The best seasons of Survivor give us contestants to root for and to boo from the safety of our couches. They give us dark horses and favorites who go out early, manipulators both obvious and subtle, players who swear by their families and mean it. Sometimes there are heroes who turn out to be villains all along, and sometimes the villains have hearts of gold. There are people we love to hate (looking at you, Russell Hantz!) and ones we love to love (Natalie Anderson, you have my heart!). And part of the glory of season 40 is that if you were a longtime fan, you already knew these players. You’ve seen their past game, you already have your favorites going in, and best of all, you know that they’re there to play. Enter the below characters! We’ve seen them in the pages of our favorite novels, and we’ve watched them struggle against all kinds of different odds. But unlike the season 40 contestants, these characters don’t know each other. What reader or watcher doesn’t love knowing more than the ones playing the game? Truly, this will be a season for the books. Let’s meet our contestants!
Heroes
Villains
And there you have it: a slate of players that will shock, surprise, and engage viewers from the arrival on the beach to the final vote. Pick your favorite, and tune in to see what happens next! STRENGTHS: spent 14 years unjustly imprisoned, highly educated and determined WEAKNESSES: does not easily forgive and will hold a grudge for basically ever STRENGTHS: is used to working behind the scenes and under the radar, unparalleled skills of deduction and mental prowess WEAKNESSES: not so great at the whole “being friendly with people” thing STRENGTHS: has been through worse things, is very good at wrangling people, faced down the U.S. Congress; has wisdom and experience WEAKNESSES: is getting older, not sure how well he’ll play the physical game STRENGTHS: one of the youngest competitors, she’s got the most to prove; her secret talent for catching things might also come in handy, if she can keep it a secret WEAKNESSES: her youth and inexperience; tends to be impulsive STRENGTHS: have you seen her biceps lately, also she’s faced down literal bone demons so this is nothing WEAKNESSES: is still mad they didn’t let her bring her sword, wears her heart on her sleeve and her brain on her face STRENGTHS: her beauty and social graces; people will dismiss her as just a pretty face WEAKNESSES: she’s pretty sure she doesn’t have any, thanks very much STRENGTHS: already survived an epidemic and dealt with all the jerks who also survived, so this is going to be nothing WEAKNESSES: can be impatient with others, not super into massaging anyone else’s ego STRENGTHS: very easy-going and good at getting along with people; responsible; has survival and wilderness experience already WEAKNESSES: tropical survival isn’t necessarily his forte STRENGTHS: is a robot and therefore does not need to eat to survive, will dominate at challenges WEAKNESSES: genuinely hoping to be voted out first, doesn’t know why it let its humans talk it into this, THIS IS THE WORST STRENGTHS: extremely good at manipulating people, knows what she wants and how to get it WEAKNESSES: overconfidence STRENGTHS: has spent decades dealing with the social and financial elite as well as wrangling her family, forceful personality WEAKNESSES: not very excited about the lack of food and comforts but will just have to ensure her team wins all the rewards STRENGTHS: very smart and good at getting people to do what she wants, is genuinely unsure why she’s on the Villains team and believes she has been miscast WEAKNESSES: forgets (actually, just doesn’t care) that others might have plans of their own, not super into physical exertion STRENGTHS: everyone dismisses her as a harmless, kooky old lady, which allows her to work behind the scenes; strong for her age WEAKNESSES: sometimes gets carried away, especially when animals are involved STRENGTHS: physical strength, he is going to DOMINATE all the challenges and outlast everyone, even without using jade powers WEAKNESSES: hot-tempered, extremely unsubtle STRENGTHS: she’s got nothing to lose since she knows she’ll die soon anyway; people will underestimate her since she’s just a harmless abuelita; strong willpower WEAKNESSES: extremely unlucky STRENGTHS: he’s a demon (although he has managed to convince the producers that he’s a human); is motivated less by the money and more by the opportunity to corrupt some human souls on behalf of Hell WEAKNESSES: the pesky innate goodness of certain humans STRENGTHS: capacity to evolve to suit its environment WEAKNESSES: genuinely unsure how it got past, or even into, the casting process (but was bored so figured why not); does not have human motivations or care about money STRENGTHS: as a psychopath she was made for this game; young and strong WEAKNESSES: really hoping no one gives her any reasons to kill anyone because the producers said if she does, they’ll boot her from the show
