Survivor Season 41 - What We Know So Far

For the past two decades, Survivor has been at the forefront of reality TV. Year after year, the highly rated television contest has brought in candidates from across the world to compete for cash prizes and plenty of clout. Unfortunately, recent events have kept the TV show from broadcasting its 41st season. To add to this misfortune, there are no signs that this will change anytime in the near future.

All of this can be chalked up to the COVID-19 pandemic, which (for obvious reasons) has prevented Survivor's cast and crew from traveling to Fiji for Season 41's filming. Luckily, some news regarding this issue has recently been released. Things are beginning to open up once more as COVID-19 vaccines have just recently become available to the public, and Survivor is apparently no exception. For now, fans can rest easy knowing that Season 41 of Survivor is planned to happen no matter what. It may just take some time for everything to come together correctly.

According to FBC News, Survivor is all set to begin filming Season 41 very soon (if it hasn't started already). Fiji's Ministry of Commerce and Trade approved the production for the season in February 2021.

"Survivor will be filming in Fiji with the crew expecting to arrive in the next few days," said Minister Faiyaz Koya. "They have to stagger the way they actually come because most of the crew are sitting in different parts of the world but all done under the guidance of the Ministry of Health. We follow the necessary protocol to protect our own citizens."

Of course, since filming for Survivor Season 41 has technically not yet been confirmed, there is no official release date for the show. According to Gold Derby, the show tends to film two seasons within the same summer before broadcasting them in the fall and spring, respectively. Fans can most likely expect the production crew to follow this schedule. As a result, Survivor fans should keep their ear to the ground come fall 2021.

While it is unknown exactly who the cast of Survivor Season 41 will be, the fact that they have likely already begun filming means this season's contestants have been chosen. Theoretically, the cast was determined well over a year now since the season was originally supposed to be filmed in 2020.

Since then, however, CBS has initiated a 50 percent diversity target for many of their shows. This means that unless Survivor already had a cast of at least 50 percent BIPOC individuals, the season may have needed to do some major recasting. Whether the current Season 41 lineup is the same as what was originally planned is unknown. 

Meanwhile, fans can still expect to see Survivor's usual host, Jeff Probst, in the host's seat. The Emmy Award winner has hosted every season of Survivor to date and has appeared in every single episode since its debut in 2000.

Since filming is likely already underway for Survivor Season 41, auditions are already closed. The same can be said for Season 42, as the official casting site is calling for auditions for Season 43 and onward.

People who would like to participate in later seasons of Survivor are free to apply at any time to appear on the show. Potential candidates must be at least 16 years old and from the United States or Canada to qualify. Repeat applicants will be required to fill out the application again.

Shooting for seasons 43 and 44 are planned to be in April and June, respectively, though CBS maintains that these are tentative dates. This is likely for the same reason that delayed production on seasons 41 and 42.

In the meantime, wannabe Survivor contestants can rest assured knowing they'll be able to live their dream vicariously in seasons 41 and 42. Though things have not gone as CBS or Survivor fans expected, it all seems to have worked out in the end.