Check out behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and a premiere react from a former winner.

Survivor 50 Mystery Box 1: Open it up for exclusive goodies and surprises!

Check out behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and a premiere react from a former winner.

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

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March 2, 2026 10:15 a.m. ET

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Jeff Probst and 'Survivor 50' cast members hover around the 'Survivor 50' Mystery Box. Credit:

Robert Voets/CBS/Alice Morgan

Welcome! And thank you for opening the first ever *Survivor 50 *Mystery Box!

"What is the *Survivor 50 *Mystery Box?" you may ask. It's a fun little collection of goodies and surprises I thought I would put together for your weekly consumption. We've got musings on the *Survivor 50* episodes, we've got exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and videos, we've got outtakes from pre-game interviews, we've got secret former all-stars weighing in with their takes on what *they* saw, and more!

But first, a quick thought I wanted to expand upon. I touched on this in my *Survivor 50 premiere recap* and asked Jenna about it in our exit interview, but as I watched her get voted out while I was in Fiji on day 3, I had a sinking feeling that this is most likely the last time we will ever see someone from the original season of *Survivor* back out on the island.

Before 50, nobody from the inaugural season had been brought back since my main man Gervase ("DON'T LET THAT FOOL YOU!") Peterson rocked it Coconut Bandits style back on season 27 and Kelly Wiglesworth came back for season 31. Obviously, producers wanted to represent season 1 on the anniversary season of 50, and one of the reasons Jenna made so much sense to be that person is that she was the youngest person from that original cast. But now that she is gone, and with no other massive anniversary season on the horizon, my guess is that players from the very first season — and, as Jenna said to me, perhaps the first *few* seasons — have now been unofficially retired.

For us old-timers who were there when the show began, it's sad to think about those casts being put out to pasture, so to speak. I don't even necessarily think it is the wrong call. The vast majority of people who watch *Survivor* now were not watching 26 years ago and I'm not generally of fan of contestants being brought back over and over and over again.

But if this is indeed a passing of the torch, so to speak, I did want to take a beat to acknowledge it and pay tribute to that first batch of castaways who literally lit the fire on what would become a raging franchise inferno. They now got me all like Ozzy with a single tear gently rolling down my cheek.

Okay, let’s get into what else is in the box this week. I hope you enjoy this collection of odds and ends, and the first installment of what I hope will become part of your weekly *Survivor* routine.

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Behind the scenes at EW’s cover shoot

I’ve already posted some BTS from EW’s *Survivor 50 *cover shoot, but I'll throw some other goodies from that day here over the next few weeks. Here’s a fun little video I took of the cast moving from one side of the sandspit over to the other after we had to reposition them.

0:17 EW Survivor 50 cover shoot behind the scenes

My favorite part of that is Kamilla's hair, by the way. That wind was no joke!

The cast of 'Survivor 50'.

Immunity challenge raw footage

I already posted my raw footage of Kyle's injury, but here's what it looked like when Cirie finally landed the Monkey's Fist. As I wrote in my recap, we were all flummoxed out there as to why Cirie volunteered for that key position. What we did not know at the time was that she was confident because she had done it before on *Australian Survivor.* What *she* did not realize was that the rope wall on the version here made the throwing much more difficult. She was unable to adapt and spent about 20 minutes trying to land that thing before finally doing so below.

0:24 BTS of Cirie landing the 'Survivor 50' Monkey's Fist

Vote in EW's best 'Survivor' winner ever bracket

'Survivor 50' cast members vote snubbed players onto the island (exclusive)

Joe… meet Ozzy

I just love this photo below I shot of Joe and Ozzy linking arms in mid-air as Probst and all three tribes watch from above. The fact that two of the teams were already on the puzzle portion fighting for immunity, yet their tribemates were all engrossed watching Joe leap up the ramp, shows just how epic the moment was.

Joe Hunter on 'Survivor 50'.

Mystery former player weighs in

Each week in the Mystery Box, we are going to have a former player weigh in on the recent episode, while also naming a winner and loser of the week. (The loser of the week cannot be someone who was eliminated — too easy!) We’ve got an absolutely INCREDIBLE lineup of people on board to do this every week, and we're starting off with a heavy hitter.

Don't look now, but *Survivor 46* alternate and *Survivor 47* champion Rachel LaMont has thoughts to share on the *Survivor 50* premiere and she is coming in *scorching hot* with her loser of the week take! Of course, Rachel also is the cofounder of RE:SOLVE GAMES, which launched their very first brain teaser, *Puzzle Hungry: Umami Rush, *which you can pre-order right now*.* Take it away, Rachel…

3:11 Survivor 47 winner Rachel LaMont breaks down Survivor 50 premiere

The last word(s)

Outtakes from my pre-game interviews with Jenna and Kyle:

**Jenna on if she thought it would be old era vs. new era on *Survivor 50*:** "I think that that's what people are kind of in their mind thinking, but people just need to have a reason to get you to vote for them, so I think those lines will blur very quickly. I think the smart old school players are going to try to hook up with new school players and are going to break those lines to get numbers."

Jenna Lewis-Dougherty and Rick Devens on 'Survivor 50'.

Gail Schulman/CBS

**Kyle on why he thought he would not be brought back for season 50:** "I thought that I played a great game, but I didn't know if people would want to see it again. But I think that people are going to be surprised just how much I can do when I'm not going through that emotional sort of turmoil. I played the game, I learned lessons about myself, and I thought for a second that maybe my story was complete. But watching it back, I think there's so much more game for me to play in a more fun way."

Kyle Fraser on 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

Screenshot of the week

Jonathan Young and Mike White on 'Survivor 50'.

I mean, was there any world in which it would be anything else but Mike White's abs?

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Survivor”