Survivor season 41 is set to premiere on September 22, meaning Survivor Wednesdays will finally be back! After Survivor's hiatus, the long-running reality show is back for season 41 in beautiful Fiji. Though Survivor is already one of the most dangerous reality TV shows, season 41 is hoping to add to that title with all new challenges thrown at the contestants. These challenges may increase the difficulty of the game. Jeff Probst is synonymous with Survivor and fans will be elated to know that he will continue hosting the show for the foreseeable future. Probst went so far as to call this season a "dawn of a new era," with added challenges for the contestants, also naming it a "monster" of a Survivor season. 

The Emmy Award-winning series returns for its 40th season, themed "Winners at War." This edition features 20 legendary winners of Survivor who will return to compete against each other. The 20th anniversary edition of the groundbreaking series, unites the most memorable, heroic and celebrated champions from the past two decades in the biggest battle in the show's history, as the series' best strategists of all time fight to earn the title of Sole Survivor again. These returning masterminds will compete in epic challenges, face the return of Edge of Extinction, which gives voted-out players a second shot to win, and tackle a brand new layer of the game with the introduction of fire tokens. Fire tokens will serve as currency on the island and add more complexity to the already intense battle. The new twist allows players to use the tokens to buy advantages to help players stay in the game or get themselves back in the game. Additionally, the winner of this historic season will be awarded $2 million, the largest prize in reality show history.

This season introduced the eponymous Island of the Idols, as Survivor alumni Sandra Diaz-Twine, winner of Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Rob Mariano, winner of Survivor: Redemption Island, returned to the game as mentors living on the Island of the Idols, though they did not compete for the million-dollar prize themselves. Instead, Diaz-Twine and Mariano periodically hosted a contestant each episode and gave them a lesson to assist them in the game. They also gave the contestant a chance to win an advantage, but if they failed, they lost their vote at their next Tribal Council.

Survivor: Edge of Extinction is the 38th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season featured 14 new contestants competing with four returning players. This season introduced a new feature wherein contestants who are voted out have an option to take a boat to the titular "Edge of Extinction" rather than leave the game permanently. The Edge of Extinction is a desolate, abandoned beach with even fewer amenities than the main island: contestants on the Edge of Extinction may either wait for an opportunity to re-join the main game or may choose to leave the game at any point by raising a white sail. Castaways on the Edge of Extinction were given regular correspondence by way of coded maps and letters, which led to the location of daily rice rations and advantages in the game. The remaining contestants were initially unaware of this twist; it was officially revealed at the tribal merge, at which point the remaining Edge of Extinction castaways competed in a challenge with the winner returning to the game. The losing castaways were given the opportunity to remain on the Edge of Extinction and, from that point on, all remaining Edge of Extinction inhabitants went to each Tribal Council as members of the jury.

The Emmy Award-winning series returns this fall for its 37th season, themed "David vs. Goliath". This edition features 20 new castaways divided into two groups of 10 strangers. Castaways who make up the "David" tribe have overcome adversity in their lives, while the castaways on the "Goliath" tribe tend to capitalize on their individual advantages and use it against their opponents. This extreme game of social politics will focus on the "underdogs" versus the "favorites" and reveal that every "Goliath" has an Achilles heel, while every "David" has a secret weapon. These castaways will be forced to compete against each other with the same ultimate goal: to outwit, outplay and outlast each other in an attempt to become the Sole Survivor. The show returns to the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji, with Emmy Award winner Jeff Probst as host.

Survivor: Ghost Island is the 36th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. This season introduced Ghost Island, a secluded location similar to Exile Island, where castaways were banished for short periods. The island was decorated with mementos and props from previous seasons of Survivor, including torch snuffers and immunity idols. With few exceptions, castaways were exiled to Ghost Island after being chosen by the winners of the reward challenge. The challenge winners were required to unanimously choose a losing castaway; if they were unable to do so, the losing castaways would draw colored rocks to determine who would be exiled. On Ghost Island, exiled castaways were instructed to smash the next in a series of urns, some of which would allow the castaway to compete in a game of chance for an advantage in the game. The advantages were taken from previous seasons of Survivor, all of which were misplayed in their original seasons. Exiled castaways were given the opportunity to acquire these advantages under the premise of learning from past castaways' mistakes. This season marks the first time in Survivor history in which two players were tied for having the most jury votes at the Final Tribal Council. 

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers is the 35th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. This season featured 18 new players divided into three tribes based on a dominant perceived trait: "Heroes" (courage), "Healers" (compassion), and "Hustlers" (tenacity). This season featured several alterations to the rules. This season marked a return to the tiebreaker format used before the previous season, Survivor: Game Changers, where a tied vote at Tribal Council was followed by a second ballot before being declared "deadlocked".[3] The format of the penultimate Tribal Council, with four players remaining, was changed; in lieu of a vote, the winner of the final immunity challenge was to assign additional immunity to another castaway, with the remaining two competing in a fire-making challenge to determine the third finalist. This was the fourth season of the show filmed in Fiji.

Survivor: Game Changers — Mamanuca Islands is the 34th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, featuring 20 returning castaways. This season was the third to film in Fiji. It was the fourth season to feature entirely returning players. This season introduced several alterations to the game format. The process for resolving a tied vote was changed for this season, removing the second ballot where only non-tied castaways were allowed to vote between the tied castaways and proceeding directly to the procedure to resolve a deadlocked tie: an open deliberation between non-tied voters. The format of the Final Tribal Council, in which jurors individually addressed the finalists by delivering a statement or asking questions, was changed to a moderated discussion between the finalists and jurors.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X is the 33rd season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. It featured two initial tribes of ten new castaways divided by generation: Gen X, born between 1963 and 1982, and Millennials, born between 1984 and 1997 (no one born in 1983 was cast this season).[1] It is the third season to divide the castaways into tribes by age. This season featured the first full cast evacuation, where all contestants were removed on the second day of competition due to Severe Tropical Cyclone Zena; the castaways were returned to their camps the next morning and no additional time was needed to complete the game.

Survivor: Kaôh Rōng — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty is the 32nd season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. As with Survivor: Cagayan, the season featured players initially divided into three tribes of six based on dominant attribute: "Brains" (intelligence), "Brawn" (athleticism), and "Beauty" (attractiveness and charisma). The competition was filmed in Koh Rong, Cambodia during the spring of 2015. Like all seasons from Survivor: Fiji onward, this season featured hidden immunity idols that could be played after the votes were cast but before they were read; this season also introduced the feature whereby two of these idols could be combined into one single "super idol" that could be played after the votes were read, similar to the idols found in Panama, Cook Islands, and Cagayan. This season also introduced the power to remove a member of the jury, which was given to the finalist who won the final reward challenge. It is known as "the most punishing season of Survivor", due to the multiple medical evacuations.

The 20 competitors who will be playing during Season #31 "Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance" their previous season appearance and the current tribe they are on this season are as follows:

Joe Anglim
25, Scottsdale, Arizona
Worlds Apart – Bayon

Vytas Baskauskas

35, Santa Monica, California
Blood vs. Water - Ta Keo

Spencer Bledsoe
22, Chicago, Illinois
Cagayan - Ta Keo

Jeremy Collins
37, Foxborough, Massachusetts
San Juan del Sur - Bayon

Terry Deitz
55, Simsbury, Connecticut
Panama - Ta Keo

Ciera Eastin
26, Salem, Oregon
Blood vs. Water - Bayon

Stephen Fishbach
36, New York, New York
Tocantins - Bayon

Tasha Fox
39, St. Louis, Missouri
Cagayan - Bayon

Abi-Maria Gomes
35, Los Angeles, California
Philippines - Ta Keo

Woo Hwang
31, Newport Beach, California
Cagayan - Ta Keo

Kimmi Kappenberg
42, The Woodlands, Texas
The Australian Outback - Bayon

Peih-Gee Law
37, San Francisco, California
China - Ta Keo

Kass McQuillen
42, Tehachapi, California
Cagayan - Bayon

Keith Nale
54, Keithville, Louisiana
San Juan del Sur - Bayon

Shirin Oskooi
32, San Francisco, California
Worlds Apart - Ta Keo

Monica Padilla
30, Queens, New York
Samoa - Bayon

Andrew Savage
51, San Jose, California
Pearl Islands - Bayon

Jeff Varner
49, Greensboro, North Carolina
The Australian Outback - Ta Keo

Kelley Wentworth
29, Seattle, Washington
San Juan del Sur - Ta Keo

Kelly Wiglesworth
37, Greensboro, North Carolina
Borneo - Ta Keo

Survivor: Worlds Apart — White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar is the 30th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, which premiered on February 25, 2015, with the season finale on May 20, 2015. It was the fourth Survivor season filmed in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. It features three tribes of six new players divided by social class: white collar, blue collar, and no collar. This season introduced the concept of an extra vote, in which one player can vote twice at a single Tribal Council, which was offered during the season's Survivor Auction. This season also saw the return of the fire-making tiebreaker challenge.

Survivor: San Juan del Sur — Blood vs. Water is the twenty-ninth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The cast is composed of nine pairs of loved ones, with relationships including parent-child, siblings, and partners (both married and dating). Notable contestants include former professional baseball player John Rocker, and two-time The Amazing Race contestants Natalie and Nadiya Anderson, who competed together on seasons 21 and 24. This season saw the return of Exile Island, which was last used in Survivor: Tocantins. In lieu of a reward challenge, a castaway and their loved one would square off in a duel. The loser is sent to Exile Island, while the winner earns reward for his or her tribe and must send one of their tribemates to Exile Island as well. The two castaways who are sent to Exile Island then have to choose one of two vases, where in only one has a clue to a hidden immunity idol located at their tribe's camp. Exile Island continued after the merge with one castaway exiled by the reward winners, where there would be a single urn with a clue to an idol hidden somewhere on Exile.

Survivor: Cagayan — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty is the 28th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Cagayan was the fourth consecutive season to be filmed in the Philippines. This season features the return of a special hidden immunity idol that can be used at Tribal Council after the votes have been read (similar to Survivor: Panama and Survivor: Cook Islands), which was hidden once the tribes merged, except this idol came without a clue. This is in addition to hidden immunity idols that must be played after the votes are cast but before they are read. The cast was composed of 18 new players, initially split into three tribes containing six members each: Aparri ("Brawn"), Luzon ("Brains"), and Solana ("Beauty"). The tribe of Luzon is named after the island in the Philippines, while Aparri and Solana are named after towns in Cagayan. The cast included former professional basketball player Cliff Robinson, professional poker player Garrett Adelstein, and David Samson, president of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. After the show, Sarah Lacina and Tony Vlachos, both cops, gained notoriety as Survivor contestants. 

Survivor: Blood vs. Water is the 27th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The cast consists of 10 pairs of loved ones, each composed of one new player and one returning player with varying relationships, including mother-daughter, spouses, fiancees, dating, brothers, and uncle-niece. The cast includes former NFL player Brad Culpepper, competing alongside his wife, Survivor: One World castaway Monica, and Big Brother 12 winner Hayden Moss, playing alongside his girlfriend Kat Edorsson, also from One World. Moss is the first former Big Brother contestant to appear on Survivor. Redemption Island, a twist formerly seen in Survivor: Redemption Island and Survivor: South Pacific, was utilized after a three-season hiatus. In conjunction with the "Blood vs. Water" twist, remaining contestants were given the option to switch places with their loved one if their loved one was on Redemption Island. The game began with a twist called Day Zero, in which each of the ten pairs was marooned in a separate location, spending the night together before congregating as a full cast the following morning and dividing into two tribes. Due to this twist, this season is one of three to last longer than 39 days. This season also marks the second occurrence of the rock-picking tiebreaker. This is also the first time in 13 seasons, since Survivor: Fiji, to not feature a fan favorite vote that would award one player with US$100,000.

Survivor: Caramoan — Fans vs. Favorites is the 26th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The contestants included 10 new players, the "Fans", and 10 former players, the "Favorites", from six previous seasons returning for their second chance at the game. The Favorites include Erik Reichenbach, a "Fan" from the original "Fans vs. Favorites" season, Survivor: Micronesia. Similar to Russell Hantz during Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, the Favorites did not have an opportunity to see Malcolm's game-play in Survivor: Philippines, due to Philippines and this season being filmed back to back. The two premerge tribes were "Bikal" and "Gota", named for towns in the Caramoan Islands. The merged tribe was known as "Enil Edam", which contestant Malcolm Freberg named after his mother. 

Survivor: Philippines is the twenty-fifth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The contestants include 15 new players to the game and three returning players, who were previously removed from their earlier seasons due to injuries. Notable new contestants this season include The Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel and former Major League Baseball player Jeff Kent. The fifteen new castaways were split into three tribes and then introduced to their final tribe members, three returning castaways that had been medically evacuated from their previous seasons: Michael Skupin was assigned to Tandang, Jonathan Penner to Kalabaw, and Russell Swan to Matsing.

Survivor: One World is the 24th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, featuring 18 new castaways divided by gender into two tribes of nine. The cast is composed of 18 new players, initially divided into two tribes by gender: the 9 men composed Manono while the 9 women composed Salani. Notable cast members include Leif Manson, the first little person to compete on Survivor, and Monica Culpepper, wife of former NFL football player Brad Culpepper. The 18 castaways were divided into gender-based tribes and given maps to their camps, unaware they would lead to the same location. Despite living on the same beach, the tribes would remain split, building separate shelters and fending for their own tribe. As a result of the shared campsite, hidden immunity idols were designated for specific tribes; if a castaway found the idol designated for the opposing tribe, he or she was required to give it to a member of the other tribe before the next Tribal Council.

Survivor: South Pacific is the twenty-third season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Sixteen new castaways, previously divided into two tribes, Savaii and Upolu, were joined by returning contestants, Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth and Benjamin "Coach" Wade, with Ozzy joining Savaii and Coach joining Upolu by random draw. Redemption Island was again in play: voted out players would be sent to Redemption Island and participate in duels, with the winner remaining there until either the next duel or until two specific points where players were brought back into the game. This season features 16 new Survivor contestants — including Brandon Hantz, nephew of three-time Survivor contestant Russell Hantz, and country singer Whitney Duncan, a finalist on the fifth season of Nashville Star — and two returning players.

Survivor: Redemption Island is the twenty-second season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. The show featured returning players Russell Hantz and Rob Mariano and 16 new players to Survivor. This season introduced "Redemption Island" to the American version of Survivor, based in part on concepts already used in foreign versions of the show, including "The Island of the Dead" in the Israeli version, "Isla Purgatoryo" (Purgatory Island) in the Philippine version's second season, "Ghost Island" in the Serbian version's second season, and the duels in the 2002 Swedish edition. Instead of being out of the game immediately upon being voted out of their tribe, the voted off contestant would be taken to a secluded area known as Redemption Island. Once there, they were to sustain themselves in the same manner as when living with the tribe: living on limited food, water and shelter. They would be joined by the next person voted out, and those two people would face off in a duel in an arena constructed to resemble an old ruined temple, joined by two representatives from each tribe acting as observers. The winner remains in the game, and continues living at Redemption Island. The loser exits the game for good, throwing their buff into a small fire pit on their way out of the arena. At two predetermined points during the game, at the merge and with four players remaining in the game proper, the winner of the Redemption Island duel returns to the game.

Survivor: Nicaragua is the 21st season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The cast is composed of 20 players, initially splitting into two tribes based on their ages containing 10 members each. The tribes are Espada, contestants aged 40 and over; and La Flor, contestants aged 30 and younger. Both tribes also vied for ownership of the newly introduced Medallion of Power, which granted them an advantage when played in challenges.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains is the twentieth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. There were twenty contestants overall, divided into two tribes, Heroes and Villains. 

Survivor: Samoa is the 19th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season premiered on Thursday, September 17, 2009. Participant applications were due by January 14, 2009. Approximately 800 were invited to be interviewed in several states. Following this, approximately 48 semi-finalists were invited to Los Angeles in April 2009 for final interviews with the producers. From there, 20 finalists were selected to be contestants in the show, which was scheduled to occur between mid June and mid-July 2009 in Samoa. Similar to Survivor: Tocantins, the minimum age requirement for this season was 18 for most states.

On November 18, 2014, the season was released in a DVD set including all episodes and numerous special features, including unaired scenes and the Life at Ponderosa webseries. It is only made available through online purchase, manufactured by Amazon.com's CreateSpace.

Survivor: Tocantins – The Brazilian Highlands is the eighteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The players were split into two tribes, Timbira and Jalapao, prior to the game. However, before the game started, Jeff stated that each tribe was to vote for one of their own to not make the trek to camp. Both the hidden immunity idol and Exile were in play, with the clues to the hidden idols available at Exile. The winning tribe of each reward challenge would be able to select one member of the losing tribe to be exiled, while the exiled player would be able to choose a member of the winning tribe to join them. 

Survivor: Gabon — Earth's Last Eden is the seventeenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The players were divided into tribes by a schoolyard pick started by the oldest players, Bob and Gillian. This season, players sent to Exile Island had a choice of receiving a clue to the location of a Hidden Immunity Idol or a comfort item. Notable contestants from this season include former 2004 Olympic gold medalist Crystal Cox, professional gamer Ken Hoang, and Matty Whitmore, the grandson of actor James Whitmore.

Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites is the sixteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The contestants included ten new players, the "Fans," and ten former players, the "Favorites," from six previous seasons returning for their second chance at the game. The "Fans" were initially on the Airai tribe, with the "Favorites" on Malakal; both tribes were named after locations in Palau. Exile Island returned this season after being absent from Survivor: China, with a new twist of one castaway from each tribe being sent to Exile Island where they had to compete to find the hidden immunity idol. For the first time since Survivor: Panama, the final Tribal Council featured a Final Two rather than a Final Three. This was also the first season to have an even numbered jury, with this season having eight jury members, rather than the traditional seven or nine in past seasons, making a tie possible.

Survivor: China is the fifteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Season 15 features 16 new castaways, split into two tribes. The translation for Fei Long (飞龙) and Zhan Hu (战虎) mean Flying Dragon and Fighting Tiger respectively. The two tribes, Fei Long and Zhan Hu, were predetermined prior to the start of the game. As an added bonus for winning reward challenges was that the winning tribe was given the opportunity to kidnap a member from the losing tribe, where they would live at the winning tribe's camp until the next Immunity Challenge. This person would receive a container with a clue to the hidden immunity idol that they had to give to one of the winning tribe members.

Survivor: Fiji is the fourteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Fiji Islands. This season introduced the "Haves vs. Have Nots" twist. It began with the 19 contestants arriving at their combined beach as one group, later being divided into two groups; the haves and the have nots. Unlike previous seasons, there were two hidden immunity idols, with one hidden at each camp. The idol now had to be played before Jeff read the results of the voting, rather than after. Once a hidden immunity idol was used, it was rehidden rather than discarded. The idols were playable through the final five.

Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. During this season of Survivor, the 20 contestants were divided into four tribes by ethnicity (African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and European American). These four tribes were named some of the islands located in the Cook Islands: Manihiki, Puka Puka, Aitutaki, and Rarotonga. The four tribes evenly divided into two new mixed tribes after the second tribal council, taking the Aitutaki and Rarotonga names. A mutiny offer was made to all remaining players during before the merge; two of the players on the same tribe accepted. After the nine remaining contestants merged, they decided to name themselves Aitutonga. This season also featured the first time a tribe has voted off two members during a single tribal council. The concept of Exile Island returned, with a hidden immunity idol located somewhere on the island. Instead of the usual final two players facing a jury of seven, there was a final three facing a jury of nine, which included players who had been voted out before the merge.

Survivor: Panama — Exile Island, also known as Survivor: Panama, is the twelfth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The game began with the 16 competitors split into four tribes by both relative age and gender. They were introduced to the concept of "Exile Island" with the promise of a hidden immunity idol located somewhere on it, while one person from the losing tribe at challenges would be sent to the island and given clues to look for it. After the first four days, the four tribes were merged by schoolyard pick with mixed genders into two tribes, Casaya and La Mina. Each week at least one castaway is banished to Exile island away from all other contestants for the time period between the reward and immunity challenges. The castaway is given a single machete, a flint, a pot and a bucket of non-sanitized water.

Survivor: Guatemala — The Maya Empire is the eleventh season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Sixteen of the 18 players in the game were already split into two tribes, Nakúm and Yaxhá; both tribes received one additional tribe member, Bobby Jon and Stephenie, respectively, both who had previously appeared on Survivor: Palau. Aside from the staple twists such as the double Tribal Council and the tribe switch, a new twist called the hidden immunity idol was introduced.

Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The twenty players began the game by rowing a boat to shore, with the first player of each gender to reach shore to win immunity. The next day, Jeff Probst announced that they would now pick tribes via a schoolyard pick, with those who had won immunity getting first pick. 

Survivor: Vanuatu — Islands of Fire, is the ninth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The eighteen players were brought into the game at a native gathering, with the natives dividing the group into men and women. 

Survivor: All-Stars is the eighth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Eighteen players from previous seasons were divided into three tribes of six: Chapera, Mogo Mogo, and Saboga. 

Survivor: Pearl Islands is the seventh season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed on the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama, and had a pirate culture theme. The start of the game was announced as a surprise to the contestants, most of whom believed that they were on their way to a photo shoot. After being told they would begin the game with only the clothes on their back, they were divided into two tribes of eight, Morgan and Drake, and were given some money and sent to a small village to barter and buy supplies for their camps in lieu of being given them as in seasons past. 

Survivor: The Amazon is the sixth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. For the first time ever, the initial tribes were divided by sex. The two initial tribes were the all-female Jaburu (named for a native stork) and the all-male Tambaqui (a native fish). 

Survivor: Thailand is the fifth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The sixteen contestants were split into two tribes of eight by the two eldest contestants, Jake and Jan; this was the first time in series history that the tribes were not preselected. 

Survivor: Marquesas is the fourth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The sixteen contestants were divided into two preselected tribes of eight, Rotu and Maraamu. This was the first season where the contestants were not given any initial food, water, or matches. Also, the rules of individual immunity were changed so that a contestant who won immunity in a challenge was able to give it to another contestant. A new tiebreaker format was developed in preference of the past-used tiebreaker involving previous votes cast. The controversial new Purple Rock tiebreaker was used.

Survivor: Africa is the third season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The sixteen castaways were split into two tribes, Samburu and Boran, and were given camps that included pre-constructed fencing to help protect them from wildlife. 

Survivor: The Australian Outback is the second season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The sixteen contestants were initially separated into two tribes, named Ogakor and Kucha, named after the words for "crocodile" and "kangaroo" in an Australian Aboriginal language respectively.

Survivor: Borneo is the first season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Over 6,000 people applied for the show; 800 were then interviewed in 16 cities. Forty-eight people were then chosen, and after background checks and psychological evaluations done by the producers, the final 16 contestants and two alternates were picked. As the survivors awaited the game's start, Survivor crews prepared the island for reward and immunity challenges, removing harmful items, checking for harmful animals in specific locations, and building a Tribal Council set. Camera and other crews were sent to the island three weeks in advance for testing. On the opposite side of the island from the tribes, headquarters were set up for the producers and crew to live in. This facility included traditional trailers with running water, televisions, and a phone line. The Tribal Council set was built 200 yards from the crew's facility. The first 16 survivor contestants were initially separated into two tribes, Tagi and Pagong, which represented the names of their beaches.