Survivor is the American version of the international Survivor reality competition television franchise, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson created by Charlie Parsons which premiered in 1997. The American series premiered on May 31, 2000, on CBS. It is hosted by television personality Jeff Probst, who is also an executive producer along with Mark Burnett and original creator, Parsons.

The television show places a group of strangers in an isolated location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow contestants, until only one remains and is given the title of "Sole Survivor" and is awarded the grand prize of US$1,000,000.

The American version has been very successful. From the 2000–01 through the 2005–06 television seasons, its first eleven seasons (competitions) rated among the top ten most watched shows. It is commonly considered the leader of American reality TV because it was the first highly rated and profitable reality show on broadcast television in the U.S., and is considered one of the best shows of the 2000s (decade).^[5][6][7] The series has been nominated for several Emmy Awards, including winning for Outstanding Sound Mixing in 2001, Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002, and was subsequently nominated four times for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program when the category was introduced in 2003. Jeff Probst won the award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program four consecutive times after the award was introduced in 2008. In 2007, the series was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all-time.^[8] In 2013, TV Guide ranked it at #39 on its list of the "60 Best Series of All Time".^[9]

Season 39, Survivor: Island of the Idols, premiered on September 25, 2019.^[10][11]

The first U.S. season of Survivor followed the same general format as the Swedish series. Sixteen or more players, split between two or more "tribes", are taken to a remote isolated location (usually in a tropical climate) and are forced to live off the land with meager supplies for 39 days (42 in The Australian Outback). Frequent physical and mental challenges are used to pit the teams against each other for rewards, such as food or luxuries, or for "immunity", forcing the other tribe to attend "Tribal Council", where they must vote off one of their tribemates.

Signaling the halfway point in the game, survivors from both tribes come together to live as one, making it to the "merge". At this point, survivors will compete against each other to win Individual Immunity; winning immunity prevents that player from being voted out at Tribal Council. Most players that are voted out after the merge form the game's "jury". Once the group gets down to three people, a final Tribal Council is held where the remaining players plead their case to the jury members. The jury then votes for which player should be considered the "Sole Survivor" and win the show's grand prize. In all seasons for the United States version, this has included a $1-million prize in addition to the Sole Survivor title; some seasons (particularly earlier seasons) have included additional prizes, such as a car.

The U.S. version has introduced numerous modifications, or "twists", on the core rules in order to keep the players on their toes and to prevent players from relying on strategies that succeeded in prior seasons. These changes have included tribal switches, seasons starting with more than two tribes, the ability to exile a player from a tribe for a short time, unannounced returning players, hidden immunity idols that players can use to save themselves or others at Tribal Council, special voting powers which can be used to influence the result at Tribal Council, chance to return to regular gameplay after elimination through the "Redemption Island," "Edge of Extinction" or "The Outcast Tribe" twists, and a final four fire-making challenge as of season 35.

The United States version is produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by Jeff Probst. Each competition is called a season, has a unique name, and lasts from 13 to 16 episodes. The first season, Survivor: Borneo, was broadcast as a summer replacement show in 2000. Starting with Survivor: Africa, there have been two seasons aired during each U.S. television season.

In the first season, there was a 75-person crew. By season 22, the crew had grown to 325 people.^[12]

A total of 590 contestants have competed on Survivor's 39 seasons.

The original idea of Survivor was developed by Charlie Parsons in 1994 under the name Castaway. Parsons formed Planet24 with Bob Geldof to produce the show and tried to have the BBC broadcast it, but the network turned it down. Parsons went to Swedish television and was able to find a broadcaster, ultimately producing Expedition Robinson in 1997. The show was a success, and plans for international versions were made.^[27]

Mark Burnett intended to be the person to bring the show to the United States, though he recognized that the Swedish version was a bit crude and mean-spirited. Burnett retooled the concept to use better production values, based on his prior Eco-Challenge show, and wanted to focus more on the human drama experienced while under pressure. Burnett spent about a year trying to find a broadcaster that would take the show, retooling the concept based on feedback. On November 24, 1999, Burnett made his pitch to Les Moonves of CBS, and Moonves agreed to pick up the show.^[27] The first season, Survivor: Borneo was filmed during March and April 2000, and was first broadcast on May 31, 2000. The first season became a ratings success, leading to its current ongoing run.^[27]

The American version of Survivor has been shot in many locations around the world since the first season, usually favoring warm and tropical climates. Starting with season 19, two seasons have filmed back-to-back in the same location, to be aired in the same broadcast year. Since season 33, the show has filmed in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji.

Since The Australian Outback, the announcement of each season's winner and subsequent reunion have been broadcast live in front of a studio audience, usually alternating between the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City (home to the CBS' Late Show franchise) and CBS Television City or the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles.

Survivor has consistently been one of the top 20 most watched shows through its first 23 seasons.^[28]

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of the United States version of Survivor on CBS.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

At the end of each U.S. Survivor season from Survivor: Africa onward, various Survivor props and memorabilia are auctioned online for charity. The most common recipient has been the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.^[138] Most recently, proceeds have gone toward The Serpentine Project, a charity founded by Jeff Probst, dedicated to helping those transitioning out of foster care upon emancipation at 18 years of age.^[139] Items up for auction have included flags, mats, tree mails, contestant torches, contestant clothing, autographed items, immunity idols and the voting urn.^[140]

The success of Survivor spawned a wide range of merchandise from the very first season. While early items available were limited to buffs, water bottles, hats, T-shirts, and other typical souvenir items, the marketability of the franchise has grown tremendously. Today, fans can find innumerable items, including computer and board games, interactive online games, mugs, tribal-themed jewelry, beach towels, dog tags, magnets, multi-function tools, DVD seasons, Survivor party kits, insider books, soundtracks, and more.

Seasons 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and 10 were released in stores. The remaining seasons have been released exclusively on Amazon.com through their CreateSpace manufacture on demand program. Select seasons have also been released on Blu-ray.

All seasons are available on CBS All Access, the network's over-the-top subscription streaming service in both the United States and Australia (where the service is branded as 10 All Access).

In the 2001 Survivor video game for PC, developed by Infogrames, it allows players to play and create characters for the game based on the Borneo or Australian Outback cast members. The game also includes a character creation system for making custom characters.

Gameplay consists of choosing survivors' skills (fishing, cooking, etc.), forming alliances, developing relationships with other tribe members, and voting off competitors at tribal council.

The game was very poorly received by critics. GameSpot gave the game a 'Terrible' score of 2.0 out of 10, saying "If you're harboring even a tiny urge to buy this game, please listen very carefully to this advice: Don't do it."^[159] Likewise, IGN gave the game a 'Painful' 2.4 out of 10, stating "It is horribly boring and repetitive. The graphics are weak and even the greatest Survivor fan would break the CD in two after playing it for 20 minutes."^[160] The game was the recipient of Game Revolution's lowest score of all time, an F-.^[161] An 'interactive review' was created specially for the game, and features interactive comments like "The Survival periods are about as much fun as" followed by a drop-down menu, "watching paint dry/throbbing hemorrhoids/staring at air/being buried alive."^[161]

On November 4, 2009, it was announced that a second video game adaptation would be released for the Wii and Nintendo DS. The game would require players to participate in various challenges like those in the reality shows in order to win.^[162]

Various soundtracks have been released featuring music composed by Russ Landau, including soundtracks for seasons 9 through 27 (with the exception of season 14).^[163]

The Tiki Twirl thrill ride at California's Great America in Santa Clara, California was originally called Survivor: The Ride. The ride includes a rotating platform that moves along an undulating track. Riders can be sprayed by water guns hidden in oversized tribal masks. Theme elements included drums and other familiar Survivor musical accents playing in the background, Survivor memorabilia throughout the queue and other merchandise for sale in nearby gift shops.^[164]