In my previous articles, I ranked the Survivor seasons using a system I have created, and we will now venture into the top 10. I have ranked them based on a rating system where I rate them on a scale of 1–10 for the following:

Unpredictability: the more power shifts and blindsides, the higher the score. Pagongings obviously hurt the score here.

Cast: if the cast has compelling characters, heroes to root for and villains to root against, the season will get high marks for its cast.

Strong Outcome: If the season has an entertaining finish with a winner that I feel represents the season well, then I give it high marks here. If the winner is someone I was rooting for during the season, it gets especially high marks.

Storyline/edit: For a season to get high marks here, it should have a memorable storyline that is easy to follow and an edit that both reflects the storyline of the season and is balanced, showcasing many strong players and characters in the season instead of just one or two.

I also calculate the following in my formula, but this time, on a scale of 1 to 5:

Theme/Locale: if the season either has a fun and unique theme or location, then it gets high marks here.

Challenges: if the challenges are unique, competitive, and reflect the theme of the season, it gets a strong ranking here.

I score each season according to this criteria based on my own personal viewing experience, and rank the seasons by the total score they receive (the best possible is 50).

The following seasons were ranked in the bottom 10. I have also denoted where I have tiered them:

The “D” Tier: these are seasons that are either generally unpleasant or just fairly bland and boring. In most of these seasons, either the cast or the way they are edited or portrayed is especially weak.

39. Redemption Island

38. One World

37. All Stars

36. Ghost Island

35. Cook Islands

34. Caramoan

33. Nicaragua

32. Game Changers

The “C” Tier: these are seasons that are decent but may not have enough characters or moments to make them a very memorable season. Some of these seasons, however, may have some considerable strengths and may even be memorable but may have 1–2 flaws that weigh down the season’s ranking.

31. Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers

30. Thailand

29. Guatemala

28. Edge of Extinction

27. Samoa

26. Fiji

The “B-” Tier: these are seasons that I enjoyed quite a bit, but have some sort of flaw either in casting, narrative, or outcome that puts it a bit below the “B” tier.

25. South Pacific

24. Milennials vs. Gen X

23. Island of the Idols

22. Kaoh Rong

21. San Juan Del Sur

20. Worlds Apart

The “B” Tier: these are Survivor seasons that I thoroughly enjoyed but did not quite make the cut to be in the top tier.

19. Blood vs. Water

18. Exile Island

17. Australia

16. Borneo

15. Cambodia

14. Marquesas

13. Tocantins

12. Africa

11. China

The top 10 seasons are all in the “A” tier. These are seasons that I absolutely love, that are my personal favorite, usually because they have a top tier cast and storyline, usually along with unpredictability and a strong outcome. Let’s get started.

10. Survivor: Amazon

Unpredictability: 10/10

Casting: 8.5/10

Strong Outcome: 6/10

Storyline/Edit: 9/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenge: 4/5

Total Score: 42.5/50

Just like Marquesas, Amazon was a revolutionary season. Rob Cesternino helped make it the most unpredictable and strategically dynamic season that the show had seen with his frequent alliance-jumping to keep power in the game. It wasn’t just the aggressive strategy that made this a great season, though; just like many of the early seasons, it had a very strong cast. In addition to Rob, Jenna, Heidi, Deena, Christy, and Matt all brought fun to the season, as well.

The only thing that was disappointing about this season was the ending: Jenna received an unconventional winner’s edit that made her almost a villain in the eyes of the viewers at the time, and her win was not only unsatisfying to many at the time, but it was surprising that she beat Matt, who was receiving a hero edit near the end of the game. Although Rob winning would have been the best outcome, the show also should have done a better job showcasing Jenna’s social game that gave her the win.

9. Survivor: Gabon

Unpredictability: 9/10

Casting: 7.5/10

Strong Outcome: 7.5/10

Storyline/Edit: 10/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenges: 4/5

Total Score: 43/50

Gabon is such a unique season of Survivor. Not only was the location one of my favorites, but it has some great characters, and some of the underlying storylines during the season involving those characters were extremely compelling. Sugar was probably one of the most complex characters the show has put on the show, Crystal’s arc as an Olympic gold medalist who couldn’t win any challenges was hilarious, and Bob’s post-merge role where he comes out of nowhere, creating fake idols and winning immunities was fun, as well. And that is not even mentioning Randy, who was another top-tier character on the show.

The season went in such a bizarre direction as the underdogs came together and took down the Onion alliance that seemed destined to make it to the end, and by the time we got to the finale, we had five players who were all very flawed but all had a decent shot to get to the end of the game and maybe even win.

Overall, Gabon is seen as a trainwreck season, and for good reason, but for me, its a highly entertaining group of people, a lot of whom have either compelling or fun character arcs. And while many people are not big on Bob being the winner of the season, I actually thought that while his game was very flawed, so was everyone else’s on this season, and his late-game run was actually pretty impressive.

It is fitting that Gabon has had the least successful track record of returning players, as Sugar, Randy, and Corinne all missed the jury their second time around. To me, this helps illustrate that while this was a weak cast of game players, it was a fun group to watch who made a very unique and compelling season.

8. Survivor: Vanuatu

Unpredictability: 7.5/10

Casting: 8/10

Strong Outcome: 10/10

Storyline/Edit: 10/10

Theme/Locale: 3.5/5

Challenges: 4/5

Total Score: 43.5/50 (tie with Gabon broken by Vanuatu having more ‘10’ rankings)

Vanuatu is probably best viewed as a ‘cult-favorite’ of Survivor seasons. It is largely forgotten by the casual fan base, but many superfans have come to appreciate it. I really enjoyed Vanuatu from the start, as I think it is full of great characters like Ami, Eliza, Chris, Twila, Rory, and Sarge, among others. And I absolutely love the endgame from the final seven on, as we see Chris, who was literally the last man standing, infiltrate what was a strong women’s alliance and use his strong social bonds with Twila, Julie, and Eliza to rip it apart and help find an opening.

Many say that Chris got lucky as Twila actually gave him the opening, but I believe that Chris’ relationship with the women helped make it happen, as the other men of Sarge, Rory, and Chad didn’t have those relationships with the women, and even antagonized them at times, and they wouldn’t have been able to pull off what Chris was able to do, because he built trust with all of the women that the other three men failed to do.

Vanuatu has an underrated cast and a very underrated winner. Chris is personally one of my favorite winners, and his story of going from the challenge goat in the first episode, to being the last men left in the final seven but finding his way to the final two, is one of my favorite winner arcs.

7. Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains

Unpredictability: 7/10

Casting: 10/10

Strong Outcome: 10/10

Storyline/Edit: 7.5/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenges: 4/5

Total Score: 43.5.50

Heroes vs. Villains was meant to be an epic season, and it delivered. It has an amazing cast, and unlike All-Stars, the boot order doesn’t take out the biggest players in the game early. Instead, we get a finale of the classic Hero and villain duo from Australia, Jerri and Colby, two former winners who are also strong characters in Parvati and Sandra, and supervillain Russell. While I am not the biggest Russell fan, watching his game self-destruct, and Sandra rise up and pull out the unlikely victory, was especially satisfying to watch.

The reason Heroes vs. Villains doesn’t crack the top 5 is because it does have somewhat of a predictable post-merge once JT is voted out. That being said, it has so many characters and several iconic moments, that it is hard to keep it out of the top 10.

6. Survivor: David vs. Goliath

Unpredictability: 9/10

Casting: 10/10

Strong Outcome: 9/10

Storyline/Edit: 9/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenges: 2/5

Total Score: 44/50

I re-watched David vs. Goliath recently to see if it declined for me at all on a re-watch, and unlike Cambodia and Millennials vs. Gen X, it held up perfectly well on a re-watch, and stays in my top 10. The reason for this is likely because while all three seasons mentioned have plenty of unpredictability (and strong winners), David vs. Goliath has the superior cast. Christian and Angelina are two of the strongest characters in modern Survivor, and there are plenty of other strong characters and players as well, including Davie, Mike White, Nick, Alec, and Gabby. This is not even mentioning Natalie Cole, and even though she was an early boot, she was highly entertaining and helped make the first five episodes of the season extremely entertaining.

Overall, David vs. Goliath has plenty of strong characters, and not only that, but the “David vs. Goliath” theme is not only a fun theme, but it pays off exceptionally well and is relevant to the overall narrative of the season.

5. Survivor: Micronesia

Unpredictability: 10/10

Casting: 10/10

Strong Outcome: 6.5/10

Storyline/Edit: 10/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenges: 3/5

Total Score: 44.5/50

Micronesia probably has the most fun stretch of post-merge episodes of all time, as so many iconic moments happen from the final ten of the season to the final five of the season, culminating in one of the most famous moments in the show’s history, when Erik gives up his immunity.

Unlike the sequel to Fans vs. Favorites, the tribe of favorites are not only a stronger group of 10, but the fans are so much better here. While many of them are not necessarily good players, they are very strong characters and they help round out what was a very strong cast of favorites. Erik, Jason, and Natalie obviously bring plenty of entertainment throughout the game, but pre-merge boots Joel, Tracy, and Kathy have their moments in their short time on the show, as well.

This season might be in my top three if it wasn’t for the weak finale. For such a strong run of post-merge episodes, the finale is pretty lackluster, as we get the predictable boot of Natalie and then we see Cirie get taken down by a surprise final two twist. While I usually prefer the final two, Cirie winning would have been a much more satisfying outcome (no offense to Parvati). Still, this is an extremely fun season and is my favorite of the seasons that either have a full cast or a half-cast of returning players.

4. Survivor: Palau

Unpredictability: 6/10

Casting: 9/10

Strong Outcome: 10/10

Storyline/Edit: 10/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenges: 5/5

Total Score: 45/50

This is a season that I have seen many people but much lower than here, but I personally love Palau for a variety of reasons. While the beginning of the season may be predictable as Koror completely dominates the challenges, the tragic downfall of Ulong remains one of the best-told stories in the history of the show. We see the exact reason why Ulong fails, and we get to see strong characters like Stephenie, Bobby Jon, James, and Angie deal with it in very different ways throughout the pre-merge, and it culminates in Stephenie being the last Ulong standing, and this moment might be one of the most raw emotional moments in the show’s history.

In the post merge we see Koror finally forced to turn on each other, and while Tom winning is a fairly predictable outcome, we have plenty of good moments along the way, including Caryn, Ian, and Katie’s struggle to stay loyal to Tom, Gregg’s blindside, and the finale, which might still be my favorite finale in this history of the show, as we see the once-strong duo of Tom and Ian face major adversity, which culminates in one of my favorite challenges in the show’s history, an endurance showdown that goes for nearly 12 hours until Ian finally steps down.

Overall, Palau has its moments of predictability, but Tom is a very strong winner, and there are so many strong characters and compelling storylines that keep this season among one of my favorites.

3. Survivor: Cagayan

Unpredictability: 10/10

Cast: 8.5/10

Strong Outcome: 8/10

Storyline/Edit: 9/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenges: 5/5

Total Score: 45.5/50

Cagayan is a truly chaotic season with several iconic characters that enjoy fun character arcs in Cagayan. The Brains tribe is a mess, and two of the remaining members, Spencer and Kass, have two very different paths to the final four: Spencer as an underdog for the entire season, and Kass as an unpredictable player known for riling people up and causing chaos in the game. And then we have Tony, one of the most chaotic winners the show has seen, whose energy and aggressive game play made for an extremely fun character. These were the main three characters of the show, but there were other strong members of the cast as well, including Woo and Trish.

Overall, Cagayan is a really fun season that delivers all season long in terms of unpredictability, great character moments, and a more than deserving winner. Highlights from the season include the very quick rise and fall of Garrett on the brains tribe, Tony’s blindsides of Cliff, Sarah, LJ, and Jefra (the Sarah blindside being perhaps my favorite tribal in the show’s history), and of course, Tony talking llama. The challenges down the stretch were highly entertaining as well, as they were very competitive and there were a couple of comebacks that made for good television, particularly Kass’s immunity win at the final four.

2. Survivor: Philippines

Unpredictability: 8/10

Cast: 10/10

Strong Outcome: 10/10

Storyline/Edit: 10/10

Theme/Locale: 3.5/5

Challenges: 4/5

Total Score: 46.5/50

This might be a bit of a hot take, but Philippines is personally my second favorite season of all time. First of all, it has one of my favorite casts, as I thoroughly enjoy watching Malcolm, Denise, Penner, and Abi Maria, all of them being among my favorite characters in the history of the show. I also enjoy watching Jeff Kent and his complicated relationship with Penner, Carter stumbling his way through the game, and RC and her dysfunctional relationship with Abi Maria. And the more I have re-watched Philippines, the more I have come to respect Lisa Whelchel’s growth arc throughout the season.

Speaking of arcs, perhaps my favorite pre-merge arc of all-time is the tragic downfall of Russell Swan in the first four episodes. It is clear how hard he tries, and how much he wants to succeed, but his own shortcomings as a leader are part of what doom Matsing. And the fact that Malcolm and Denise, one of my favorite duos in the history of the show, are able to overcome the obstacles set for them in the pre-merge and go all the way to the final four, is remarkable.

In the end, Philippines has some of my favorite characters in the history of the show, but also some of my favorite storylines, as well, from the failures of Matsing in the pre-merge, to Abi Maria’s struggles to get along with people in the post-merge, to a very satisfying Denise victory despite attending every single tribal council.

1.Survivor: Pearl Islands

Unpredictability: 9/10

Casting: 10/10

Strong Outcome: 8/10

Storyline/Edit: 10/10

Theme/Locale: 5/5

Challenges: 5/5

Total Score: 47/50

Pearl Islands still stands as my favorite season of all time. It has probably the best hero and the best villain in the show’s history of Rupert and Jonny Fairplay, and has countless iconic moments, including Rupert stealing shoes in the very beginning of the season, the outcast twist and the eventual fallout, and of course, the Dead Grandma lie.

While many people dislike the Outcast twist, I actually didn’t mind it, as it obviously has fairness concerns, but it fit with the pirate theme of the season, and it actually made the post-merge better than it probably would have been without Burton and Lill returning to the game.

Jonny Fairplay’s blindsides of Savage, Rupert, Tijuana, and Christa, all made for compelling television, and at the final five, having Sandra turn the tables on him and get Burton out was perfect as well. And I enjoyed Lill’s arc as well as someone who was clearly unfit to be out there for the endgame, but found herself constantly determining the narrative of the season as she was a major part of blindsiding big-time players like Andrew, Rupert, and Burton.

Just like in both Philippines and Cagayan, the other seasons in my top three, there were so many unique characters and standout moments that make Pearl Islands a very memorable season. And of course, Sandra is a very satisfying winner.