‘Survivor’ Reveals New Season 38 Theme Is ‘Edge of Extinction’

Survivor Season 37 may have pitted “Davids” versus “Goliaths,” but Season 38 is bringing castaways back from extinction.

Wednesday, following Nick Wilson’s victory on Survivor: David vs. Goliath, the CBS reality show announced that the next season, planned to premiere on Feb. 20, would be titled Survivor: Edge of Extinction.

Four returning castaways—David Wright, Kelley Wentworth, Aubry Bracco and Joe Anglim—will face off against new players in the upcoming season, host Jeff Probst revealed.

Anglim has previously competed on Survivor: Worlds Apart and Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance, Bracco on Survivor: Kaoh Rong and Survivor: Game Changers. Wentworth appeared on Survivor: San Juan Del Sur and Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance, and Wright appeared on Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X.

Not much else was revealed about the upcoming season’s premise, but Probst did explain to Entertainment Weekly, “The inspiration for next season came from our desire to see if we can take the show even deeper. One thing that has become apparent over the last several years is that the yearning for adventure in our lives is a real thing. Survivor already provides an amazing format for game play. So, what would happen if we added another challenge to the experience? A question that simply asks… How badly do you want this?”

The four returning players also opened up to EW about what brought them back to the island.

Bracco explained, “Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but I love Survivor. I felt like Survivor: Game Changers was not the second chance that I wanted to have. I was very much blindfolded from the beginning. …I’m ready to play the Survivor game I want to play, a little wiser.”

Wright seemed less sure about his return, explaining, “There are a lot of reasons to say no to this, especially also given the fact that I think there’s just going to be a giant target on my back coming into this game.”

Wentworth joked that she’s clearly “out of my mind” but said she feels “ready” to try for the $1 million again. “I feel like you can’t always let opportunities pass you by,” he said. “And, still no kids. I’m married now, but it’s just like you never know in the next few years what might be in my life and this just seemed like the perfect time. So, ready to try again.”

Anglim had a more spiritual connection to his grand return, explaining, “I felt it in my heart, prayed about it, all the other people in my life that I told that I was contemplating doing this said that they saw good things, they felt good energy, good vibes. Most importantly, I felt like I had unfinished business. I feel really good about the situation I’m in, the mental state I’m in, my physical state. This game it pushes you, it challenges you in ways you never even thought possible. I have one more challenge to prove, and that’s that I am the Sole Survivor.”

Survivor: Edge of Extinction premieres Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: CBS