Survivor 48

''Survivor 48'' is the forty-eighth season of the American competitive reality television series ''Survivor''. It premiered on February 26, 2025, on CBS in the United States, and is the sixteenth consecutive season to be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. It ended on May 21, 2025, when Kyle Fraser was voted the Sole Survivor, defeating Eva Erickson and Joe Hunter in a 5–2–1 vote.

Production

On December 15, 2023, Manoa Kamikamica, the Fijian Minister of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, announced that the Fijian Parliament had renewed its contract with ''Survivor'' for an additional two years. A preview for the season was released on December 18, 2024, right after the finale of ''Survivor 47'' aired. ''Survivor 48'' and '' The Amazing Race 37'' retain the 90-minute runtime; the premiere episode of ''Survivor 48'' ran for two hours.

Contestants

The 18 castaways competing on ''Survivor 48'' were officially announced on January 29, 2025, with the eighteen castaways were divided into three tribes: Civa, Lagi, and Vula. Notable castaways include frequent ''Today Show'' contributor Dr. Cedrek McFadden. The cast also includes Eva Erickson, the first autistic person to compete in the history of the show.

Future appearances

Kyle Fraser, Joe Hunter, and Kamilla Karthigesu are set to return to compete on ''Survivor 50''.

Season summary

Eighteen new players were divided into three tribes of six: Lagi, Civa, and Vula. Vula lost the first three immunity challenges and went through interpersonal conflicts. Duos formed on Lagi (Joe and Eva) and Civa (Kyle and Kamilla), though both tribes avoided Tribal Council. Following a tribe switch, Kyle and Kamilla kept their alliance hidden and, despite being outnumbered at first, took control of the tribe after Kyle successfully played a Hidden Immunity Idol. After an emotional immunity challenge, old adversaries Eva and Star set their differences aside, and Star gave her the Hidden Immunity Idol after Eva helped decipher the clues.

Following the merge, the strong players (David, Eva, Joe, Kyle, and Shauhin) formed an alliance based on strength and loyalty, but the other four betrayed David. Kyle spent the post-merge navigating between his majority alliance and secret alliance with Kamilla. Despite being on the bottom throughout the merge, Kamilla repeatedly survived due to bigger threats emerging and Kamilla having Kyle in her corner. At the final six, Kyle moved against Joe and Eva, as he worked with Kamilla to manipulate the two to take out their ally Shauhin.

At the final 4, Kyle won the final immunity challenge and chose to pit Kamilla against Eva in the fire challenge, as he felt he had a higher chance of winning with Kamilla not in the final three; Eva defeated Kamilla in the challenge. At the Final Tribal Council, Eva and Joe refused to campaign against each other and differentiate their games, while Kyle pointed out the relationships he formed and how he orchestrated Shauhin's blindside. Ultimately, Kyle was awarded the win over Eva and Joe in a 5-2-1 vote, respectively, due to his strong social and strategic games.

Episodes

Voting history

;Notes

Reception

Despite Jeff Probst calling it "one of isall-time favorite seasons", ''Survivor 48'' was not well-received by fans or critics. Dalton Ross of ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked the season 26th out of 48, citing several episodes where not much happened but praising the pre-merge and the dynamic between Kyle and Kamilla. Nick Caruso of ''TVLine'' ranked this season 33rd out of 48. Andy Dehnart of ''reality blurred'' wrote that "great people alone do not make for great strategic competition reality television. And when there are 90-minute episodes, sometimes only one challenge that's so generic it blends together with all the other challenges, and producer meddling in the form of journeys and advantages that go nowhere, you have a recipe for a dull entry into the 48-season history of this great show." Brian Moylan of ''Vulture'' called it a lackluster season with a satisfying ending. Cher Thompson of ''Screen Rant'' called the season lackluster and boring. Julien D'Alessandro of ''Collider'' called it "one of the more boring seasons in recent memory". Mack Rawden of ''CinemBlend'' wrote, "It had some moments here and there, but best case scenario, it's near the bottom of the New Era rankings. I didn't like it." Matt Hambidge of ''FandomWire'' wrote, "''Survivor 48'' was a wildly frustrating season. A fairly strong start, followed by a rough post-merge. It really wasn't until the penultimate episode that things got moving, and that is far too late to fully save a season. It's enough to keep it out of the bottom of the new era seasons, but that’s about it."

References

External links

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{{Survivor (American TV series)

48
2025 American television seasons
2024 in Fiji
Television shows filmed in Fiji
Television shows set in Fiji