It was the thirteenth consecutive season to be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji, and premiered on September 27, 2023, on CBS in the United States.

[6] Previously, host Jeff Probst had offered an open invitation to Perreault to return for a future installment of the show, citing that he "didn't think that Bruce got his fair share of Survivor".

[7] As a result of the ongoing 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, this season, along with The Amazing Race 35, aired 90-minute long episodes to fill the timeslots left vacant by scripted shows.

Janani Krishnan-Jha)[9] and Bruce Perreault; the latter had briefly competed on the previous season but was medically evacuated after sustaining an injury in the first episode.

The first tribe swap of the new era resulted in Lulu outsider Emily finding new life with Reba majority members Austin and Drew.

They stayed intact until the final 6, at which point Dee and Julie joined surviving Belo members Jake and Katurah in blindsiding Drew.

Jake defeated Katurah in the firemaking challenge to join Austin and Dee in the end, but his lack of strategic control led to him receiving no votes to win.

At Lulu, Emily believed Kaleb and Sabiyah were hiding an advantage after the pair told their tribemates that they didn't win the camp supplies.

At Belo, Katurah, Kellie, and Kendra aligned together while Bruce struggled to rein in his leadership tendencies, despite saying that he didn't want to be seen as a leader.

However, at Tribal Council, Hannah decided to quit regardless of the outcome; with her tribemates' blessings and a verbal vote from the rest of the tribe, she became the first person to leave the game.

Emily tried to make amends and bond with her tribemates, succeeding with Kaleb, while Sabiyah and Brandon deciphered their clue to a tree but could not retrieve the idol.

At Belo, Bruce's "fun uncle" persona endeared himself to Jake but earned Katurah's ire, while Brando and Kellie found themselves in the middle after they saw the value to both remaining pairs.

Bruce elected to protect his vote and not play; Brandon lost, while Drew won a Safety Without Power advantage (good until the Final 10 Tribal Council) that he immediately told his tribemates about, proposing it to be used to benefit all of Reba.

Kaleb was to give a Goodwill advantage to a member of Reba that would restore one lost vote; he chose Drew, who gave it to Austin and disclosed it to Dee and Julie.

J. Maya tried to convince Dee and Julie to blindside Sifu, who hoped to stay Reba strong and vote out Sean.

J. Maya, Kellie, and Austin were selected for the journey, where they had to come to a majority decision on sandwiches or an amulet advantage that would increase in power the fewer of them holding it remained in the game.

The former members of Reba affirmed their intent to target J. Maya, since voting her out would burn the fewest bridges among the tribe, but Bruce's paranoia over not being approached for strategy unnerved several tribemates.

Emily warned Kaleb that his name came up, and at Tribal Council, he openly called J. Maya the biggest threat.

Kendra and Katurah expressed their interest in targeting Bruce next, while Kellie disagreed, viewing him as a shield that could protect her and her allies in the future.

Treemail the next morning alluded to the return of the Survivor Auction, but castaways had to find bamboo tubes containing money.

At Tribal Council, Jake played his Shot in the Dark which failed, but Drew's plan came to fruition, sending a shell-shocked and devastated Kellie to the jury.

Kendra wanted Dee out for going against their girls' alliance, while Bruce was hurt upon discovering that Kellie had been targeting him.

Treemail the next morning instructed the castaways to divide into three groups and hinted at "panic and anxiety"; this prompted Austin to lend one of his idols to Julie.

Meanwhile, Jake grew frustrated with people giving him the run-around in the game, so he proposed Drew as a target, which led to conflict between the two.

Emily admitted to making Bruce feel comfortable enough to not play his idol, which increased her threat level in her tribemates' eyes.

She was given a chance for an immunity advantage if she could solve the "Savvy" puzzle from day 1, but she chose to protect her vote and not participate.

Austin won reward and chose to share it with Dee and Katurah in hopes that Drew and Jake would keep Julie from strategizing against him.

Katurah tried to sway people into voting out Dee, while Jake wanted to make a huge impact on the game with his idol.

Upon returning to camp, Jake was upset that Katurah had made him swear on his family to vote against Dee, leading to an argument.

At the Final Tribal Council, Dee and Austin each pled their cases with the moves they made, while Jake's game wasn't as highlighted due to his lack of control.