CBS
Ahead of what might be the most highly-anticipated season of Survivor yet, “Winners at War,” CBS is previewing the upcoming 40th season with the special Survivor at 40: Greatest Moments and Players. In it, we’ll get a sneak peek at the winners who are returning to vie for the biggest prize in reality show history, plus take a look back at the most seminal moments in the show’s history.
Jeff Probst Says It’ll Be Interesting to Watch all These Strategies Collide
In every season of Survivor, there are always a variety of strategies. But this is the first time that every contestant’s strategy has been proven a winning strategy before.
“For our 40th season, we brought back 20 winners and it’s called ‘Winners at War. How will this season play out when you have 20 proven strategies in terms of what it takes to win and everybody vying for the top prize, which is the one to beat all the other winners?” says host Jeff Probst in the special, adding, “When you look at this lineup … all Survivor winners are not the same. And I think that’s what will make this war so interesting, 20 people with different skills. The one thing they have in common is they figured out how to use their skills to get to the end and win and when you tack onto that, by the way, the prize money is doubled? … It’s the largest prize awarded for any reality showa nd all you have to do is win.”
“There’s nothing left ot be said about it. This is going to be the best season ever. Especially if I win,” cracks Jeremy Collins, a firefighter and winner of Survivor: Cambodia Second Chance.
It’s Rob and Amber’s First Time Back Together
Since meeting and falling in love during Survivor’s first all-star season back in 2004, Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich Mariano have gotten married and had four children. For the retrospective, they both talk about how that’s the biggest prize they could have ever gotten from the show.
“The fact that Rob had been planning to ask me to marry him that night, it’s cool to share such an amazing moment with so many people,” says Brkich, referring to how Mariano proposed to her during the live finale for all-stars. “Fifteen years later, we have four wonderful girls and we’re still going strong.”
“At the end of the day, I was happy because I found someone I was going to be in an alliance with for the rest of my life,” adds Mariano.
Find out more about their four beautiful daughters in our profile of their family.
The Returning Winners Are Out for Blood
Here’s just a sample of what the returning winners have to say about the upcoming season, which they all seem extremely excited about.
Wendell Holland, winner of season 36, “Ghost Island”: “This is like the all-star game.”
Ben Driebergen, winner of season 35, “Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”: “This is the Coliseum, this is the arena.”
Adam Klein, winner of season 33, “Millennials vs. Gen X”: “I am surrounded by legends.”
Ethan Zohn, winner of season 3, “Africa”: It was 20 years ago I played this game. When I was 35 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare form of blood dancer. Just being here today is a miracle.
Michele Fitzgerald, winner of season 32, “Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty”: “It’s gonna be fireworks every single night.”
Parvati Shallow, winner of season 16, “Fans vs. Favorites.”: “Everyone out here has nothing to prove, which means they have nothing to lose, which means everyone out here is a dangerous killer. I’ve got my dagger behind my back.”
Danni Boatwright, winner of season 11, “Guatemala”: “The game has evolved a lot since I played. I’m going to have to be one heck of an Idol hunter.”
Yul Kwon, winner of season 13, “Cook Islands: “This time around it’s like no-holds barred.”
Sarah Lacina, winner of season 34, “Game Changers”: “I think ti’s gonna be kill or be killed out here.”
Denise Stapley, winner of season 25, “Philippines”: “You better not come out here and just cakewalk it.”
Tony Vlachos, winner of season 28, “Cagayan”: “If I have to build spy shacks, I will do it. I’m just hoping I can get away with it.”
Tyson Apostol, winner of season 27, “Blood vs. Water”: “I plan on befriending everybody and then stabbing them in the back, joking all the way to the finish line.”
Survivor: Winners at War premieres Wednesday, February 12 with a special two-hour episode that begins at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
READ NEXT: Meet the ‘Survivor: Winners at War’ Cast