Returning Players

Returning Player seasons offer the opportunity to former contestants to play the game of Survivor again.

Origins
The idea of former players returning originally 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 casts comprised entirely of returning players. The eponymous season,, saw 18 returnees divided into three competing tribes. The All-Stars twist was revived for the ten-year anniversary season,. This season divided the returnees based on the heroic or villainous reputations.

featured a "second chance" theme, consisting of contestants who played only once and lost; and its cast was entirely chosen by viewers through an online poll. featured former contestants who contributed to the evolution of Survivor strategy and gameplay.

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 "superfans". and both utilized this format.

One Returnee per Tribe
This format features two to three former castaways, each being assigned to a tribe of new players. ,, , and followed this format.

expanded on this format, bringing back four former castaways and assigning two to each tribe of new players.

Blood vs. Water
Another type of "Returnees vs. New Players" format is the couples format, where returnees would compete against people they personally know. It was first used in, where ten returning castaways would compete against their loved ones, similarly to the "Fans vs. Favorites" format. However, each castaway would compete individually, so a castaway would still be in the game even after their partner was voted out. The twist would play its part when a castaway could opt to replace their partner on before a duel took place, thus allowing their partner to take their place on their tribe.

Trivia

 * Of the 92 returnees: 67 have played twice, 21 have played three times, and 4 have played four times.
 * Rob Mariano, Rupert Boneham, Cirie Fields, and Ozzy Lusth are the only contestants to play four times. Rob is the only 4-time returnee who won on his fourth attempt.
 * Jenna Morasca, Michael Skupin, and Colton Cumbie are the only returning players to never be voted out.
 * Amanda Kimmel, Russell Hantz, and Sandra Diaz-Twine each played their first two seasons without being voted out, but were each voted out in their third season.
 * On every season featuring an all-returnee cast, the eventual Sole Survivor was playing for the second time.
 * Kelly Wiglesworth currently holds the record for the longest period between appearances on , with 30 seasons.

Seasons and Twists

 * currently has the most castaways return from it, with nine.
 * has the most first-time castaways return from it, with eight.
 * The eight returnees from The Australian Outback have returned twelve times total, the most of any season.
 * The final four of , the final four of, and the final four of  have all been returning players.
 * All four returning players from  have reached Final Tribal Council at some point in their Survivor careers.
 * All the returnees from  have participated in the game at least three times, with Ozzy Lusth having competed four times. Cook Islands has introduced the highest number of three-time players, with four.
 * Throughout his Survivor career, Ozzy Lusth is the only person to compete in all different styles of player seasons: an all-new players season, a season with half new players and half returnees, a one returnee per tribe season, and an all-returnees season. Ozzy has also been to both and.
 * Aras Baskauskas and Candice Cody are the other two contestants who have been to both islands.
 * Of the three, Ozzy is the only person to return from Redemption Island.
 * Stephenie LaGrossa is the only female contestant to return in a season with one returnee per tribe.
 * Every season prior to has produced at least one returning player.
 * However, no players that debuted in or  have returned. The only returnees from Guatemala (Stephenie LaGrossa) and Caramoan (Andrea Boehlke and Malcolm Freberg) were returnees themselves on those seasons.
 * Prior to, no contestant to place worse than 10th on their first season had returned. Philippines broke this pattern by having Michael Skupin (11th) from The Australian Outback and Russell Swan (14th) from return.
 * Russell was the first pre-merge returnee who failed to reach the merge twice. He was followed by Francesca Hogi, Colton Cumbie, and Caleb Reynolds.
 * Though he did reach the merge once, Jeff Varner competed thrice and missed a spot on the jury in all three of his seasons.
 * In all three seasons where the tribes were divided as new players against returning players:
 * A Tribe Switch occurred, mixing the tribes between new and returning players.
 * Post-switch, the tribe originally consisting of new players won every Immunity Challenge.
 * The Sole Survivor and at least one runner-up were returning players, and no new players received votes from the jury.
 * In every all-returnee season in which at least one previous winner returned, a winner was the fifth person eliminated.
 * In every season with a returnee, at least one returnee reached the Final Tribal Council.
 * Andrea Boehlke has received more votes over her Survivor career than any other returning player, with 36 total votes.
 * Cirie Fields is the only contestant to successfully make it to the finale episode of a season on three separate occasions.
 * On every all-returnee season that included at least one Tribe Switch, one tribe had no members remain on the tribe during its entire existence.