After months of speculation, CBS announced the official cast for Survivor 50. In Touch breaks down which fan-favorite castaways are returning to compete show’s milestone season.

The full list of castaways was revealed on CBS Mornings on May 28. The show’s longtime host, , was on hand for the big announcement.

The series is bringing back its largest cast ever with 24 contestants, ranging from the old-school days of Survivor through “new era” that began in season 41. A number of old-school castaways have been featured on multiple seasons of the show beyond their original appearances.

From the biggest throwback to today, the cast includes Survivor: Borneo‘s , Survivor: The Australian Outback‘s , Survivor: Pulau‘s , Survivor: Panama — Exile Island‘s , Survivor: Cook Islands‘ and Survivor: Tocantins‘.

There are no contestants competing in Survivor 50 from seasons 19 through 31.

The casting then jumped to Survivor Kaôh Rōng‘s and Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers‘ . Survivor: David vs. Goliath has three players in the show’s 50th season, with , and The White Lotus creator back in the game. The last player before the new era began is Survivor: Edge of Extinction‘s .

New era players coming back are Survivor 42‘s , Survivor 45‘s , Survivor 45 winner , Survivor 46‘s , and , Survivor 47‘s and Survivor 48‘s winner Kyle Fraser, along with his castmates Joe Hunter and Kamilla Karthigesu. Two spots are being held for competitors from Survivor 49, which finished filming in May 2025 begins airing in the fall of 2025.

Survivor‘s Instagram page began revealing which seasons of the show would be represented in teases on May 27, 2025, a day ahead of the official announcement.

“A castaway has been selected from Cook Islands,” one post read, referring to season 13 of the show. Another read, “It all goes back to the original,” as a castaway from season 1 in Borneo would be joining the mix. A cast member from the most recent Survivor 48 is also included in Survivor 50, as well as Survivor: David vs. Goliath and Survivor 42.

It’s been more than a year since Jeff put out an Instagram announcement telling fans, “Get ready to see returning players on #Survivor: 50!” on April 27, 2024.

“Who are the players? I’m not kidding when I say [the process] is nothing other than everybody’s writing a list of all their favorite players, and then I think we’ll look at it and start to figure out [how to break it down],” Jeff — who is also a Survivor executive producer — told Entertainment Tonight in 2024.

“Does that mean a season filled primarily with Hall of Famers? One populated with lesser-seen cast members? We’ll have to wait to find out!” he teased at the time.

The title of Survivor 50 is “In the Hands of Fans.” Throughout Survivor 48 — which premiered in February 2025 — viewers were asked to vote on key components of the game, including old school and new school elements.

Fans were able to go to a website and vote on such basic things such as team colors and immunity necklace designs.

However, they were also asked about whether or not to keep the final four fire-making challenge that was made a part of the show in season 35. Viewers also got to choose between whether the season finale’s final vote count was read at tribal council in Fiji or on a live CBS after show from Los Angeles.

There was also voting on what level power advantages could hold, whether or not to have a pre-merge tribe swap and if the tribes were given rice to eat.

The final item fans were able to vote on was whether or not to include immunity idols in the game. The last time a season aired that didn’t have the highly coveted item was Survivor: Palau in 2005.