Everything To Know About Survivor Season 42

After airing for 40 seasons (and nearly 20 years), the popular reality series Survivor reevaluated some of the core tenets and practices of its competition amid the coronavirus pandemic and racial unrest of summer 2020. Although a number of the changes implemented in Season 41 received mixed responses from Survivor fans, it appears as though some of them are here to stay in Season 42.

Filming for the season started in May 2021, and in November, CBS announced that Season 42 would premiere on March 9 — also promising “one of the most intense versions” of the show to date. Here’s everything to know.

Survivor Season 42 Theme & Location

One of the most significant — and most controversial — changes that Survivor made in Season 41 was to eliminate themes. “In birthing a new era of Survivor,” host Jeff Probst explained during an interview with Parade in August, “we are letting go, for now at least, of casting themes or seasons built around a specific twist.” In recent years, the themes of each Survivor season have impacted the casting choices or gameplay arrangements. Now, Probst said, “The new players and the gameplay will define each season, much like a Super Bowl or any other regular sporting event.” In Season 42, the 18 castaways will be divided into three teams to compete in this “faster, more extreme” season where both supplies and rewards are scarce.

Ever since Season 33, which aired in 2016, Survivor has been filming in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. Similar to the previous season, Survivor Season 42 filmed in Fiji for 26 days — notably shorter than the 39 days that it took to film a season of the series in pre-pandemic times.

The Survivor Season 42 Cast

The Survivor Season 42 cast has 18 contestants: Chanelle Howell, Daniel Strunk, Drea Wheeler, Hai Giang, Jackson Fox, Jenny Kim, Jonathan Young, Lindsay Dolashewich, Lydia Meredith, Marya Sherron, Maryanne Oketch, Mike Turner, Omar Zaheer, Rocksroy Bailey, Romeo Escobar, Swati Goel, Tori Meehan, and Zach Wurtenberger.

Like in the previous season, this cast follows the new CBS mandate that at least 50% of the cast/contestants on any of its reality series will be BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color). As was made clear as Season 41 aired in fall 2021, this initiative has already led to CBS recruiting a significantly more diverse group of contestants than on the typical Survivor season.

The Survivor Season 42 Trailer

In November 2021, CBS announced that Survivor Season 42 would premiere on March 9, 2022. Similar to the previous seasons, Season 42 began with a two-hour premiere episode and will switch to one-hour episodes for the remainder of the season.