CBS Jeff Probst in "Survivor 42."
With “Survivor” on hiatus after the recent end of season 42, and fans anxiously awaiting the start of the upcoming season, speculation is running wild about what we may be in store in the future. Well, fans need not speculate about season 44 much longer. On Monday, the partial cast of the season was leaked online.
Here’s what you need to know:
Half of ‘Survivor 44’ Cast Leaked
As fans of the show will know, “Survivor” is now in its 22nd year, and will be airing its 43rd season in the fall (the cast of which was leaked a while back). Filming for the season finished in May, and filming for season 44 is ongoing. “43” will air in the fall, premiering September 21, while season 44 will air sometime in the spring, likely starting in February or March 2023.
On Monday, Inside Survivor – a reputable “Survivor” spoiler site – published leaked photos of 9 of the 18 presumed cast members of season 44. The nine we know about range in age from 20 to 45, and are all American (or at least, American-based). One cast member is NFL football star Brandon Cottom, who has played for the Seattle Seahawks and is currently a free agent. Keeping in line with CBS’s 2020 “Diversity Pledge,” season 44 will likely be one of the most diverse seasons yet (the leaked cast so far appears to consist of at least 50% people of color).
Here is the breakdown of the cast so far:
Brandon Cottom
Age: 29
Residence: Seattle, Washington
Occupation: Football player
Bruce Perreault
Age: 45
Residence: Warwick, Rhode Island
Occupation: Navy Veteran/Realtor
Carolyn Wiger
Age: 35
Residence: Stillwater, Minnesota
Occupation: Drug abuse counselor
Carson Garrett
Age: 20
Residence: Atlanta, Georgia
Occupation: Aerospace engineering student
Claire Rafson
Age: 25
Residence: Brooklyn, New York
Occupation: Investor
Danny Massa
Age: 31
Residence: New York City
Occupation: Firefighter
Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt
Age: 42
Residence: Clairton, Pennsylvania
Occupation: Product developer
Lauren Harpe
Age: 31
Residence: Houston, Texas
Occupation: Teacher
Maddy Pomilla
Age: 28
Residence: Huntington Town, Maryland
Occupation unknown
What We Know so Far About ‘Survivor 43′ & ’44’
Unfortunately for many fans of the more traditional, “old-school”-style game, “Survivor 43” and “44,” which will continue to be set in Fiji, will evidently continue the “new era” trend that host Jeff Probst has become so fond of, defined by rougher conditions for the contestants (including limited supplies and food), a shorter, more intense 26-day game, and a host of new twists and advantages which many fans have lambasted but which Probst has said are here to stay.
However, given how the power in most of those twists (most notably the “Beware” advantage and “Hourglass” twist) lay in their unpredictability, many of them have been rendered more or less ineffective since the casts of “43” and “44” have already seen them in action. As a result, these particular twists will likely not be returning, but there is no doubt that Probst and production will be continuing to think up new twists to keep the show “fresh” for the seasons to come.
“All I really want our fans to know is, this is my entire professional life, every experience I have gets filtered into ‘Survivor’,” Probst told Vanity Fair in May. “When people say, ‘Oh, you have the worst ideas,’ well, you may feel that, but they’re the best ones I got.”
Be sure to catch the two-hour premiere of “Survivor 43” on September 21, 2022, at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.