolute beautiful selections for that season.”
