Why Survivor’s aftershows are cruel to contestants

There have been many changes survivor since the beginning of the “new era“in 2021, but the most damaging thing could be the new format of the reunion show. From season 1 to season 40, survivor had a live meeting to follow the broadcast of the Final Tribal Council. After the first season, in which the winner was announced live prior to the reunion show, each season’s winner was announced live in Los Angeles or New York City right before the reunion show, months after the season was filmed.

starting at survivor However, in Season 41, the show changed the reunion format. Due to pandemic restrictions survivor began immediately after the Final Tribal Council with the announcement of the winner on site, with an after show taking place immediately afterwards. Even though those restrictions no longer apply, the show has stuck by the changes, meaning contestants will no longer have the option to unplug from the game or watch the season before meeting with the judges again to determine the to discuss major events of the game.

The post-show survivor is emotionally brutal

Superficially, the survivor The Aftershow seems like a light-hearted and fun way to end a season. Unfortunately, the change was controversial due to the impact it had on the losing finalists. In the previous format, finalists had months to reflect on their experiences and come to terms with not winning the million-dollar prize. With the new format, they’re forced to participate in a merry celebration of the season just minutes after missing out on a life-changing sum of money, being physically and emotionally exhausted, and without a chance to shower or put on clean clothes.

Several of the New Era contestants have expressed dislike for the format, including season 43’s Owen Knight and most recently season 44’s third-place finalist Carolyn Wiger. When asked about her thoughts on the aftershow in an interview with EWCarolyn didn’t shy away from hating the experience: “It’s terrible. It felt like shit. i hated it In my mind I just thought: Get me out of here. It’s terrible.“

The survivor should consider alternatives for the reunion

It is clear that there are changes survivor could contribute to the after show to better protect the mental health of its attendees. There are a few understandable reasons the show is reluctant to return to a traditional live reunion, most of which are budgetary. Running a live event with an audience is expensive, on top of the attendance fees and attendee travel expenses. Host and showrunner Jeff Probst is also happy to share contestants’ reactions to the season before they can watch it on TV and be swayed by the reaction to their games on social media.

However, there is a good middle ground with the after show. Jeff should definitely consider giving the finalists a day or two to process their experiences before attending an after show. It is unreasonable and cruel to force them to attend the after-show celebrations just moments after they witnessed the brutal interrogation of the Final Tribal Council and, for most of them, lost a million dollar game. There’s no reason why the after show can’t be filmed a day or two after “Final Tribal” so the contestants can rest and relax after their grueling efforts survivor Experience.