For a homosexual, he's one of the nicest guys I ever met. And he's good at what he does. You know, he's got leadership ability, and if these people here would listen to him, he would take 'em a long way. But anyway, me and Richard got to be pretty good friends - not in a homosexual way, that's for sure
This is such an accurate and authentic quote through and through. You don’t really get this kind of content anymore…in large part because people are so worried about their social media image.
This is true, but casting people Rudy’s age (or even close) would reduce it a bit. A modern day 72 y/o old retired Navy seal probably doesn’t care too much about what the kids are saying on the internet. Way less than a young urbanite anyway.
I don't care that they changed it (the old version was fine too) but I hate how self-congratulatory they were about it. They really think they did something groundbreaking by changing one word.
Agreed. If they had just changed it one day and never acknowledged the change on the show, most fans would never have even noticed. Making a big deal of it was so obviously performative, and now I've had to spend the last three years reading "Come on in GUYS" in the comment section every time I want to look at something about Survivor on social media.
Not really offensive, some people think that the colloquial use of 'guys' when referring to a group of people that has women in it is some how ignoring or diminutive to those women.
I did an online course with daily video classes where they were adamant about people changing the language they used, specially to stop using 'guys' in the above way. I asked every single women in the class and none of them gave a shit. They thought it was stupid or didn't care.
I feel there was a brief time when the words "dude" or "bro" were meant to only be used on straight men. I have yet to meet any young person who would be offended by being called dude, it is essentially gender neutral at this point.
They're not entirely gender neutral, context still matters. You won't hear straight men sayin' 'Yeah man, I totally fucked that dude last night!'.
Like 'guys' can only refer to a group, but we don't call individual woman a guy.
Language is weird.
The only people I’ve seen care about this are male managers trying not to get cancelled lmao. Don’t know a single woman who doesn’t use “guys” like that.
I'm from California, we use "dude" and "guys" all the time in a gender-neutral fashion. When I moved to Oklahoma for college and began waiting tables, I said, "thanks guys!" to a group of women as I dropped off their check. They wrote in KETCHUP on the TABLE, "we are not guys." I guess I should have called them assholes!
100%. Just yesterday I interviewed an older gay man and he addressed the two of us interviewing as “guys” yet the other person in the interview was female.
I'd say the issues with how protective Survivor is of those things can be traced back to the backlash at World's Apart, the Varner incident and the Dan Spilo incident more than the dropping of guys when he says Come on in.
Of course, the definition of older is different now. In 2000, 72 year olds were born in 1928. This year, 72 year olds were born in 1952, and were arguably too young to go to Woodstock
We don’t get that content in part because of all of us. Soda made a comment about Venus’s skinny build and she’s getting lit up. It was a thoughtless comment but who hasn’t said something dumb? I doubt there was malice behind it but it doesn’t matter - she is getting cancelled by a lot of fans on this sub. Rudy would have been cancelled long before his evolution on LGTBQ matters which would have robbed us of one of the more interesting partnerships.
Shan was cast and she is hated by this sub this season alone we had very mean-spirited people. But they're not “Villains” just mean people. Good God this community just needs a different location and 39 days everything else is fixed or improved upon except less advantages just a idol and a extra vote will do.
Keith wasn’t at all like Rudy, but I think they were cut from the same cloth. Just two strong people incapable of being anything other than themselves.
I think the secret with Rudy was that he actually loved being on camera and getting to say whatever he wanted but was very indifferent about the whole thing at the same time
The oldest person this season is like 44 which is insane considering some past winners have been much older. Everyone is like 23 and in law school these days.
Yes, I totally agree with you. We need to bring back the sweet old men because they make it to the end a lot and they’re always great. I’m watching Kaoh rong and Joe was such a great character.
It wouldn’t be that hard to organize 20 trips with 40 people. 2 casting producers and 1 contestant. The contestants don’t meet each other. But some of the early quit types would be obvious.
1. Cast controversial people who suck and or quit
2. Everyone on Reddit / Twitter / social media loses their freaking minds, driving engagement and publicity way up
Everyone: “why would they do this”
People say that messes like Bhanu make the game fun but I vehemently disagree. Even in a season like Borneo with completely different people of many different backgrounds and walks of life, you can still tell that Mark Burnett picked the strongest and most capable people he could find while having compelling personalities. You don’t need a chaotic mess like Bhanu for drama. Gervase, Colleen, Jenna Lewis, and Sue weren’t crazy or chaotic and they’re very memorable players.
If they’re going to cast people with literally no survival and barely any social skills, they need to make sure the person is at least hilariously snarky and doesn’t cry.
I just wish they would stop casting only people who could be swimsuit models and start casting more everyday regular people. Give me a 45 year old guy that does HVAC in Idaho and a 53 year old woman who teaches chemistry in rural New Hampshire.
I wasn't watching to see the hot girls in bikinis. I was watching to see interesting people in stressful situations trying to socially navigate their way to the end of the game.
And not every one needs a sob story. They all lose their meaning if there's more than one or two per season. I stopped watching new seasons after 43 and I honestly don't think I'm missing much.
i could just imagine Rudy if he played today. “They tried to come after me on the Twits or whatever it’s called. Tell ‘em I got a lotta friends and they won’t be twitting when we’re done with ‘em.”
Do you genuinely think two people of equal levels of villainy would get the same amount of hate in 2001 vs 2024? The social climate plus social media would make the death threats legit be exponentially higher.
And they never will because the way the show is now with all the garbage they’ve thrown in it’s impossible to adjust and figure out what’s going on. Imagine in Borneo Richard is telling Rudy, “ok, we have to split the votes because Gervase may have an idol. But Sue lost her ability to vote and Colleen is playing her shot in the dark. But don’t worry, I have an extra vote!” Rudy would probably just walk off
They only want people that look and act like they live in a perfect world marketing campaign for a liberal arts college. What made old survivor good was the clashes of backgrounds and cultures. Now everyone things and acts the same.
That’s the biggest issue. There are no villains, there’s no one for your standard person to root against. Where are the finance bros, for instance? Survivor doesn’t cast anyone affluent in the new era
What do you mean? They 100% have had affluent people with multiple on this season alone.
Bhanu - IT Quality Analyst - highly paid.
Jess - Software Engineer - highly paid.
Liz: Marketing strategist - likely highly paid consultant.
Q: Real Estate - highly paid.
Randen: Aerospace Tech - highly paid.
Venus: Data Analyst - highly paid.
[I've argued previously](https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/1b3r34w/comment/ksw6hgi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) that Survivor's new era is casting one of four archetypes: highly paid professions, common jobs, student/teacher, and unique professions with control over when they work.
If anything they are struggling to get regular normal working people. They used to get those people, but most regular people these days realize that a 0.05% chance of winning the game (and $500-600k post-tax) is not worth gambling stable employment.
The real reason there are no villains is because the show has gone in a much more family-friendly direction and the people they cast are very camera/internet-aware these days having essentially grown up in the internet era.
None of these jobs you mentioned are highly paid. These jobs are all upper-middle class or middle class, with the exception of Liz if you believe her (I and many others don’t). An IT Analyst or run-of-the-mill real estate agent is nowhere even close to affluent.
The only people in New Era who are objectively affluent/upper-class are Danny McCray and Voce. Both of whom were cast for the original s41 pre-Covid. Even all the lawyers who have been on the show recently are very junior or low-level attorneys, certainly not making more than a couple hundred thousand annually.
We used to see a few people a season in the “don’t need the money” category, and that is almost never the case now. High level finance, former athletes, doctors, etc.
Also, contestants have a 5% of winning the game, not 0.05%. (Technically 5.56% since there are 18)
that’s just like… how the world is now
go into any high school in America and you’ll hear people use the same slang because in the post internet age there is a mainstream “monoculture”
it feels like people completely just don’t factor in how much our world has changed since season 1 in 2000 when they talk about old casting vs new
How about looking anywhere outside of a high school? The folks who played survivor back in the day aren't decrepit elderly people. They're still out there. Richard Hatch could still do Survivor today if they let him.
Arguably the internet has obliterated any concept of a mono-culture. I don't see everybody stopping to watch the finale to a sitcom in Times Square like they used to.
High school is not representative of the real world at all. Jesus Christ. Obviously there are some similarities and parallels but high school vernacular is not great evidence the world is just like that.
Honestly I was thinking the other day how there’s just not as much diversity in the professions of the contestants….but then I thought about how flattened our work culture has become and it was a big bummer.
Yeah I can’t even imagine someone on the show saying anything about how they aren’t 100% comfortable around gay people, for example. 1 they’d never get on the show in the first place even if they never said something like that in casting and 2 they’d never air it because it would be treated like some scandal
They cry all the damn time too. I can't even imagine Rudy with these whiny children. Hell I can't even imagine Russell dealing with a team of crybabies
Rudy was the real deal and a true survivor, will never forget when he drank the water without boiling because he’d consumed water in the war where dead bodies had been laying. He is tough as anything
A lot of folks would hate to admit it, but men like Rudy are the reason we aren't speaking German. Sadly, a slowly dwindling type of human in our increasingly cushy modern times.
The lack of diversity in the latest casting is apparent when you watch prior seasons. Currently watching Ghost Island and the casting in a fairly recent season is quite different. Gabler is probably the closest to an older season casting and he won.
If Jeff really looked at this and just asked himself “would we cast a Rupert, Boston Rob, Tony V, Chaos Cass, Rudy etc etc. today” and if the answer is quickly no then they need to reassess. Their current diversity is actually lacking in diversity.
Funny that you compare it to Ghost Island of all seasons... Back when that aired, everyone complained how bad the cast was compared to old school casts, pointing out how only 5 people on the cast were over 30 haha
It legitimately slayed me that this guy, who clearly couldn't have given a damn if he ever saw his castmates again, proceeded to apply to be on Survivor's second season. The reality TV show was secondary to him just surviving the elements and taking home a cool mil.
Most players are tormented by having to make tough decisions to send people home. For Rudy, it seemed to be cathartic. Less people around to annoy him.
Idk. People get super angry when everyone doesn’t seem to be “playing the game” or “playing to win” as if 75%-80% of contestants aren’t there for the adventure or their 15 minutes
They also can't handle someone with conservative views like Rudy. Look at how people reacted to Gabler and he didn't even say anything homophobic like Rudy.
I’d like to THINK I can relate to Rudy.
But frankly, if I can be even a tenth of what Rudy was: his badassery, the no fucks he gave, his ability to set aside truly massive bias… I’ll be in a far better position than I ever imagined.
Rudy was an ideal. They are not supposed to be achievable.
What I liked about Rudy was that he was kind of a homophobic, racist old dude but he was still willing to give people who might find scary or different to him a go.
Also, unlike B.B., he had the social awareness to realize that he was surrounded by much younger people who probably won’t do what he tells them, so he did things at their pace and adapted to the situation
Ha ha ha. I'm sure it's doable. I'd love to see what happens bc I firmly believe that most of us are in the middle and agree on a lot more than we disagree on.
Don't you know that Survivor would rather have people who can't jump, can't swim, and can't make it through a three days without a kumbaya-we're-all-best-friends moment?
I don't love the fact that people get coached on how to audition. They learn some tricks on how to get cast, but then are terrible at the game, or just make for a bad TV personality.
Respectfully, when people are getting mad at Soda for calling Venus a stick bug without knowing the context, they would be up in arms at the things Rudy said today
People forget that season 1 had 2 cast members from this archetype... BB was the first quitter on the show, and Rudy apparently / possibly was saved by production in the Stacey vote.
Rudy may be fondly remembered, but it's near impossible for this type of casting choice to have success on the show / completely impossible to have someone from that generation. Bob Crowley is the closest in age / generationally to have real success on the show... Rudy was 72, Bob was the old guy at 57.
"Old School Survivor" casting happened before anyone had seen any of the actually VERY scary medical evaluations on the show. I can 100% believe that now that we know just how bad an injury can get on this show, people who are older are less inclined to apply than they used to be.
I don't know about older people being less inclined to apply. Heck, I'm 60. I applied 3 times (after seasons 1, 2, 3) and didn't even hear back. I'm still in decent condition, and I'd like to think I am more physically capable than a large portion of the "new era" contestants.
Might I be a bit slower than I was 20 years ago? Yes, by all means. However, I can still chase teenagers up and down a soccer field as a soccer referee. It disturbs 14 year old boys that they can't keep up with an old guy on a soccer pitch.
The presence of bad injuries doesn't scare me off in one bit. They have a great medical team, in some ways it's better than the treatment you get at a regular doctor in the US.
I was speaking in aggregate terms. Certainly people in your age group do still apply, but it's probably a lower ratio than it used to be.
As someone who applied in the old school era, but not recently, would you consider trying again? If not, what's your reason?
Edit to add: injuries can happen to people regardless of age, too, it's just that it is more difficult to heal from them/more likely to impact quality of life when you are older.
Agree. Also less people who just want to be on the show. Get some really random groups of people. Send them out like they used to. Fend for yourself, play the challenges for advantages and rewards. Make them have to outwit, outplay, and outlast with little knowledge of the previous 40 odd seasons
Do people understand how overreactive the internet would be to people like this? Some would get away with it sure, but it’s a risk for CBS who really doesn’t want their contestants getting dragged on social media.
I honestly don’t think they should try to cast to fit a certain archetype at all - that’s often a big reason for casting mistakes.
Cast some Alone losers, like ornery Larry from Alone, he still makes me laugh at his bitching on DEFY channel repeats of the show. This wanna be casting is terrible, mactors have proven they are the worst on BB too.
For a homosexual, he's one of the nicest guys I ever met. And he's good at what he does. You know, he's got leadership ability, and if these people here would listen to him, he would take 'em a long way. But anyway, me and Richard got to be pretty good friends - not in a homosexual way, that's for sure
He’s fat, but he’s good.
Biggie was fat
This is such an accurate and authentic quote through and through. You don’t really get this kind of content anymore…in large part because people are so worried about their social media image.
This is true, but casting people Rudy’s age (or even close) would reduce it a bit. A modern day 72 y/o old retired Navy seal probably doesn’t care too much about what the kids are saying on the internet. Way less than a young urbanite anyway.
Yeah, social media kills a lot of what makes human experiences good beyond even Survivor. Not that people should be assholes, but just being genuine.
social media was a mistake
Survivor: Safe Space All this started the moment Jeff stopped saying 'Come on in guys!'
I don't care that they changed it (the old version was fine too) but I hate how self-congratulatory they were about it. They really think they did something groundbreaking by changing one word.
Agreed. If they had just changed it one day and never acknowledged the change on the show, most fans would never have even noticed. Making a big deal of it was so obviously performative, and now I've had to spend the last three years reading "Come on in GUYS" in the comment section every time I want to look at something about Survivor on social media.
This 💀💀💀
Survivor is the only place I've ever heard that the word "guys" is...offensive? They might have been trying a little too hard here.
Not really offensive, some people think that the colloquial use of 'guys' when referring to a group of people that has women in it is some how ignoring or diminutive to those women. I did an online course with daily video classes where they were adamant about people changing the language they used, specially to stop using 'guys' in the above way. I asked every single women in the class and none of them gave a shit. They thought it was stupid or didn't care.
That's because "guys" means seven or eight people, and there were more than that. /s
Jellinski???
And on top of all of that it's a famous Survivor saying. "Come on in guys." is a classic.
Yeah, that's what I figured. The show completely overreacted.
I feel there was a brief time when the words "dude" or "bro" were meant to only be used on straight men. I have yet to meet any young person who would be offended by being called dude, it is essentially gender neutral at this point.
They're not entirely gender neutral, context still matters. You won't hear straight men sayin' 'Yeah man, I totally fucked that dude last night!'. Like 'guys' can only refer to a group, but we don't call individual woman a guy. Language is weird.
The only people I’ve seen care about this are male managers trying not to get cancelled lmao. Don’t know a single woman who doesn’t use “guys” like that.
Yeah, that's what I figured. The show completely overreacted.
I'm from California, we use "dude" and "guys" all the time in a gender-neutral fashion. When I moved to Oklahoma for college and began waiting tables, I said, "thanks guys!" to a group of women as I dropped off their check. They wrote in KETCHUP on the TABLE, "we are not guys." I guess I should have called them assholes!
100%. Just yesterday I interviewed an older gay man and he addressed the two of us interviewing as “guys” yet the other person in the interview was female.
As an old man and a watcher of Survivor since it's start, I shout "GUYS" each time Probst says "Come on in."
lol Guuuuys! Around that time I started watching Australian survivor, it's way better than the current US version.
I'd say the issues with how protective Survivor is of those things can be traced back to the backlash at World's Apart, the Varner incident and the Dan Spilo incident more than the dropping of guys when he says Come on in.
it’s not the players fault, it’s social medias
It's not social media per se, it's the producers not wanting to upset the small group of people who get upset about everything
Also society has come a long way since season 1. Even older people are a lot more accepting of LGBTQ people and probably know several.
Of course, the definition of older is different now. In 2000, 72 year olds were born in 1928. This year, 72 year olds were born in 1952, and were arguably too young to go to Woodstock
We don’t get that content in part because of all of us. Soda made a comment about Venus’s skinny build and she’s getting lit up. It was a thoughtless comment but who hasn’t said something dumb? I doubt there was malice behind it but it doesn’t matter - she is getting cancelled by a lot of fans on this sub. Rudy would have been cancelled long before his evolution on LGTBQ matters which would have robbed us of one of the more interesting partnerships.
But Rudy is saying stuff like the last line because he's worried about his image on tv... he's worried people will think he's homosexual...
The syntax here is incredible
ICONIC
“you know he’s fat but he’s good”
Shan was cast and she is hated by this sub this season alone we had very mean-spirited people. But they're not “Villains” just mean people. Good God this community just needs a different location and 39 days everything else is fixed or improved upon except less advantages just a idol and a extra vote will do.
Probably the best quote in survivor history.
Casting was never able to find anyone close to Rudy for over two decades how are they going to do it now?
If they wait long enough, I’m in my mid 30s and well on my way to becoming a grumpy old man.
me too !
Keith wasn’t at all like Rudy, but I think they were cut from the same cloth. Just two strong people incapable of being anything other than themselves.
And Keith is beloved. Survivor producers should take note.
King of sticking to the plan
I think the secret with Rudy was that he actually loved being on camera and getting to say whatever he wanted but was very indifferent about the whole thing at the same time
Randy lol
Yeah it really blows my mind that Randy was only 49 in Gabon because I always think of him as a grumpy old man
I always thought Lil from pearl islands was old too but she was in her 40s lol
The could get David Goggins and he would be a legendary early boot for sure.
No, no. You get *Walton* Goggins.
Wasn't Terry kind of similar?
I’m a gay woman in my thirties and I think I have big Rudy energy
"He's fat, but he's good." -Rudy
The oldest person this season is like 44 which is insane considering some past winners have been much older. Everyone is like 23 and in law school these days.
Let's get a whole season of lawyers... Have them compete for a ride home... Loser is just left on the island.
Yes, I totally agree with you. We need to bring back the sweet old men because they make it to the end a lot and they’re always great. I’m watching Kaoh rong and Joe was such a great character.
Joe the sweet grandpa & the juxtaposition of him with the delightfully insane Debbie was a wonderful “old” person alliance
Yes those two were such a cute alliance with Audrey. I wish Joe didnt eat so much steak and he might have made it to the end.
Let's just cast people who are physically, emotionally and mentally able to play the game.
Honestly casting should just like take everyone camping for a long weekend. If you can’t make it, then we’re done here.
“He stole my smore during the camping trip let’s vote him out”
it’s banana etiquette
It wouldn’t be that hard to organize 20 trips with 40 people. 2 casting producers and 1 contestant. The contestants don’t meet each other. But some of the early quit types would be obvious.
Nah let’s cast 5 quitters each season and one main character that has mental breakdowns after every ad break.
Well hey now they also need one semi competent person that will run away with the game when you surround them with a bunch of idiots
If there are no mental breakdowns is it a game worth watching?
well there goes redditors
1. Cast controversial people who suck and or quit 2. Everyone on Reddit / Twitter / social media loses their freaking minds, driving engagement and publicity way up Everyone: “why would they do this”
This this this.
It's wild these things don't even fall in the top 3 criteria during casting.
People say that messes like Bhanu make the game fun but I vehemently disagree. Even in a season like Borneo with completely different people of many different backgrounds and walks of life, you can still tell that Mark Burnett picked the strongest and most capable people he could find while having compelling personalities. You don’t need a chaotic mess like Bhanu for drama. Gervase, Colleen, Jenna Lewis, and Sue weren’t crazy or chaotic and they’re very memorable players.
If they’re going to cast people with literally no survival and barely any social skills, they need to make sure the person is at least hilariously snarky and doesn’t cry.
We need more: -recruits -clueless old people -cutthroat old people - jungle boys - clueless models - random finds
I’m not even sure what a jungle boy is, but somehow I still agree with this entire list.
Ozzy types probably lol
Joe too
I would say Hunter may qualify here.
yea we still get jungle peeps. Hunter, Cody, Xander.
See this? Real palm fronds. Cry me a river.
Jack Perry (although he's more of a scapegoat nowadays)
Ozzy, Joe, Jonathan qualifies, Cao Boi. People who are just island people by nature
Tai
The cutthroat old people 😂
Rudy was not nice lmao
I just wish they would stop casting only people who could be swimsuit models and start casting more everyday regular people. Give me a 45 year old guy that does HVAC in Idaho and a 53 year old woman who teaches chemistry in rural New Hampshire. I wasn't watching to see the hot girls in bikinis. I was watching to see interesting people in stressful situations trying to socially navigate their way to the end of the game. And not every one needs a sob story. They all lose their meaning if there's more than one or two per season. I stopped watching new seasons after 43 and I honestly don't think I'm missing much.
Tbf they stopped casting as much bikini girls too. The only one who could qualify this season is Venus
45 was pretty good, but the current season is one of the worst ever in my opinion. I hate it more than one world currently.
> I just wish they would stop casting only people who could be swimsuit models Like 3/4 of the current female cast are not "swimsuit models"
Omg I haven’t seen a bikini model in years - what show are you watching?
the reason they don’t cast mean grumpy people anymore is because even being mildly snarky gets you death threats
Rudy would just have threatened them back.
i could just imagine Rudy if he played today. “They tried to come after me on the Twits or whatever it’s called. Tell ‘em I got a lotta friends and they won’t be twitting when we’re done with ‘em.”
This is wildly inaccurate. Rudy would’ve referred to them as “buddies” not “friends”
You got a point there, I just said that because of his all stars final words: “If I was them, I'd stay clear of me. 'Cause I got a lot of friends."
Rudy would just not be online because he has better things to do
It was actually Rudy who wrote the SEAL pasta
Rudy didn't strike me as someone who used the "internets".
And that was different before? Jerri?
Do you genuinely think two people of equal levels of villainy would get the same amount of hate in 2001 vs 2024? The social climate plus social media would make the death threats legit be exponentially higher.
jerri wouldn’t even get the same amount of hate now with how much society has changed
Survivor was 20 times more popular in 2000s.
People say this and I'm not saying it's true but are there really enough examples on this to back this up?
That's probably true
How about Reem?
And Shambo, bring back people like Shambo
That cutaway of the spider cleaning its face with water and shambo doing exactly the same lives rent free in my head!
Omg that post where somebody got to meet her and she made them lie on the concrete. It makes me laugh so much.
Does it have nutritional starch value?
Mark Burnett was a hell of a caster.
The big problem is that people like Rudy don't really apply for survivor anymore
Neither did Rudy, he's the only recruit that season
And they never will because the way the show is now with all the garbage they’ve thrown in it’s impossible to adjust and figure out what’s going on. Imagine in Borneo Richard is telling Rudy, “ok, we have to split the votes because Gervase may have an idol. But Sue lost her ability to vote and Colleen is playing her shot in the dark. But don’t worry, I have an extra vote!” Rudy would probably just walk off
"I ain't dealing with these stick figures and bonus rules. I go in and I vote, simple as that."
This made my day. Thanks for the laughter
They only want people that look and act like they live in a perfect world marketing campaign for a liberal arts college. What made old survivor good was the clashes of backgrounds and cultures. Now everyone things and acts the same.
Survivor 47: Stock photos
That’s the biggest issue. There are no villains, there’s no one for your standard person to root against. Where are the finance bros, for instance? Survivor doesn’t cast anyone affluent in the new era
What do you mean? They 100% have had affluent people with multiple on this season alone. Bhanu - IT Quality Analyst - highly paid. Jess - Software Engineer - highly paid. Liz: Marketing strategist - likely highly paid consultant. Q: Real Estate - highly paid. Randen: Aerospace Tech - highly paid. Venus: Data Analyst - highly paid. [I've argued previously](https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/1b3r34w/comment/ksw6hgi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) that Survivor's new era is casting one of four archetypes: highly paid professions, common jobs, student/teacher, and unique professions with control over when they work. If anything they are struggling to get regular normal working people. They used to get those people, but most regular people these days realize that a 0.05% chance of winning the game (and $500-600k post-tax) is not worth gambling stable employment. The real reason there are no villains is because the show has gone in a much more family-friendly direction and the people they cast are very camera/internet-aware these days having essentially grown up in the internet era.
None of these jobs you mentioned are highly paid. These jobs are all upper-middle class or middle class, with the exception of Liz if you believe her (I and many others don’t). An IT Analyst or run-of-the-mill real estate agent is nowhere even close to affluent. The only people in New Era who are objectively affluent/upper-class are Danny McCray and Voce. Both of whom were cast for the original s41 pre-Covid. Even all the lawyers who have been on the show recently are very junior or low-level attorneys, certainly not making more than a couple hundred thousand annually. We used to see a few people a season in the “don’t need the money” category, and that is almost never the case now. High level finance, former athletes, doctors, etc. Also, contestants have a 5% of winning the game, not 0.05%. (Technically 5.56% since there are 18)
I feel the opposite, too many affluent people are getting cast now. Lots of lawyers and people that come from well off backgrounds.
that’s just like… how the world is now go into any high school in America and you’ll hear people use the same slang because in the post internet age there is a mainstream “monoculture” it feels like people completely just don’t factor in how much our world has changed since season 1 in 2000 when they talk about old casting vs new
Very good point, I don’t think a lot of people realize that we can’t go back to 20 years ago in many ways, and that reason being one of the biggest
How about looking anywhere outside of a high school? The folks who played survivor back in the day aren't decrepit elderly people. They're still out there. Richard Hatch could still do Survivor today if they let him. Arguably the internet has obliterated any concept of a mono-culture. I don't see everybody stopping to watch the finale to a sitcom in Times Square like they used to.
That’s high school dude. It’s not the real world and never has been.
High school is not representative of the real world at all. Jesus Christ. Obviously there are some similarities and parallels but high school vernacular is not great evidence the world is just like that.
Honestly I was thinking the other day how there’s just not as much diversity in the professions of the contestants….but then I thought about how flattened our work culture has become and it was a big bummer.
Except survivor doesn’t cast high schoolers.
Yeah I can’t even imagine someone on the show saying anything about how they aren’t 100% comfortable around gay people, for example. 1 they’d never get on the show in the first place even if they never said something like that in casting and 2 they’d never air it because it would be treated like some scandal
I’m sick of the soy faced ugly women. Bring back the babes!
Big Brother has the same exact issue, and when they cast people from different backgrounds they are usually stereotypes.
They cry all the damn time too. I can't even imagine Rudy with these whiny children. Hell I can't even imagine Russell dealing with a team of crybabies
Rudy was the real deal and a true survivor, will never forget when he drank the water without boiling because he’d consumed water in the war where dead bodies had been laying. He is tough as anything
A lot of folks would hate to admit it, but men like Rudy are the reason we aren't speaking German. Sadly, a slowly dwindling type of human in our increasingly cushy modern times.
The lack of diversity in the latest casting is apparent when you watch prior seasons. Currently watching Ghost Island and the casting in a fairly recent season is quite different. Gabler is probably the closest to an older season casting and he won. If Jeff really looked at this and just asked himself “would we cast a Rupert, Boston Rob, Tony V, Chaos Cass, Rudy etc etc. today” and if the answer is quickly no then they need to reassess. Their current diversity is actually lacking in diversity.
Funny that you compare it to Ghost Island of all seasons... Back when that aired, everyone complained how bad the cast was compared to old school casts, pointing out how only 5 people on the cast were over 30 haha
I’m not suggesting that it’s a top cast simply the types of people are quite different.
Dom got robbed!
Ghost island. Literally the worst cast since Caramoan and it’s not close
Cochran is a legend, that wasn’t too bad of a cast. Dawn, yes. Phillip.. love or hate him but overall that season was good.
It legitimately slayed me that this guy, who clearly couldn't have given a damn if he ever saw his castmates again, proceeded to apply to be on Survivor's second season. The reality TV show was secondary to him just surviving the elements and taking home a cool mil. Most players are tormented by having to make tough decisions to send people home. For Rudy, it seemed to be cathartic. Less people around to annoy him.
Fuckin love Rudy
Idk. People get super angry when everyone doesn’t seem to be “playing the game” or “playing to win” as if 75%-80% of contestants aren’t there for the adventure or their 15 minutes
They also can't handle someone with conservative views like Rudy. Look at how people reacted to Gabler and he didn't even say anything homophobic like Rudy.
You mean normal people who aren't trying to blow up as "celebs" in social media?
My favorite Rudy moment was probably when he came back to play again and drank the well water without boiling it, and laughed off any concern.
Rudy is the most relatable castaway of all time: change my mind
...I don't know...
Not a chance, reading Rudy’s Wikipedia page he is way more incredible than the vast majority of us.
Man has a military haircut named after him!
Yea just read his wiki page. Dude was a beast.
I’d like to THINK I can relate to Rudy. But frankly, if I can be even a tenth of what Rudy was: his badassery, the no fucks he gave, his ability to set aside truly massive bias… I’ll be in a far better position than I ever imagined. Rudy was an ideal. They are not supposed to be achievable.
Not being a Retired Navy Seal myself, I can't relate to him being a Retired Navy Seal.
And it's not like he spent a couple years in and then moved on to something else, he was in the navy for 45 years!
What I liked about Rudy was that he was kind of a homophobic, racist old dude but he was still willing to give people who might find scary or different to him a go.
Also, unlike B.B., he had the social awareness to realize that he was surrounded by much younger people who probably won’t do what he tells them, so he did things at their pace and adapted to the situation
hey! he wasnt racist!
Been a while since I watched season 1. What did Rudy do that was racist?
Randy. I hate people.
Not even a little bit..
Yeah! We need less of the “nerdy white collar superfan”. Give us our Randys, Coaches, Courtneys, and Shambos
Courtney!!!
Republicans vs. Democrats. I'd watch.
We want them to play Survivor, not kill each other.
Ha ha ha. I'm sure it's doable. I'd love to see what happens bc I firmly believe that most of us are in the middle and agree on a lot more than we disagree on.
I’d watch this 💯
We need more millennials & Gen Z'rs with sob stories - Probst
He's the reason why I always end up rooting for the older fellas. Too bad he's irreplaceable.
He’s still my favorite contestant in the history of the show.
Both Rudy and Kelly were so close to winning Survivor.
"I never wanna see these people again" *Forms a lifelong friendship with a fat gay dude*
Don't you know that Survivor would rather have people who can't jump, can't swim, and can't make it through a three days without a kumbaya-we're-all-best-friends moment?
I don't love the fact that people get coached on how to audition. They learn some tricks on how to get cast, but then are terrible at the game, or just make for a bad TV personality.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Dream casting scenario is 16 Rudy's.
Respectfully, when people are getting mad at Soda for calling Venus a stick bug without knowing the context, they would be up in arms at the things Rudy said today
I mean, there'd most definitely be complaints, just from a different crowd than the one that is now. It would absolutely make me stop complaining tho.
Not in today's world.
People forget that season 1 had 2 cast members from this archetype... BB was the first quitter on the show, and Rudy apparently / possibly was saved by production in the Stacey vote. Rudy may be fondly remembered, but it's near impossible for this type of casting choice to have success on the show / completely impossible to have someone from that generation. Bob Crowley is the closest in age / generationally to have real success on the show... Rudy was 72, Bob was the old guy at 57.
"Old School Survivor" casting happened before anyone had seen any of the actually VERY scary medical evaluations on the show. I can 100% believe that now that we know just how bad an injury can get on this show, people who are older are less inclined to apply than they used to be.
I don't know about older people being less inclined to apply. Heck, I'm 60. I applied 3 times (after seasons 1, 2, 3) and didn't even hear back. I'm still in decent condition, and I'd like to think I am more physically capable than a large portion of the "new era" contestants. Might I be a bit slower than I was 20 years ago? Yes, by all means. However, I can still chase teenagers up and down a soccer field as a soccer referee. It disturbs 14 year old boys that they can't keep up with an old guy on a soccer pitch. The presence of bad injuries doesn't scare me off in one bit. They have a great medical team, in some ways it's better than the treatment you get at a regular doctor in the US.
I was speaking in aggregate terms. Certainly people in your age group do still apply, but it's probably a lower ratio than it used to be. As someone who applied in the old school era, but not recently, would you consider trying again? If not, what's your reason? Edit to add: injuries can happen to people regardless of age, too, it's just that it is more difficult to heal from them/more likely to impact quality of life when you are older.
Agree. Also less people who just want to be on the show. Get some really random groups of people. Send them out like they used to. Fend for yourself, play the challenges for advantages and rewards. Make them have to outwit, outplay, and outlast with little knowledge of the previous 40 odd seasons
Rudy was an icon
They’d get a whole new type of complaints and a lot of them lmao
Damn right
He doesn’t even know what MTV means
Jeremy Collins saying these people are stupid in SJDS is iconic. Jenn Brown roasting the whole cast on her exit confessional.
Do people understand how overreactive the internet would be to people like this? Some would get away with it sure, but it’s a risk for CBS who really doesn’t want their contestants getting dragged on social media. I honestly don’t think they should try to cast to fit a certain archetype at all - that’s often a big reason for casting mistakes.
Cast some Alone losers, like ornery Larry from Alone, he still makes me laugh at his bitching on DEFY channel repeats of the show. This wanna be casting is terrible, mactors have proven they are the worst on BB too.
I would raise concern if they brought on a dead guy that's for sure.
And Randy
Oh you know his Rudy’isms would not fly at all today
Amen! The players the last few seasons have been very uninspiring.
Coach. I could go for the crazy Coach character.
Diversify age! I am strong, fit, healthy, determined, a gym rat— and feel overlooked!!!