If you asked Survivor fans for the most famous player in the history of the game, the most popular answer would probably be Boston Rob Mariano. If you asked the same question but said it needed to be a castaway from the so-called New Era, the most popular answer would probably be Carolyn Wiger. Because of that, you’d think both would be on the cast of Survivor 50, a milestone season meant to celebrate the history of the game. Nope. Neither made the cut, though judging by one social media post, it’s for very different reasons.
This weekend, Mariano hit up Instagram to talk about not being on Survivor 50. He said he’s seen all the sad posts and gotten numerous messages on social media but said fans shouldn’t be mad at host Jeff Probst or any of the producers because he’s the one who said he didn’t want to play again. He apparently told producers to give his spot to someone else who deserved another chance. You can check out his really thoughtful message below…
We have no idea if Survivor would have brought back Rob if he wanted to go, given they didn’t end up bringing any of the most famous winners. Sandra, Parv, Tony and Tyson among many others aren’t back on the beach, but it’s entirely possible that a few of those other big names passed and when Rob said he wasn’t going to come back either, that caused Probst and company to pivot their entire approach and focus more on that next tier of players.
If you look at the final cast of Survivor 50, it’s filled with a scattering of legends who made deep runs multiple times but were never able to finish the job and really memorable one time players from more recent seasons. That first group is filled with people like Cirie, Coach and Ozzy, while the second group is filled with people like Carolyn, except Carolyn’s bizarrely not there.
The standout star of Survivor 44, who also had a very memorable run alongside Boston Rob on The Traitors, heavily implied she’d been cut from the casting process earlier this year, but many fans either didn’t believe her or figured the show would come to its senses and bring her back. As such, there was plenty of shock when the final cast was revealed this past week and she wasn’t on it, especially given it included 12 players from the New Era.
By all accounts, it wasn’t an issue of Carolyn herself not wanting to go. Sources close to the show said throughout the year that she was involved in the casting process, and now, we seemingly have confirmation of that from Carolyn herself. She responded to Boston Rob’s post on Instagram and left a really blunt comment reminding everyone why she’s so fantastic. Check this out…
I follow a lot of Survivor fans on social and watch a lot of analysis about the show. There has been consistent confusion amongst pretty much everyone about why Carolyn wasn’t brought back. Personally, I don’t get it. I’ve heard the rumors that production allegedly holds it against players if they go on other shows. I’ve heard the rumors that production allegedly doesn’t like it that she’s so open on social media.
None of it explains why you wouldn’t bring Carolyn back (or why some of the other choices were made). She’s one of the most fascinating people in the history of the show, and she has only played one time. I started writing this article planning to just cover Boston Rob’s announcement. Then I came across her statement in the comment section and pivoted immediately because it’s impossible not to talk about Carolyn.
There have been a lot of complaints from fans about the cast of Survivor 50 since it was announced. This story is a good reminder that there are only two reasons why people aren’t there. Either, like Rob, they decided they didn’t want to come, or, like Carolyn, they were passed over by producers. We’ll probably never know the full list of which players fall into which camps, but it certainly makes you think.
Those chosen for Survivor 50 are currently in Fiji. We should get a chance to see their season in early 2026. Even without these two legends, we should be in for something special.