On Sunday, “CSI,” the CBS drama starring Ted Danson, quietly ended its 15-year run with a two-hour series finale. Next year, “American Idol,” the talent competition that has been on the air since 2002, will end after years of declining ratings.

In television, even the most popular shows have expiration dates. But while these two juggernauts from the early 2000s are finished, there is one franchise player from that era that continues to defy time and seismic shifts in the television industry. The CBS show “Survivor” enters this television season, its 16th year on the air, still locked in on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., and still winning that time slot.

The reality show — featuring more than a dozen “castaways,” weekly fireside ceremonies that popularized the phrase “voted off the island” and a $1 million prize — made its season premiere last week. Once again it captured the best ratings of the night from 8 to 9 p.m. (Its premiere was 90 minutes, but the Fox hit “Empire” came on at 9 and conquered all competition.) The mettle of “Survivor” is surprising enough that CBS executives have taken to calling it the “miracle show” and the “marathon show.”

“The old dog’s still got some fight left in it,” said Kelly Kahl, a senior executive vice president for prime time at CBS.