“Survivor” Announces It's Bringing Back an Old Classic for Season 50
“Survivor” Announces It's Bringing Back an Old Classic for Season 50
Charna FlamThu, May 14, 2026 at 2:37 AM UTC
0
Jeff Probst on 'Survivor'
Credit: cbs
-
Jeff Probst announced during the Wednesday, May 13 episode that the Fan Favorite vote is returning for the season 50 finale of Survivor
Fans can vote for their favorite player to win Sia's $100,000 Fan Favorite prize
Voting closes Wednesday, May 20, at 12:00 p.m. PT/3:00 p.m. ET
Survivor is celebrating season 50 with fans voting for their favorite.
Host Jeff Probst announced during the Wednesday, May 13 episode that the Fan Favorite vote is returning and is now “in the hands of the fans.”
The Fan Favorite is awarded $100,000 by Sia, who has previously personally awarded the players she's loved the most. Sia's Fan Favorite prize began in 2016, and she's since awarded over $1 million to various players.
In honor of the milestone season, Survivor has allowed fans to vote on featured key elements of the game, ultimately prompting Sia to give fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite.
Voting opened at the conclusion of the May 13 episode and will close Wednesday, May 20, at 12:00 p.m. PT/3:00 p.m. ET. The season winner and Fan Favorite winner will be announced during the live finale that same day. The finale premieres at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
Jeff Probst on "Survivor"
Credit: Robert Voets/CBS
The return of Sia's Fan Favorite comes two years after Probst, 64, announced in May 2024, after Survivor's 46th season, that Sia would no longer be awarding money to her favorite players.
“After eight years, 14 seasons, 19 players and over $1,000,000 awarded, Survivor is officially bringing the Sia Prize to a triumphant end," Probst wrote to his Instagram stories at the time. The pop star began the tradition in 2016 at the 32nd season's live finale for Survivor: Kaôh Rōng — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty.
Advertisement
Probst recalled that the tradition began after "Sia stood up in the audience during the live finale ... and made her way onstage. She was so taken by Tai [Trang]'s commitment to protecting a chicken from being eaten that she awarded him $50,000 of her own money.”
“Tai was shocked,” Probst admitted. “The audience was shocked, I was shocked! What was happening? Sia was onstage in her wig handing out money to a Survivor player!?”
In the years that followed, she gifted winnings to 18 more players. Seven players who each received $100,000: Rick Devens (season 38), Elaine Stott (39), Janet Carbin (39), Drea Wheeler (42), Jesse Lopez (43), Carolyn Wiger (44), and Katurah Topps (45).
The other 11 contestants who were awarded money of varying amounts were Donathan Hurley (36), Davie Rickenbacker (37), Aurora McCreary (38), Joe Anglim (38), Jamal Shipman (39), Owen Knight (43), Ryan Medrano (43), Lauren Harpe (44), Carson Garrett (44), Jake O' Kane (45) and Kaleb Gebrewold (45).
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Fans can vote for the season 50 favorite here. Survivor season 50 finale airs on Wednesday, May 20, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
