The Secret of Survivor

There’s a clue to the secret of Survivor less than 10 minutes into the very first episode. It’s not any of the obvious things: the marooning on remote shores, the obstacle-course challenges, the pathetic attempts at lighting fires or building bamboo shanties. It’s something both subtler and more fundamental, and it is why the show has stayed fascinating for 50 seasons and more than 25 years.It was May 2000, and two of the competitors—Richard Hatch and Sue Hawk—were having a frustrating conversation. The members of their tribe were running around the beach at cross-purposes, trying to set up camp—to set up a society. Richard, a consultant, was consulting. He was trying to marshal them toward a common goal, but it wasn’t working. “Why are we here? And what’s the point?” he vented to Sue.“Oh, I figured that out before I come here,” Sue replied. “And you haven’t?”“I have, for me,” Richard said. “But we haven’t, for us.”That first season had an uncertainty to it. Was Survivor primarily about watching strangers build a new community together, or was the individual game of voting opponents off the island the whole point? Every episode, contestants go to tribal council and send home one of their own. They do this until only one winner remains, and is awarded $1 million.At first, contestants didn’t coordinate with one another, and mostly voted for whomever they didn’t like, or people who were underperforming in challenges. One guy simply voted for his fellow castaways in alphabetical order. But slowly over that first season—and then dozens more, as the show became the most influential reality show in the history of TV—the game took center stage. That game illuminates the tension between self and community that has fueled the show’s longevity, and reflects the preoccupations of a country that has always been torn between the two.The show is currently airing its splashy 50th season, complete with celebrity cameos and a cast of all-star former players. It has evolved many times