Somehow, my wife and I are three decades behind the rest of the country when it comes to the show Survivor. Sure we knew the show existed, and we knew who won the first season, but we had watched a total of zero seasons in our 5 years together. Honestly, we didn’t even have an interest in the show until Barstool Sports released “Surviving Barstool” (loosely based on the Survivor premise but taking place in an office building instead of an exotic destination) the week of the Super Bowl. If you haven’t watched it, download the Barstool App immediately because it’s some of the best content they’ve ever released. But since this isn’t a Barstool ad I’ll get back to the main point – we are now addicted to Survivor and I have an idea for the next season.
One of the biggest draws of this show is seeing who will backstab someone, who will turn their back on a member of an alliance, and who will sever a newly formed friendship in the name of a $1 Million dollar prize. Now – Imagine a Survivor season where the Island is filled with married couples and the level of drama this premise would provide. Sure, at first the couples would work together and alliances would be formed amongst the tribe, but as anyone who has watched survivor knows – this can’t last forever. Eventually, Survivor becomes an individual game and you have to assume that all the contestants would play to win. From a drama perspective, all couples (even the best ones) argue over dumb stuff all the time – but instead of butting heads about which restaurant to go to and why, these decisions involve potentially winning $1 million so you can imagine how heated these discussions could become. As these tensions start to rise and arguments become more frequent, I can just imagine the comments Jeff Probst would make as everyone is sitting around Tribal Council. That guy loves to stir the pot when the drama picks up (and we love him for that) so this premise seems right up his alley.
There are many scenarios and “gimmicks” that have been played out in previous seasons of Survivor that would provide true entertainment to the viewers at home in this “married couple” edition. For example – Tribes in the past have been able to “steal” the best player from the other tribe. In this edition, this gimmick could mean separating a married couple and putting them in a brand new setting. If they get separated, you now have alliances being formed in different tribes as they compete in challenges that could change the course of voting. What if a couple finds a immunity idol and one of them is on the chopping block? Would they use it to save their significant other even if it means jeopardizing their odds later in the game? What if they won an award challenge and they could only take one other person? Do they automatically take their husband/wife/partner or do they take someone else to discuss strategy and strengthen alliances? How upset would their spouse be if they missed out on a spa day, feast, river cruise, etc? Would “strategy” be enough of an excuse to appease the disappointment of not being included in a special prize? There are so many important decisions that take place over the season, and a couple would need to be truly in sync to not just make the merge but to be the Survivor standing at the end.
As the game progresses, the drama increases. If a couple is lucky enough to make it to “the merge” together, their strategy has to change at some point. Would they join different alliances in order to better their survival odds? Would they be willing to sacrifice their spouse if it meant at least one of them might be in the final 2 or final 3? Eventually every player in Survivor has to make tough and unpopular decisions and blindside a member of their alliance. I like to imagine a scenario where a husband tries to vote out his wife thinking it’s a strategic play, only to have her survive tribal council. Camp would be quite interesting when they return from that vote and I for one would definitely tune-in.
Survivor is a show that thrives on drama – with that said, could there possibly be a more dramatic season than the concept of couples? The number of realty shows involving couples is already high, but that has to mean there is a demand for it. So come on Jeff Probst and Survivor producers, give us the most dramatic season yet and let’s watch the drama unfold!
