After competing on “Survivor” three different times, show star—and “Survivor: Australia” winner—Tina Wesson has a pitch for CBS and Jeff Probst.
Wesson was the very first woman to win “Survivor,” besting Colby Donaldson on the show’s second-ever season back in 2001. She later returned for “Survivor: All-Stars” in 2003, before her third and, for now, final appearance on 2013’s “Survivor: Blood vs. Water,” alongside her daughter, Katie Collins.
Now, in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Wesson reveals what she would like to see as a show concept in the future—a concept that could, technically, also bring her back into the fold yet again.
Tina’s ‘Survivor’ Pitch Revealed
Speaking with EW, Wesson was asked which former contestant she’d like to see return to the show. Her answer, however, was larger than just any one player.
“I don’t think I have one person that I’d like to see come back,” she replied. “I think what I would like for a future season is the people who were first voted off.”
“I feel like we all have this desire to play the game, right?” she continued. “And we go through all the hoops that we have to do to get on the show. And the people who are first off, my heart breaks for them, because it’s not fair. I’m still all about fair, and I just want to see a season where they all get a chance to come back and really play the game.”
That would, technically, include Wesson herself—as she was eliminated first when she returned for “All Stars,” where others saw her as a big threat as a former winner.
“I had my chances, so I’m okay with that,” she said of her own experience having her torch snuffed first. “But [it’s about] the people who really, I don’t feel like got a fair shake, or they got a fair shake, but they were first off. So I want them all to come back.”
Tina and Colby’s Other Request
In the same interview, Wesson also expressed her desire for castaways to be stranded for a longer period of time. While many of the early seasons had contestants competing for 39 days—or 42 for the Outback season—the length has shortened post-COVID to just 26 days.
“Go back to 42 [days],” she told EW. “39, 42. I don’t think what they do is legit.”
“I think that it doesn’t really capture the hardness of it,” she added. “By doing the short season, you don’t really capture how horrible and hard it is.”
Wesson’s Season 2 costar Colby Donaldson also spoke with the publication, agreeing with Tina’s wish for a longer competition.
“I think it ought to be extended again. And it’s a completely different game to have to go what we did 42 days — still the only season in the history of the show that’s gone 42 days — or even 39 days. I went 37 out of 39 in ‘Heroes vs. Villains,'” he shared. “There’s an added level of stress and wear and tear on you when you’ve got to compete for that long. And there is a survival aspect to the game. The game’s very different now, and I don’t know that the survival aspect of it exists in its current state with a 26-day game.”
“And at this point, we’ve done a lot of 26-day seasons,” he continued. “So let’s stretch it out for one and surprise the heck out of them — both the fans and also those that are there to compete. I think it’d be great to see a 39 or 42-day season.”
