While CBS confirmed during the finale of “Survivor 50” that the show’s forthcoming 51st season would once again feature a cast of brand-new first-time players, it seems fans won’t have to wait long to see some of their favorite former castaways return to TV screens.
The exciting news comes as “Survivor: Cagayan” & “Survivor: Cambodia” star Reiman Bledsoe (formerly known as Spencer) announced his self-produced documentary series – “Surviving Reality” – revealing that the project will star as many as 11 former castaways, including fan favorite players like Sean Rector (“Marquesas”), Todd Herzog (“China”), Corinne Kaplan (“Gabon”), Mary Zheng (“48”) and more.
Everything We Know About the ‘Surviving Reality’ Docu-Series So Far
According to the documentary’s Instagram page, “Surviving Reality” will follow “former reality TV contestants as they journey into Ecuador’s Amazon jungle for cultural immersion, medicine and truth.”
The forthcoming series was spearheaded by none other than Reiman Bledsoe, who “Survivor” fans will better remember as Spencer from both “Survivor: Cagayan” and “Survivor: Cambodia – Second Chance.”
“When 11 former reality stars journey deep into the Amazon jungle for a radical healing retreat, they must confront their hidden patterns, unearth past traumas, and face the hardest challenge yet: themselves,” Bledsoe wrote on his own Instagram account, announcing “Surviving Reality.”
While we don’t have many details about the docu-series at present – Reiman promised fans that a “thrilling teaser” will be coming later this summer – we do know that the cast will feature 11 former “Survivor” castaways, including:
- Reiman (Spencer) Bledsoe (“Survivor: Cagayan” & “Survivor: Cambodia”)
- Sean Rector (“Survivor: Marquesas”)
- John Carroll (“Survivor: Marquesas”)
- Todd Herzog (“Survivor: China”)
- Corinne Kaplan (“Survivor: Gabon” & “Survivor: Caramoan”)
- J’Tia Taylor (“Survivor: Cagayan”)
- Shirin Oskooi (“Survivor: Worlds Apart” & “Survivor: Cambodia”)
- Ken Cole McKnickle (“Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X”)
- Kendra McQuarrie (“Survivor 45”)
- Gabe Ortis (“Survivor 46”)
- Mary Zheng (“Survivor 48”)
“Thanks to the ancestral wisdom of sacred plant medicines, indigenous shamans, our gracious hosts at Sinchi Warmi, our stellar director [Cassie Jaye] and our Ecuador-based crew who survived countless tests during our shoot last November, we are so excited to share the journey with you,” Bledsoe added.
It remains unclear when or where “Surviving Reality” will air, though fans can expect the documentary series to shed some light on the mental, physical and emotional toll that playing “Survivor” can leave behind after the cameras stop rolling.
What Has Spencer/Reiman Been Up to Since ‘Survivor’?
CBS“Surviving Reality” is Bledsoe’s first public project since finishing 2015’s “Survivor: Cambodia” as its runner-up, which, in turn, followed his fourth place finish on 2014’s “Survivor: Cagayan.”
During his time on the competition series, Reiman was known as not only a strategic powerhouse, making it all the way to the finale during both of his appearances, but also as an almost robotic, oftentimes emotionless player.
While Bledsoe seemed to be a legend-in-the-making on par with contemporaries like Tony Vlachos and Jeremy Collins, he noticeably faded away from the franchise following his second defeat, only to resurface in 2020 to open up about the “serious psychological harm” he endured after spending 77 days on the “Survivor” island.
Though he’d previously worked as an investment banking trader, Reiman – who started going by his middle name shortly after his twin “Survivor” seasons – later pursued an M.A. in Psychology and entered the mental health field.
“The past few years have been a massive psychedelic trip of unpacking chaos and seeking truth,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2020. “I’ve found myself meditating for thousands of hours, including a three-month silent retreat this past fall; I’ve found myself working with plant medicine in Central and South America, and I’ve found myself meditating intensively and learning Buddhism from a monk and nun in rural Nepal.”
Expanding on what he’s been up to since “Survivor,” Bledsoe continued, “[I’ve] been asking questions about life and seeking answers, not just in spiritual practices, but in people and vagabonds – hippies, backpackers, holotropic breathworkers, yogis, skeptics, ayahuasqueros, lost souls and free spirits. I came to see these people whose paths crossed my own, whether at monasteries, hostels, or trails, similarly to how I view fellow ‘Survivor’ contestants: as strangers from another walk of life on one hand, but on the other hand, as mirrors – fellow travelers of this wild human experience who, simply by existing as social creatures, hold up a mirror and offer me the chance to learn something about myself.”
Would Spencer/Reiman Ever Play ‘Survivor’ Again?
CBSWhile Bledsoe has been vocal about the difficulties about re-acclimatizing to regular life after competing on “Survivor,” he added that he’d consider playing the game again in the future, albeit with a different approach.
“‘Survivor’ needs to be radically reinvented,” he told EW. “It can be so much more than the hodge-podge of advantages that it devolved into…To overcome this long dark age, though, it’s going to take a lot: I’m talking about taking all advantages out, taking all manufactured drama and twist-y-ness out, and refocusing on characters, personalities, and journeys. I’m talking about a season where there is no voting for the first few weeks, or where the tribes have to actually create their own structures and/or mechanisms for voting, elect leaders and form worlds.”
“If I ever play again,” he continued, “I’m going to blaze the trails for a new non-strategic paradigm in ‘Survivor’ because SPOILER ALERT: There are only so many ways to determine that one number is bigger than another. The ‘game’ of it isn’t very interesting anymore. It is counting. Counting on steroids, but nonetheless, counting.”
Instead, Reiman called for a return to form for the series.
“The show started as a social experiment dropping strangers from different walks of life on an island and forcing them to create a new world together,” he said, adding, “That’s the single best concept television has ever seen…and it used to be something incredible.”
“The chaotic sea of fifty thousand different advantages and people whispering [stuff] you can’t even here at Tribal has been fun, I guess, but come on. Let’s not worry about what silly twist will retain one hundred thousand more viewers.. And remember why this show captured the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers in the first place,” he concluded.
