Survivor

Sixteen strangers on an island

On May 31, 2000, CBS aired the first episode of Survivor. Sixteen very different strangers had been dropped on Pulau Tiga, a remote island off the coast of Sabah in Malaysia, with a few supplies and a mission: be the last person standing and win $1 million.

Every few days the group voted someone off the island. That one rule turned teamwork into strategy, and strategy into delicious drama.

Nobody in the cast had any experience of being on a show like this, because there had never really been one on American network television. That freshness was part of the thrill, for the players and for the audience at home watching them work it out.

The summer it ruled TV

For 13 straight weeks in the summer of 2000, Survivor dominated American television. It averaged 28.25 million viewers across its 13 episodes, making it the most-watched series of the 1999 to 2000 season.

The two-hour finale on August 23, 2000, averaged 51.69 million viewers, more than any program that season except the Super Bowl. Nielsen data also showed huge shares among younger adults, the audience advertisers chase hardest.

Rewriting the TV calendar

Before Survivor, summer was mostly rerun season. Its success proved that networks could launch big, original shows in the summer months, and a wave of competition reality series followed.

Time magazine later counted the first season among the most influential reality seasons ever, noting how it set the tone for the tough, strategic competition shows that came after.

Still standing

More than two decades later, Survivor is still on the air with the same host, Jeff Probst, and has passed 40 seasons. Not bad for a show that CBS reportedly never expected to be an overnight hit.

The rules were simple enough to explain in one sentence, which helped the show spread. Tribes competed in challenges, the losing tribe went to a vote, and the votes were read out one by one at tribal council. That slow reading of names became one of the most nerve-racking rituals on television, and viewers learned that the friendliest player in the camp was not always the one who would last.

Each new season brings a fresh cast and a new location, but the heart of the game is the same one viewers met on Pulau Tiga in 2000.

← Big BrotherWhy They're Called Soap Operas →