Returning Players

Returning Players in Survivor offer the opportunity for former contestants who have won or been voted out to return for another shot at becoming the Sole Survivor.

Origins
The idea for former players to return occurred in. Executive Producer Mark Burnett wanted to showcase "The best of the best" after the ratings increase of. During pre-production for All-Stars, Burnett wrote down the series' most likable, villainous, and memorable players on a legal pad and shortlisted eighteen names within minutes.

All-Stars
All-Stars seasons feature a cast comprised entirely of returning players. The eponymous season,, saw 18 returnees divided into three competing tribes. Amber Brkich ultimately won the season against Rob Mariano. The All-Stars twist was revived for the ten-year anniversary season, Heroes vs. Villains. This season divided the returnees based on the heroic or villainous reputations. Sandra Diaz-Twine became the first two-time winner of Survivor, beating out Parvati Shallow and Russell Hantz.

Although proving to be a success for fans of the show, some critics argued that the survival aspects were completely removed in favor of strategy and exuberant challenges. Fans also responded negatively to players that had no plausible reason to return. Notable casting controversies include Amber Brkich in (who had been a backup to Elisabeth Filarski and Colleen Haskell) and Candice Woodcock in Heroes vs. Villains.

Fans vs. Favorites
Although initially intending to produce a second all-stars season, Burnett pushed for Survivor to experiment with different twists in their 16th season. The result was the Fans vs. Favorites twist that saw a tribe of ten returning players pitted against a tribe of ten "die-hard" fans of the show. Both iterations of this twist have seen the favorites tribe comprised solely of contestants who had only played once previously.

The first installment,, became one of the series' most popular installments. Returning player Parvati Shallow beat out fellow favorite Amanda Kimmel in a 5-3 vote.

The twist was brought back ten seasons later for. Returning player John Cochran beat out fellow favorite Dawn Meehanand fan Sherri Biethman in a unanimous 8-0-0 vote.

One Returnee per Tribe
The One Returnee per Tribe twist sees two to three returning players competing against new castaways, with one returnee placed on each of the competing tribes. In all seasons featuring this twist, a returning player has made it to the Final Tribal Council.

The twist was first introduced in. Two former castaways from, Bobby Jon Drinkard and Stephenie LaGrossa, returned for a shot at redemption after being the final two members of the infamous Ulong tribe. New contestant Danni Boatwright won the season against Stephenie.

The Redemption Island twist saw the resurrection of this method for introducing Returnees. In, Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz were brought back to settle their rivalry from Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Russell was targeted early when his tribe threw a challenge to vote him out. Meanwhile, Rob won the game against fellow Ometepe tribemates Phillip Sheppard and Natalie Tenerelli.

The Redemption Island format was revisited in, with Coach Wade and Ozzy Lusth returning to improve on their weak social games. This was the first time the two returning players had not previously competed on the same season. New contestant Sophie Clarke claimed the prize, beating Coach and Albert Destrade.

introduced three previous contestants, Russell Swan, Michael Skupin, and Jonathan Penner, all of whom were evacuated due to medical reasons. This is the only iteration of the One Returnee per Tribe twist to bring back more than two returning players. New contestant Denise Stapley won the game against Lisa Whelchel and Skupin.

Couples
With Survivor experimenting with yet another twist, for Survivor: Blood vs. Water, ten returning castaways would compete against their respective partners. However, each castaway would compete individually, so a castaway would still be in the game even after his/her partner is voted out. The twist would play its part when a castaway can opt to replace his/her partner who is currently on Redemption Island before a duel takes place, thus allowing his/her partner to take his/her place in the tribe.

Success in the Game
It should be noted that during every season thus far that has featured returning players, at least one has made it to the Final Two/Three in every season. These players include Rob Mariano (All-Stars and Redemption Island), Amber Brkich (All-Stars), Stephenie LaGrossa (Guatemala), Amanda Kimmel (Micronesia), Parvati Shallow (Micronesia and Heroes vs. Villains), Russell Hantz (Heroes vs. Villains), Sandra Diaz-Twine (Heroes vs. Villains), Coach Wade (South Pacific), Michael Skupin (Philippines), Dawn Meehan (Caramoan), and John Cochran (Caramoan).

Trivia

 * Sandra Diaz-Twine, Jenna Morasca, and Michael Skupin are the only returning players to never be voted out.
 * However, Sandra is currently the only returning player to never be eliminated.
 * Survivor: Micronesia currently has the most returning players out of all seasons, with seven.
 * As Micronesia featured returning castaways, Survivor: The Australian Outback has the most original returning castaways, with six.
 * Erik Reichenbach was the only original castaway to return from Micronesia while the rest of them were returnees themselves in Micronesia.
 * As of Survivor: Blood vs Water, is the only season to have had no returning players.
 * Survivor: Guatemala has had no original castaways return in a subsequent season because its sole representative, Stephenie LaGrossa, debuted in .
 * All 3 returning Asian-American contestants are currently the only representatives of their season.
 * Two returnees from Survivor: Samoa are named Russell.
 * Both Russells were the first returnees to be voted out of their respective tribes in separate One Returnee per Tribe seasons and both of them did not make it to the Jury phase in those seasons (Russell Hantz was the first of the two returning players to be voted out of Survivor: Redemption Island while Russell Swan was the first of the three returning players to be voted out of Survivor: Philippines).
 * Coincidentally, the one returnee that isn't named Russell in her original season would share same name with another castaway on her second try.
 * All the returnees from Survivor: Cook Islands have participated to the game three times, and it is the season to have introduced the highest number of three timers, with four.
 * Survivor: The Australian Outback and Survivor: Cook Islands are tied for the highest number of returns of candidates from these seasons, with eight.