When it comes to the future of Survivor, even the best players to ever play the game have no idea what to expect.
“Not to steal Big Brother‘s lingo here, but expect the unexpected,” Survivor 50 player Rizo Velovic exclusively told Us Weekly at the Newport Beach TV Festival sponsored by Visit Newport Beach on Saturday, June 6. “Anything is up for grabs.”
Last month, host Jeff Probst revealed Aubry Bracco was the winner of season 50. Soon after, he teased season 51 would usher in the “open era” of CBS’ long-running competition show.
“Anything that has ever happened at any time on the show can happen in any season at any time in any order without any warning,” he teased.
While a sneak peek provided a few clues for viewers about what’s coming, Us wanted to ask some of the best players in Survivor history to share their advice for future contestants headed to Fiji about how they would navigate the “open era.”
Keep reading to see what the all stars had to share and catch up on Survivor by streaming past seasons now on Paramount+.
Rick Devens
“My piece of advice is do some Deven’s things,” Rick joked to Us. “It’s the open era. No one knows what’s going on. Use that to your advantage. Come in and do something that’s not been done in 50 seasons of Survivor. Have fun with it.”
Ozzy Lusth
“I think when you go out to play Survivor, you really got to figure out what it is about yourself that is special,” Ozzy shared with Us. “That’s one of the gifts about playing the show. It’s that you get to discover things about yourself that you maybe didn’t know. Let yourself go on that journey, and play your ass off. Really leave it all out there. Be vulnerable, be honest and kick some ass.”
Tiffany Ervin
“I wish I could give some real advice, but because we literally don’t know what to expect, the only thing I can advise these people is to just live for the day that you’re in,” Tiffany explained to Us. “Don’t think about tomorrow because baby, we don’t know what tomorrow holds. Just make it to the next day. You can’t even think about tomorrow if you get voted out today.”
Aubry Bracco
“Don’t go in with the predetermined plan, and don’t be afraid to swing to the fences,” the winner of Survivor 50 told Us after winning the $2 million prize.
And for those wondering how Aubrey has spent her winnings, the champion said she is being careful.
“I haven’t splurged on anything,” she admitted. “I put it away for my son, and I should take Rick Devens for a nice dinner. I still need to give a little tip.”
Rizo Velovic
“Anything is up for grabs — whether it’s a fake merge, the medallion of power from Nicaragua, or heroes versus villains, or blood versus water or fire tokens. You name it, it can be up for grabs,” Rizo explained from The Lido Theater in Newport Beach, California. “I think that’s great for Survivor. Honestly, I think it’s just a name given to just do whatever Survivor wants, and I think that’s great for the show.”
Dee Valladares
“I wish I knew what open era meant. I can’t get inside Jeff’s brain, but knowing him for a little bit, I would say it’s going to be a mix of all of the 50 seasons Survivor has already provided, so maybe one season will be themed, maybe another season will not be filmed in Fiji,” Dee speculated. “It would just be a cumulative of all of the seasons we’ve already seen. Hopefully that’s it because if you can just do every season [a little] differently, it won’t be as hard as if you just leave Fiji forever. … I do know it’s going to be very unexpected.”
