The US version of the castaway competition Survivor made a comeback on Wednesday, with 18 new competitors vying for the title of Sole Survivor and a $1 million (£789,000) reward.
As another season of endurance and plotting began, Jeff Probst returned as the host. Each of the contestants shared their unique story with Parade before the first episode kicked off, including a Yale-educated pizza entrepreneur, a stunt performer who aspires to be a pilot, a flight attendant, a finance manager, and several firefighters.
While they all come from different backgrounds, they all arrived at Survivor with the same purpose: survive the weather, the whims and turns of the “new era” and eventually, each other to become a million dollars richer.
Participants were split up into three tribes, each consisting of six people, for the first episode. Here’s the full cast:
Civa Tribe
Chrissy Sarnowsky
Age: 55
Occupation: Fire Lieutenant
Being traditional by nature, the 55-year-old dislikes those who “cheat” by studying puzzles before the season. In order to escape the burden and strain of being the leader, she aspires to become the “cool aunt” of her tribe as the oldest competitor this season.
David Kinne
Age: 39
Occupation: Stunt Performer
The 39-year-old acknowledges that he hadn't watched Survivor in decades before entering the competition. He revealed he wanted to compete as a challenge for himself rather than as a fan. Despite his minimal knowledge of the show, Kinne is maintaining his self-assured stance. He believes he has the physical prowess and the social skills, to win the million dollars.
Charity Nelms
Age: 34
Occupation: Flight attendant
Charity Nelms has drastically transformed herself over the past ten years, getting rid of extra weight, working as a flight attendant, and using her personal health journey to teach others about fitness. She is excited to embark on the challenges that Survivor brings.
Kamilla Karthigesu
Age: 31
Occupation: Software engineer
Kamilla Karthigesu’s two greatest aspirations have been to participate on Survivor and work as a game developer, but she has continuously turned down both. She hopes to tick the Survivor one off her list and prove those who underestimate her wrong.
Kyle Fraser
Age: 31
Occupation: Lawyer
Kyle Fraser was a teacher before becoming a lawyer. He hopes that his charisma and strategies will help him advance but acknowledges that his impulsivity could hurt his chances. But he's determined to actually take the plunge, whether he'll drown or swim.
Mitch Guerra
Age: 34
Occupation: PE coach
Mitch Guerra acknowledges that having a speech impairment as a child forced him to learn empathy and resilience the hard way. And as a marathon and Ironman competitor, Guerra arrives at Survivor 48 in the best physical condition of his life.
Lagi Tribe
Bianca Roses
Age: 33
Occupation: PR consultant
The 33-year-old, who recently became independent with her own business, has over ten years of experience in public relations. Having developed a knack for relationship management and storytelling, she thinks her abilities, along with her upbeat and cheerful personality, will help her attract a new clientele on the island.
Eva Erickson
Age: 24
Occupation: PhD Candidate
Eva Erickson isn’t letting her autism diagnosis or PhD at Brown University stop her from pursuing Survivor. She proved she was in it to win it when she broke the gender stereotypes by becoming the first female captain of her men's hockey team.
Joe Hunter
Age: 45
Occupation: Fire captain
Family is practically ingrained in Joe Hunter's Survivor experience. In honour of his late sister, he applied for the show, fulfilling her lifelong ambition. The 45-year-old, who has been a captain in his fire department for the last 18 years, is also accustomed to assembling a team from a variety of backgrounds.
Shauhin Davari
Age: 38
Occupation: Debate professor
Shauhin Davari was an alternate for the 46th season of the show, but since none of the contestants dropped out of the season Davari couldn’t enter. However, luck has found him this time. Will his background in law help him make it until the end?
Star Toomey
Age: 28
Occupation: Sales expert
As a self-described “sales expert”, she believes that her charisma, humour, and athleticism will make her stand out from the crowd - sometimes literally. However, Toomey thinks her game would not go very far if she follows her gut.
Thomas Krottinger
Age: 35
Occupation: Music executive
Thomas Krottinger, who works at A&R, is in charge of finding up-and-coming musicians to write songs for his company. And he feels that his exposure to the “viper pit” of the music business has equipped him for the challenges that lie ahead.
Vula Tribe
Cedrek McFadden
Age: 45
Occupation: Surgeon
Survivor served as Cedrek McFadden's treatment throughout the demanding time he spent in medical school. Since then, he has worked as a colorectal surgeon and a medical consultant on television for men's health issues. On the Fijian beaches, however, McFadden is hoping to make a completely different on-screen presence.
Justin Pioppi
Age: 29
Occupation: Pizzeria manager
The 29-year-old has a career that includes becoming the youngest legislative aide employed at the Massachusetts State House and earning a Yale degree. With toppings that include a desire to make people happy, and athleticism, Justin Pioppi is hoping he has the recipe for success.
Kevin Leung
Age: 34
Occupation: Finance Manager
With a keen eye for numbers, the finance manager has already arrived with a plan to attend Tribal Council in the pre-merge and postpone his major moves until certain endgame stages. However, before ripping off the branches and leaves, the 34-year-old hopes to create a “family tree” on the island by establishing one-on-one ties with family members.
Mary Zheng
Age: 31
Occupation: Substance abuse counsellor
The 31-year-old is excited for the Survivor challenges. She also wants to demonstrate her own freestyle stroke since she believes working at a crisis hotline taught her how to make "do-or-die" decisions.
Saiounia "Sai" Hughley
Age: 30
Occupation: Marketing professional
In search of a challenge in her life, the 30-year-old recently quit her marketing position before coming to Fiji. Hopefully, her tenacity will help her overcome some of her own identified faults, such as finding it difficult to maintain her composure or being “too nosy for her own good”.
Stephanie Berger (out)
Age: 38
Occupation: Tech product lead
The 37-year-old is a technical product manager, and leads product teams at an e-commerce company. Sadly, her time on Survivor was short-lived as she was voted out during the first episode that aired on Wednesday, February 26.
