‘Survivor’ Fans Sound Off: ‘Bring Back the Villains’

It’s been 15 years since “Survivor” officially declared its first official cohort of “villainous” castaways on “Heroes vs. Villains” in 2010. 

The players, renowned for their “deeds of deception and duplicity” on the show, included the likes of Tyson Apostol, Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, Russel Hantz, Parvati Shallow and Sandra Diaz-Twine amongst others on the 10th anniversary season. 

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While “Survivor” has seen plenty of players willing to lie, manipulate and blindside their allies to claim the show’s million-dollar grand prize, “villains” are, for the most part, a thing of the past for the Emmy-winning series. 

Now, 30 seasons later, fans are calling on “Survivor” to “bring back the villains.” 

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Why Did ‘Survivor’ Stop Casting Villains?

For many reality series, casting contestants to stand in as the “villain” of the season goes a long way towards creating an overarching narrative. 

Despite their unscripted nature, reality shows often type-cast players, either as villains or heroes or underdogs, to give viewers at home someone to root for, or, more importantly, to root against. 

While the casting tactic has been used to Emmy-winning success on series like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “The Traitors,” long-time “Survivor” host Jeff Probst previously opened up about why the hit CBS competition series left villains on the cutting room floor. 

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“In the hands of someone else, I can tell you…for sure, there would be more villains, more negativity, more yelling at each other [on ‘Survivor’],” said Probst in a February 2024 interview with former castaway Rob Cesternino. 

While Probst added that the approach “worked” for ratings, and was approved by producer Mark Burnett, the host himself was not a fan, telling Cesternino, “It’s not going to happen when I’m part of the show. I’m just not interested in it.”

Instead, the host said that, instead of wasting time trying to cast the perfect “bad guy,” he wanted the series to focus on “fun” and “positivity” that could be enjoyed by viewers of all ages, not just adults. 

“We wanted the show to bring positivity in a way that families could sit down and say, ‘This will be fun, let’s all watch it!” Probst continued. “That doesn’t mean you can’t still talk about sensitive topics, clearly we do… it also doesn’t mean you can’t root for and against people.” 

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In Spite of Jeff’s Stance, Fans Want More Villains on ‘Survivor’

The most recent call for “Survivor” to return to its trend of casting compelling “villains” comes from Dame Brian Moylan, whose article “Survivor Needs to Bring Back the Villains” appeared in New York Magazine on Tuesday (Nov. 11). 

Moylan, the New York Times Bestselling author of “The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives,” used the article to break down “Survivor”s recent trend of casting family-friendly players to explain exactly why the show needs to “bring back the villains.” 

“These non-villains are all about loyalty, they’re about sticking to the numbers, they’re about ‘tribe strong,’ they’re about telling people they have an idol to build trust,” wrote Moyland. “It’s ‘Survivor’ by the book because that’s what they know and expect, and this is the type of behavior production and casting rewards.”

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Speaking specifically about the show’s currently-airing 49th season, Moylan added: “We’ve seen contestants this season allude to Parvati Shallow, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Ozzy Lusth by first name as if they’re Cher. These players are icons because they didn’t play by the book but instead found a style that worked for them and surprised everyone with it. Sandra threw Russel Hantz’s hat into the fire because she hated him. This season, Jake Latimer hid people’s shoes for no reason other than he saw someone do something similar on ‘Survivor.’”

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Moylan Calls on CBS to Expand Casting Diversity Beyond ‘Nerds’ 

Despite praising the leaps that “Survivor” has made in diversifying its casting process to represent more people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals, Moylan declared “the show is still casting the same type of player.”

“In Probst’s hunt for earnestness, casting has overindexed on people who have watched every episode, memorized the elimination orders of seasons, and listened to all the podcasts where Probst says he doesn’t want villains,” Moylan explained, adding, “Who is that going to attract? I wish there was a better way to say this, but nerds.” 

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While Moylan offered a litany of examples, including discussions of topics like Pokemon, Marvel movies, and Taylor Swift on recent seasons, he clarified: “I love a nerdy pursuit…but these people are so clued into ‘Survivor’s past that they can’t see the future. They’re so enamored with the sanctity of the game that they can’t find new ways to play it.” 

“There have been some great ‘Survivor’ nerds over the course of its history,” Moylan conceded, listing former “brainy” castaways like Carson Garrett, John Cochran and Aubry Bracco, “But it can’t be all nerds.”

“We need cool girls like Parvati and Jenna Morasca who are going to use their wiles and social game to get people to do stupid things. We need jocks like Ethan Zohn and Colby Donaldson who are good at competitions and also aren’t bad to look at. We need strategic gay guys like Yam Yam Arocho and Todd Herzog who will plot and plan while simultaneously disarming everyone,” he continued. 

“But most of all, we need villains,” Moylan concluded. “Because it takes a villain to figure out a new way to screw over the people closest to you, which is what ‘Survivor’ is always going to be [about].”

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