Another season of Survivor is upon us!
Island of the Idols premieres in just a couple of weeks, and CBS just released both the cast and a more in depth explanation of how this season’s theme will work.
We already knew that former castaways and winners Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine are returning to the show to mentor the new contestants. They’ll be hanging out on the Island of the Idols, a special island that some of the castaways will get the opportunity to visit to learn skills and strategy from the experts.
Jeff Probst calls it a “Survivor boot camp,” basically.
In a video, which you can watch below, Probst further explains that this season’s castaways will be marooned on their beaches without even seeing him or getting an explanation of what they’re in for.
“So they’ll show up, find their buffs, see the name of the season, and begin to speculate, what does it mean?” he says. “What they don’t know is that we’re doing something completely different.”
Sandra and Rob’s job, according to Probst, is to teach new players various aspects of the game and then test them to see what they’ve learned to give the players the chance to win an advantage.
Probst also says this cast might include the strongest group of women the show has ever had, including a lawyer, an Olympic gymnast, and a woman who says she got out of the military the day before she headed to Fiji.
See the full cast below!
Survivor returns Wednesday, September 25 at 8 p.m. on CBS.