It premiered on September 18, 2024, on CBS in the United States, and is the fifteenth consecutive season to be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji.

[5] Notable castaways this season include Rob Has a Podcast contributor Aysha Welch,[6] Miss Delaware USA 2018 Sierra Wright,[7] comedian and Pod Save America host Jon Lovett,[8] WYPR radio personality Gabe Ortis, and Tennessee Titans reporter Sam Phalen.

At Tuku, Gabe likewise found a Beware Advantage and, despite being caught by TK, followed the clues to an idol good for his next three Tribal Councils.

At Tuku, TK aligned with Kyle and Tiyana, but earned Sue's ire for talking nonstop while she was trying to nap on the beach.

At Gata, Sam and Anika clashed over shelter improvements, and Andy loaned his Shot in the Dark to Sierra to build trust and a majority.

At Tuku, Sue found an idol but the resulting mess of red paint made Tiyana and Caroline suspicious.

At Lavo, Rome approached Sol and Genevieve separately to suggest voting out Teeny; however, he told each conflicting stories which they later compared.

At Gata, a hungry Andy, Anika, and Sierra set the chickens loose and made a futile attempt at fishing.

Wanting to hold the tribe together, Caroline urged Tiyana to confess, but Gabe knew she hadn't told him the whole truth and vowed to see her voted off.

At Tribal Council, all except Rachel blindsided a stunned Anika, and Sam chose to let his immunity idol expire rather than reveal it to Andy.

On Day 11, the three tribes began the individual stage of the game at Tuku's beach and castaways were tasked with finding an advantage in the upcoming challenge, which Genevieve found attached to a buoy.

A skeptical Tiyana spoke with Sol, who urged everyone to fact-check, and Kyle emphatically targeted Rome once it circled back to him, with most castaways following suit.

At reward, Sue suggested targeting Andy as a backup in case Rome played an idol, which Sam reluctantly agreed to.

At Tribal Council, Jeff humored Rome by letting him take his seat and explain why the amulet was a bad advantage.

Knowing she was the obvious target, Rachel pled her case to the old Tuku members, some of whom were ready to turn on each other (Tiyana and Gabe especially).

An item Rachel bought included a note, and Sam lost his vote due to having the most money left at the end of the auction.

Sol tried to save Rachel and break up the stronger pair of Sam and Sierra; Andy sided with the majority, feeling like the Gata members had been taking him for granted.

Genevieve worked on convincing tribemates to blindside Sol, while the Gata and Lavo members tried to turn the vote onto Sue, perceiving her as the glue holding Tuku together.

Expecting fallout from orchestrating Sol's elimination, Genevieve was still upset when an emotional Teeny suggested any alliance between them was broken.

Rachel, angry with Sam for informing Sol about the plan after she asked him not to, was told by a scheming Andy that Genevieve considered her a threat.

The vote came down to Gabe or Genevieve for their status as threats, and Caroline mulled turning against her day one ally, knowing it meant endangering her relationship with Sue.

At camp, Sam tried to turn the vote toward a less-obvious candidate, while Andy and Rachel argued for Genevieve, perceiving her as a huge social threat whereas Kyle only had his ability to win challenges.

On reward, Andy proposed a plan to convince the underdog alliance to split the vote so that he would join Sam and Genevieve in blindsiding Rachel.

At Tribal Council, no advantages were played and Operation: Italy came to fruition, sending Caroline to the jury and shocking Rachel, Sue, and Teeny.

Confident that Rachel would be eliminated, Andy asked her to consider voting for him in the final three, knowing the jury didn't take him seriously as a social player.

Back at camp, Rachel rewarded Sue's loyalty by promising to take her to the Final Tribal Council, sending Sam and Teeny to the fire-making challenge.

Sam argued that Rachel had coasted on immunity wins and advantages, while he had survived multiple attempts to vote him out, using creative gameplay to fight from the bottom.

Rachel countered that she had earned her place through challenge wins, strategic moves like her savvy use of an idol, and building genuine alliances with others.

Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly ranked the season 24th out of 47, praising the cast and the abundance of emotional exits from the game.

[27] The twelfth episode, "Operation: Italy", was received with critical acclaim for its innovative gameplay that saw castaway, Caroline Vidmar, blindsided from the game in a 3–2–2 vote.