"Survivor" Season 31 just might be the most interesting season of the CBS show since fans have been given full rein on who the candidates are going to be. This twist was announced at the end of the "Worlds Apart" episode on Wednesday night.
Jeff Probst, host and executive producer of the show, gave away some key details to Entertainment Weekly about how the candidates are going to be selected. There will be a contestant pool that will be made up of 32 former "Survivor" players - all of them have not won the contest yet. Fans will then vote which ones they want to see take part in the 31st season of the highly watched survival show.
This season was given the title "Second Chance," as every single one of the possible players already lost in the previous episodes. This will be their second chance at being called the Sole Survivor and win the million dollars. To make the contest even more interesting, among the 32 names that the show's fans must choose from, only 20 of them will be selected, according to Us Weekly.
"The idea of a 'Second Chance' season started brewing during our first season - the moment Kelly Wiglesworth lost to Richard Hatch - in the summer of 2000," Probst said. "Since their respective seasons ended, these players have been begging for another shot. And, this is a funny way to allow our loyal fans to be involved in the creative process."
"Big Brother: All-Stars" also had a similar process in 2006, wherein the reality show's loyal viewers were allowed to pick a few former candidates to be part of the show. What makes "Survivor: Second Chance" stand out is that the fans will be picking all of the 20 players - the top 10 men and top 10 women - for the show's 31st season, which has already been slated to air in the fall.
Voting already started and there have been some top contenders such as Season1's Wiglesworth, Season 27's football player Brad Culpepper, and fan favorite Season 30's Joe Anglim. CBS has a special page dedicated to former the "Survivor" candidates who submitted their appeals through videos on why they should be part of Season 31.
The voting period will end on May 20, which will actually be the finale episode of the current season. Plus, the final choices of the Season 31 survivors will be revealed during Season 30's reunion episode.