The show was filmed from May 2 through May 27, 2022, in Fiji, for an eleventh consecutive season; it premiered on September 21, 2022, on CBS in the United States and Global in Canada.

Gabler, aged 51, was the second oldest winner, after Bob Crowley, who was 57 years old at the time of winning Survivor: Gabon.

[5][6] The cast was announced on August 31, 2022, and consists of 18 new players divided into three tribes: Baka, Coco, and Vesi.

The tribe for merged players was called Gaia, a name suggested by contestant Cassidy Clark.

The tribes fared relatively equally in challenges, but Baka and Vesi teamed up in the later ones against Coco, who had yet to see Tribal Council after three eliminations.

Tribe dynamics saw Elie and Jeanine in the minority of Baka, Ryan on the outs of Coco, and two pairs on Vesi (Cody-Jesse and Dwight-Noelle).

Gabler's risk paid off in the form of an idol good for his next two Tribal Councils (which he immediately let the entire tribe know about), while Dwight lost his vote.

Gabler, who struggled in the challenge, publicly declared he would take his Shot in the Dark rather than playing his idol.

Cody found a beware advantage and opened it, forcing him to retrieve beads from the bags of his willing tribemates to make an idol bracelet or else he'd lose his vote.

Jesse ultimately chose to side with Cody and Nneka to send Justine home after her and Noelle's split vote sealed their alliance's fate.

Though Baka had the better fishing kit, Cody sought to weaken the still-intact Coco tribe by taking their machete, which some of his tribemates objected to.

Vesi placed first, then openly provided oral advice to Baka so they could complete their puzzle before Coco.

At Tribal Council, Geo cast a stray vote against Cassidy, while everyone else united to send Lindsay home.

Gabler was irritated about helping Jeanine secure an immunity idol after Sami told him about the advantage after the fact.

Ryan claimed he threw his portion of the challenge as a way to easily eliminate Cassidy, and lied to her about her safety at the upcoming vote.

Noelle drew the odd rock and chose to back the blue team of Dwight, Gabler, Karla, Jeanine, Jesse, and Ryan.

The other group targeted Cody as the only non-immune Vesi member, but Gabler threw Elie under the bus for searching his bag earlier.

Gabler's targeting of Elie and her multiple deals got back to most of the tribe, and at Tribal Council, Jeanine chose to keep her idol.

Jeanine was saddened to see Elie voted out at the previous Tribal Council, but played it off as a blessing in disguise to her fellow tribemates as not to paint herself as a target.

Several former Baka and Vesi members suggested Ryan be voted out as a physical threat, and Noelle rallied for James to be sent home for his social prowess.

Several tribe members found a clue to an advantage under their shelter, and James immediately retrieved it, finding it to be Knowledge is Power.

While Ryan established himself as a tribe provider, Sami surmised he would be on the bottom as the only Baka member in the majority alliance of seven, and he considered deviating from that group.

Cassidy, James, Jesse, Karla, and Sami sat out, and Owen outlasted Cody for immunity.

Cody and Jesse brought Gabler into their alliance, and the three of them weighed the pros and cons of keeping Cassidy or Ryan.

However, right before Tribal, Gabler urged Karla to take caution with the tight duo of Cody and Jesse calling the shots.

Cody asked for his idol back so that he could show Karla proof, leaving Jesse on edge over the vote.

He chose Cassidy to join him, and they agreed on voting out Karla, despite Owen's apprehension about Jesse's flashy gameplay.

Jesse likewise tried to convince Cassidy that facing him in the challenge herself would boost her resume (secretly believing she would be easy to beat at fire), but Cassidy took Owen to the end leaving Gabler and Jesse to face off at the fire making challenge.

Survivor 43 was met with mixed reception, with many praising the cast as well as the removal of panned twists present in the previous two seasons such as the "Hourglass" twist; however, winner Mike Gabler's 7–1–0 victory, as well as his intention to donate the winnings to veterans' support organizations, was seen as shocking by many.

[25] Game Rant's Jillian Unrau gave the finale a rating of 3.5/5 stars, stating that Gabler's victory "felt like a blindside on the audience when he won.