Extended Episodes of ‘Survivor’ and ‘The Amazing Race’ This Fall

With the strikes going on in Hollywood, TV networks have been scrambling with their programming. One solution for CBS is to extend the length of two of their hit shows – Survivor and The Amazing Race – from 60 minute to 90 minutes. Like the shows themselves, it will be an interesting experiment. Here’s what to expect from each show…

Survivor: Season 45

(L-R): Top Row: Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup, Kendra McQuarrie, Brandon “Brando” Meyer, Kaleb Gebrewold, Drew Basile, Sabiyah Broderick, Austin Li Coon, and Bruce Perreault. Bottom Row: Kellie Nalbandian, Hannah Rose, Julie Alley, Jake O’Kane, Janani “J” Krishnan-Jha, Sean Edwards, Katurah Topps, Dee Valladares, Emily Flippen, and Brandon Donlon. *(Photo: Robert Voets/CBS)*

18 castaways. 23 years. 45 seasons. 652 episodes. Yup. CBS’s Survivor is in it for the long haul. The show is even up for three Emmys this season (including Outstanding Reality Competition Program). On Paramount+, the show is the streamer’s most-watched reality show.

In recent seasons, Survivor has put a bigger emphasize on the player’s stories. Now with 90-minute episodes, expect to learn more about these Fijian castaways. One thing you can count on with Survivor is the fact that you can’t count on anything as the game continually changes with each episode. For this season, the players will be divided into three tribes of six and “face a faster, grittier season from the moment they step on the beach.”

_{BELO TRIBE: Bruce Perreault, Jake O’Kane, Katurah Topps, Brandon “Brando” Meyer, Kellie Nalbandian, and Kendra McQuarrie. (Robert Voets/CBS)}

_{LULU TRIBE: Hannah Rose, Brandon Donlon, Sean Edwards, Kaleb Gebrewold, Emily Flippen, and Sabiyah Broderick. (Robert Voets/CBS)}

_{REBA TRIBE: Janani “J” Krishnan-Jha, Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup, Dee Valladares, Drew Basile, Julie Alley, and Austin Li Coon. (Robert Voets/CBS)}

The age range has changed over the seasons too. This season, the youngest person to compete is Drew Basile, a grad student and just 23 years of age. On the other end of the spectrum, the oldest competor is Julie Alley, an estate attorney just shy of 50. In fact, 10 of the 18 players are still in their 20’s. Remember when the show featured a wider range of ages and players? Rudy Boesch was 72 during the very first season of Survivor, Borneo. He was 75 when he was welcomed back to compete in Survivor: All-Stars. While most viewers probably won’t care, the lack of older adults is somewhat frustrating. The whole point of the show is to outwit, outplay and outlast your opponents and you don’t have to be young to do so. Then again, if ABC can host The Golden Bachelor, I wouldn’t be surprised if CBS comes up with their own Golden Survivor someday.

The Amazing Race: Season 35

_{Front row: Morgan Franklin and Lena Franklin, Victor Limary and Jocelyn Chao, Robbin Tomich and Chelsea Day, Malaina Hatcher and Andrea Simpson
Middle row: Rob McArthur and Corey McArthur, Joe Moskowitz and Ian Todd, Elizabeth Rivera and Iliana Rivera, Steve Cargile and Anna Leigh Wilson
Back row: Alexandra Lichtor and Sheridan Lichtor, Greg Franklin and John Franklin, Todd Martin and Ashlie Martin, Liam Hykel and Yeremi Hykel, Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith}

Personally, The Amazing Race is my favorite reality competition series. Unlike the others, no one gets voted out. It’s a race, plain and simple. If you and your partner show up late to the mat, you will be eliminated.

In its biggest season yet, the Race ups the ante, by starting with an unprecedented 13 new teams of two who will set off on a 23,800-mile adventure around the world. The race begins near the Hollywood Sign (celebrating the sign’s 100 anniversary) just outside of Los Angeles. Players visit a new country, Slovenia, known for its beautiful landscape and dramatic scenery. Here, teams will fly in a gravity defying glider, 2,000 feet over Lake Bled, cross-country ski indoors and climb 1,110 steps to the top of Planica’s tallest ski jump, among other once-in-a-lifetime challenges.

During this season, a former team will surprise racers as judges at the first roadblock. The season is also bringing back commercial travel, the Express Pass, a twist on the infamous U-Turn and this time around, there will be no non-elimination legs. The locations that teams will travel to include Thailand, India, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Washington state.

As with this season’s Survivor episodes, The Amazing Race will allow audiences to get to know the contestants on a deeper level and their relationships with each other, something that is always interesting, especially those couples who don’t know how to communicate well.

The new season of these two shows begins on Wednesday, September 27 at 8 p.m. (Survivor first, Amazing Race second at 9:30 p.m.) on CBS. The shows can also be watch live and on demand on Paramount+. (Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to stream live, but will have access to on-demand the day after the episode airs.)

Main Images: CBS