CBS Unveils Cast for 'Most Intense' Season of 'Survivor' Ever

Survivor season 42 on CBS
(Image credit: CBS)

Survivor has announced the cast for season 42, which begins Wednesday, March 9 on CBS and on Paramount Plus. CBS calls it “one of the most intense versions of Survivor ever,” full of game-changing twists. The season begins with a two-hour episode. 

“Values will be tested and the players’ motivations highlighted when the fierce competition unfolds on the beautiful islands of Fiji. These determined players will be divided into three tribes of six and face a faster, more extreme season from the moment they step foot on the beach. The unpredictable situations will test even the strongest competitor, as food is scarce, rewards and supplies are minimal, and the mental and physical challenges force players to make impossible decisions and adjust their strategies, while still navigating the complex social game,” said CBS. 

Jeff Probst hosts. The last Survivor standing gets $1 million. 

The contestants are Chanelle Howell, an executive recruiter in New York; Daniel Strunk, a law clerk from New Haven, Connecticut; Drea Wheeler, a fitness consultant in Montreal; Hai Giang, a data scientist from New Orleans; Jackson Fox, a healthcare worker from Houston; Jenny Kim, a creative director in Brooklyn; Jonathan Young, a beach service company owner in Gulfshores, Alabama; Lindsay Dolashewich, a dietitian from Asbury Park, New Jersey; Lydia Meredith, a waitress in Santa Monica; Marya Sherron, a stay-at-home mother in Noblesville, Indiana; Maryanne Oketch, a seminary student in Ontario; Mike Turner, a retired firefighter in Hoboken, New Jersey; Omar Zaheer, a veterinarian in Ontario; Rocksroy Bailey, a stay-at-home father based in Las Vegas; Romeo Escobar, a pageant coach in Norwalk, California; Swati Goel, a student from Palo Alto; Tori Meehan, a therapist in Rogers, Arkansas; and Zach Wurtenberger, a student in St. Louis. ■ 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.