Some answers are expected. Others are not.

Survivor 49 contestants share their picks for the best Survivor season ever

Some answers are expected. Others are not.

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

EW's editorial guidelines

November 12, 2025 10:15 a.m. ET

Savannah Louie, Rizo Velovic, Michelle 'MC' Chukwujekwu on 'Survivor 49'. Credit:

Robert Voets/CBS (3)

*Survivor* fans have opinions, and they are usually pretty passionate about them. But they are not the only ones. *Survivor* players are also free to opine on hot-button topics related to the franchise, and perhaps no button is as hot as the debate over what the greatest season of *Survivor* ever is. And while we here at ** have our own highly debated season rankings list, we thought we would put the question of the best installment ever to the cast of *Survivor 49*.

We asked the players before filming on their own adventure began to share their picks for the ultimate season of *Survivor*. Here’s what they told us.

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Kristina Mills

Kristina Mills on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

Let's go with *Survivor: Cagayan*. It felt like it was *Survivor* kind of coming more into the times. So it was a little bit more of that fast gameplay. And with Tony, even though you lowkey kind of don't really like him a little bit, by the end, you had no choice. He literally never stopped playing the game.

You also got a lot of the players now that have become icons in their own rights. You have Tony, you have Sarah; Spencer was really great and I liked him when he came back on *Second Chance*. And so I think you just got a lot of really good players who you didn't really start off liking too much, and by the end you're like, “Okay, I get why you're on the show.”

Alex Moore on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I know this might be controversial, but I love *Cook Islands*. I know the racial aspect of it was definitely something that was scrutinized, and we have diverse casting now, which is great. And so I see what the thought was of them trying to do that. But it all started when Billy said that he thought Candice was in love with him. I was dying. It had me ever since that because he said he won because he found love, and this girl had no idea.

So starting with that all the way till Yul versus Ozzy. I really identify with Yul because he's just so diplomatic. He's just the guy who acted like his hand was forced. He basically would say to people, “I have no choice. I'm letting you down easy.” Very diplomatic. And the politician in me can empathize with that. And so seeing him against a challenge beast like Ozzy, who was great and of course he deserved to win as well, I had no clue who was going to win. That season brought everything, and iconic players who really played the game.

Sage Ahrens-Nichols

Sage Ahrens-Nichols on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I'm going to be a schmoozer here, but I really genuinely do love season 47. I just feel like that entire cast was such good vibes and I feel like they had such a blast playing it and it was so fun for me to watch it. And maybe it’s because I got to see them beforehand [as an alternate], but I've heard so many people be like, “Man, that's an old-era cast in the new era.” And I have to agree.

Matt Williams

Matt Williams on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I like Devens’ season: *Edge of Extinction*. When Chris was the third guy voted out, came back and won it, I don’t know if controversial is the right word, but it polarized the fan base. Everyone thinks it sucked and this guy played for a minute and a half and won the game. But I say good for him! He did what he had to do, and it was Devens’ game to lose. And I feel so bad for Devens, but Chris earned it and I think he never got any credit for it.

I would argue he changed the game, even though the fire making challenge was relatively new. He's the first guy who thought, “I don't just push this onto my worst enemy. I use this to build my resume and to get rid of the guy who's winning the game.” And it worked and he won and he earned it. It was a unique season, and it proved that somebody could get booted and still win. And I think it came together nicely. Just watch it.

Savannah Louie

Savannah Louie on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

Oh, *Heroes vs. Villains.* You just have a great cast of such entertaining, enthusiastic players who literally weren't afraid to try anything. And it was also when the show was still relatively new, and so you were seeing things for the first time. You were seeing people be manipulative in different ways.

It's just such a nostalgic season. I remember watching it as it was airing and it was just so fun. It was also part of the time when *Survivor* was really at its peak. For me, it's not only just a great season to watch, but it's also when you think about Christmas as a kid, it's almost like *Survivor* Christmas as a kid. You look back on that time and you're like, “Dang, that was so fun.”

Jason Treul on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I haven't watched all of *Survivor*. So I have kind of a strange pocket where I watched everything from *Gabon* to *Heroes vs. Villains* and then I watched everything from the new era. I started watching *Gabon* because my favorite *Super* *Smash Bros.* player was playing. I didn't know what *Survivor* was but I was like, “Yo, Kenny's playing!”

So my head goes to *Samoa*. *Samoa* is the season that splits *Survivor* fans. It is a historic season that changed the game forever. If you are doing a *Survivor*-like history or paleontology or whatever, you need to observe and dissect *Samoa* and the people's reaction at the time live with the Russell Hantz of it all. I know that the gameplay was very lopsided and not everybody was an all-star there, but to understand *Survivor* and to understand what kind of *Survivor* fan you are, you need to watch *Samoa*.

Sophi Balerdi

Sophi Balerdi on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

Everyone's going to say *Heroes vs. Villains*. I don't want to say that because you're going to get 10 other people who say that. Honestly, *Micronesia* did a lot for me as a 12-year-old girl watching that for the first time — the girl power, the manipulation of the men, and then probably winning to top it all off. Even though Cirie winning would've been the cherry on top for me, but it was still good enough. You have the best people — Amanda Kimmel, James — it just has everything you want with the blindsides and then a satisfying winner, too. So I'm going to say *Micronesia*. It was empowering as a woman to watch.

Steven Ramm on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

The problem is, I've seen so many seasons, but it's been so long since I've seen them. I'll probably go with just *Pearl Islands*. I just think OG Rupert and that old-school play, it just is what made me fall in love with the show. And so, for me, it's always like a warm glass of milk. It's just very comforting, like a warm blanket.

My favorite new-era season is probably 46 with Charlie. I loved how four people in a row went home with idols in their pocket and they all saw the same thing happen. It was crazy! And that's what's so scary about playing this game, is that they all saw someone get voted off, and some of them knew they had an idol, some of them didn't, to their credit, but the next day someone new would find the idol, someone that was in trouble, and they could have used it, but they got overconfident.

Nicole Mazullo

Nicole Mazullo on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

My favorite season is season 28, *Cagayan*, because of Tony. That was the season that really hooked me on the show. I saw Woo stealing Spencer's note and I saw three grown men in their underwear running around the jungle chasing after one another over a piece of paper. And take that out of context, it's bizarre. But in this world, it makes perfect sense, and you get so wrapped up in it when you're watching it. I will never forget that feeling of being like, “Oh my God, this is it!” That's the best season, in my opinion.

Rizo Velovic

Rizo Velovic on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I'm going to pick *Tocantins*. *Tocantins* was the origination for me. It's what started it all. I've [been] a die-hard fan since *Tocantins*. I was an 8 or 9-year-old kid scrolling through the TV and I loved *Legends of the Hidden Temple*. And I remember scrolling through the TV and I see Jeff go, “JT, do you want this tooth back?” JT is like, “Yeah.” And then he flicks the tooth and I'm like, “Holy s---, I love this show!”

And as I watched *Tocantins*, I loved JT. he's my favorite player of all time. I know he gets a lot of hate now because [of] his previous performances, but one thing JT embodies that I embody is regardless of whatever, he's going to always play hard no matter what. He's going to play f---ing hard.

And if you think about the characters on *Tocantins*, it's like the best ever. You got Stephen Fishbach, you got Coach, you got Tyson, you got Taj. Even Erinn was hilarious, Brendan was crazy. You got medevacs. I mean you had an idol that was never played, the location. It's got so many great character moments, and I think that's what makes *Survivor* what it is. It isn't the advantages, it isn't the idols, it's the people playing the game.

Annie Davis on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I liked season 1, and I liked it so much because it was something like we had never seen. It still is a show that combines things when you talk about the physical, the mental, the social, all of that. Nothing else does this. And I think that's such a beautiful thing and that's why aside from an amazing production team, this thing has stood the test of time. It's just so cool. It just blew the doors off of what reality TV could be back then and how we could challenge ourselves as humans and how much we like to watch each other struggle out in the world and say, “Oh yeah, we're all going through this.”

Nate Moore on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I just started showing my kids the show as this casting process started. I wanted them to have context. So we started at *Tocantins*, which I remember loving. Didn't love it so much on the second watch. We're on *Cook Islands* now. Not as good on the second watch as I want it to be, even though there are so many great players in that season.

So I would say honestly, maybe Tony's first season, *Cagayan*. I thought there were great characters. I thought it was surprising. It looked big. It was wild. You could root for a lot of different people so you weren't hung out to dry with only one protagonist. I was honestly rooting for Woo. I felt bad for him, but I understand why Tony won. I just thought it was really entertaining.

Sophie Segreti

Sophie Segreti on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I think about this all the time now that I'm a student of the game. For me, honestly, I just loved *Heroes vs. Villains* from a fan perspective. And a game perspective, I think the gameplay was really great, but also I'd been watching for so long that I feel like I actually knew everyone who came back. I remember just watching it live and loving every second of it and loving seeing Sandra and Rob and just all of my favorites back again. And it was good gameplay. When it is available on Hulu or Netflix or whatever, that is the one that I go back to and rewatch over and over again.

And I also think at certain points it just shows you also get some just pure athleticism and grit. And in the early seasons of the game, that went a lot further than I think now. It shifted a little bit more to more strategic, but you really saw some people just kind of muscle their way through, which was cool. Everyone had such fire, too. Everyone wanted to just f---ing play. You don't always see that fire in the pit of somebody's stomach with all of the contestants in all of the seasons, but in that season, you had it.

Jake Latimer

Jake Latimer on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

With the old era, I was pretty young so I don't really remember them all. But with the new era, I really liked Sam with season 47. His game was very good, but there's just a lot of action in that. 48 was getting just as good. I just haven't seen the whole thing yet, so I’ll say 47. I like watching Sam, Genevieve, Rachel. They were fun to watch. The casting department made absolute beautiful selections for that season.

Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu

Michelle 'MC' Chukwujekwu on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

My first-ever season of *Survivor* watching was season 47. Since then, I've binged and watched a lot, but they all kind of blend in together. I really loved Yam Yam’s season, season 44. I just loved him as a person from the beginning. I wanted him to win. Even when he was getting close to the end, I didn't think he would, but I wanted him to. And every character! Carolyn was very memorable and it was just a fun, entertaining season to watch.

Jeremiah Ing

Jeremiah Ing on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I love season 2. That's what I got hooked on, watching season 2 of *Survivor *with my dad. I was 14 years old. I bought the buff from the CBS store in New York. The beef jerky! There was just so much chaos during season 2.

Shannon Fairweather

Shannon Fairweather on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

I really loved 40 [*Winners at War*]. I know that's kind of a corny answer, but I thought 40 was so powerful. There was just so much great gameplay in there. I thought towards the end there when there was the final six or seven, the fact that they didn't see Sarah and Tony as an obvious two was a little weird. But I loved the iconic players. I loved that they were all winners. I loved Natalie's battle back. She was there from day one and then came all the way.

Just so many great characters as well. And you had the fun dynamics of Wendell and Michele, and Rob and Amber, and then I'm crying because all their families are on both beaches. So that was a great season. The only thing that kind of hurt it a little bit was just the Zoom finale, but I thought Tony was just such a passionate, powerful player.

Jawan Pitts on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

*Cagayan*. If you want to recommend *Survivor* for any newbie, it just has it all. You have Tony, Woo — the casting was just firing all cylinders. And I think it was the balance with twists too. It wasn't too much with that. I feel like they really just trusted the cast and it was a perfect storm. Anytime I recommend it to anybody else, they're hooked. It's 100 percent acceptance rate. So *Cagayan *for me.

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW TV”