For almost 20 years, Survivor has stood tall at the top of the reality-tv food chain, in that time, the show has filmed 38 seasons (and is currently shooting its 39th) across five continents, in 18 different countries. It’s the ultimate test of endurance, social politics, and strategic gameplay, and of the nearly 600 contestants to play this crazy game, only 37 of them can lay claim to the title of Sole Survivor.

Now, for Survivor’s milestone fortieth season, Inside Survivor has learned that the show is inviting back a cast of former winners for what promises to be an epic battle for supremacy. That’s right, fans have dreamed and speculated for years, and now finally, it appears Survivor is about to celebrate its 20th year with a season comprised entirely of past champions.

An “all winners” (will likely have a different title) season is an interesting development given Jeff Probst’s feelings on the concept. Last September, in an interview with Us Weekly, the host and executive producer said “We can’t do all winners… As a producer, I would never suggest it. I would say it’s not a good idea.”

The Emmy-winner went on to say, “We have 10 great winners that you’d want to see play again. We don’t have 20. We don’t have 18. Some of the winners don’t want to play again. Some of the greats are like, ‘No, we’re done.’” However, he admitted that the network execs at CBS were really high on the idea.

“[CBS is] pitching me all the time,” he continued. “And I’m going, ‘I’ll sit down with you and show you the list!’ We don’t have it. And if I sat down and we wasted our time and I walked you through all our winners, you would say, ‘Oh, you’re right. You don’t have a season.’ We have a tribe of winners, that’s it.”

Obviously it looks like something changed since then and the CBS higher-ups managed to get their way – I will detail the entire, chaotic casting process for this season in a later post. This champion-filled season isn’t scheduled to film until next month and so all casting rumors will remain on lock in the meantime.

What do you think about this clash of champions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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