Survivor 2016

''Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X'' is the 33rd season of the American competitive reality television series ''Survivor''. It was broadcast by CBS between September 21 and December 14, 2016. The season was filmed between April 4 and May 12, 2016 in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. Severe Tropical Cyclone Zena struck the filming location during the game, so the entire cast were temporarily evacuated for the first time in the show's history. It originally divided its 20 contestants into two tribes of ten based on their Generation – "Takali" (Generation X) "Vanua" (Millennials). On day 13, the contestants were redivided, introducing a third tribe, "Ikabula". On day 21, the contestants merged into one tribe, "Vinaka". Two gameplay mechanics were introduced to the show in this season: The Legacy Advantage (that provided immunity from being voted out at the day 36 Tribal Council) and the Reward Steal Advantage (allowing a player to take another player's place on a reward).

After 39 days, Adam Klein won the title of Sole Survivor and the US$1,000,000 prize, receiving all ten jury votes against fellow finalists Ken McNickle and Hannah Shapiro. Though the theme was criticized, the season received generally positive reviews for the cast and gameplay.

Overview

''Survivor'' is a reality television show based on the Swedish show ''Expedition Robinson'', created by Mark Burnett and Charlie Parsons. The series follows a number of participants isolated in a remote location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter. One by one, a participant is removed from the series by majority vote, with challenges held to give a reward (ranging from living- and food-related prizes to a car) and immunity from being voted out of the series. The last remaining player receives a prize of $1,000,000.

Production

''Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X'' was filmed between April 4 and May 12, 2016 in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. It was the second season of ''Survivor'' to film in Fiji, following '' Survivor: Fiji'', season 14, though that season was shot in a different area of the country. Damage left from Cyclone Winston reportedly caused filming delays. The season was originally broadcast by CBS between September 21 and December 14, 2016. On day 2 of the game, Severe Tropical Cyclone Zena struck the filming location, meaning the entire cast had to be evacuated from the game temporarily for the first time in the show's history. The cast were taken to the production's base camp, and the tribes were kept in different rooms to assure the game didn't continue during the evacuation.

The season's theme was revealed at the reunion for '' Survivor: Kaôh Rōng''. It originally divided its 20 contestants into two tribes of ten based on their generation: "Takali" (Generation X) and "Vanua" (Millennials). It was the third season to divide its starting tribes by age, following '' Survivor: Panama'' and '' Survivor: Nicaragua'', seasons 12 and 21, respectively.

The season introduced the Legacy Advantage to the game. Its powers were originally left as a mystery until day 36. If its holder is voted out with it, they must will it to another player still in the game. The power was eventually revealed to be immunity at the day 36 Tribal Council. It also introduced the Reward Steal Advantage, allowing a player to take another player's place on a reward.

Contestants

The cast is composed of 20 new players, initially split into two tribes containing ten members each: Takali ("Gen X") and Vanua ("Millennials"). The tribe names come from the Fijian words for "open ocean" and "homeland", respectively. On Day 13, the remaining castaways were redistributed into three tribes, including new tribe Ikabula, named after the Fijian word for "turtle". On Day 21, the remaining castaways were merged into one tribe, which they named Vinaka after the Fijian word for "thank you". Notable castaways this season include David Wright, a writer on the FOX animated sitcom ''Family Guy'', and Smosh Games YouTuber Mari Takahashi.

Future appearances

Michaela Bradshaw and Zeke Smith returned the following season for '' Survivor: Game Changers''. David Wright returned for '' Survivor: Edge of Extinction''. Adam Klein returned to compete on '' Survivor: Winners at War''.

Outside of ''Survivor'', Bret LaBelle and Chris Hammons competed as a team in ''The Amazing Race 31''. Michelle Schubert competed on the eleventh season of ''American Ninja Warrior''. Jay Starrett appeared on the second season of the MTV reality series ''Ex on the Beach'', in addition to the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, thirty-eighth, and thirty-ninth seasons of the MTV reality competition series '' The Challenge''. Bradshaw competed on the thirty-seventh season of ''The Challenge'', and the second season of '' The Challenge: USA''. Figgy Figueroa competed on '' Squid Game: The Challenge'' as Player 033.

Season summary

The 20 new castaways were initially divided into tribes based on generation. The Gen X tribe was fractured between two alliances—one led by Paul and Chris, and the other by David and Ken—while the Millennial tribe's majority was run by Jay and Michelle. With 16 players remaining, the castaways were divided into three tribes, during which Millennial outsiders Adam and Zeke worked with the Gen X-ers against the majority Millennial alliance.

The four initial alliances regrouped at the merge: the core Millennial alliance; the Millennial outsider alliance of Adam, Hannah and Zeke; Chris's alliance; and David and Ken's alliance. While the latter three alliances initially formed a majority coalition, it eventually splintered as David and Zeke targeted each other. Zeke rallied together the remnants of Chris's alliance and the core Millennial alliance, while Adam and Hannah joined David's alliance; David's alliance ultimately won out, and Adam, David, Hannah and Ken were able to eliminate all others, though Adam's attempts to betray David for being the largest strategic threat remaining were thwarted by Hannah and Ken's unwavering loyalty.

With only the four remaining, Hannah and Ken decided to join Adam to eliminate David. At the final Tribal Council, the jury lambasted Ken and Hannah for following David too long, while Adam was applauded for being loyal but also willing to eliminate threats, which led the jury to unanimously vote Adam as Sole Survivor.

Episodes

Voting history

;Notes

Reception

This season received mainly positive reception by critics and fans alike, for the cast and their high level of gameplay, though the editing of the season received some criticism. Editor of ''Entertainment Weekly'', Dalton Ross, ranked it as the 11th-best season of the series, praised the season as a whole stating that the finale was "yet another great piece of theater in what turned out to be a great season of ''Survivor''. A season that remains great due to the crowning of a solid winner in Adam." He felt that "the season went from not bad to pretty good to legitimately great over the course of a few months," which he attributes to David's fake idol, calling it "the best fake immunity idol of all time" and " ow hardthe entire cast was playing." He praised the cast in particular and felt it was "an incredible season in general." Daniel Fienerg of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' initially had mixed feeling towards the season, calling it a "dud," but became much more positive towards the season later, stating that the season "had one of the strongest home stretches of any Survivor season in recent memory, if not any Survivor season ever." In 2020, "The Purple Rock Podcast" ranked ''Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X'' as the 13th-best season in the series, stating that the season has "several enjoyable narrative arcs, some nice interactions between the players, and some of those delicious tears that Probst loves so much." Later in the year, ''Inside Survivor'' ranked the season 21st out of 40 writing that "'Millennials vs. Gen-X' is such a zeitgeisty gimmick that screams ‘desperate ploy for ratings.’ However, ludicrous theme aside, the season itself is highly enjoyable with an array of memorable characters, exciting gameplay, and one of the most emotional endings in the show's history." In 2021, ''Rob Has a Podcast'' ranked ''Millennials vs. Gen X'' 12th during the ''Survivor All-Time Top 40 Rankings'' podcast. In 2024, Nick Caruso of ''TVLine'' ranked this season 7th out of 47.

References

External links

Official CBS Survivor website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X
2016 American television seasons
33
2016 in Fiji
Television shows filmed in Fiji
Television shows set in Fiji
Television shows filmed in Los Angeles