Survivor: David vs. Goliath is the 37th season of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. Hosted by Jeff Probst and broadcast by CBS between September 26 and December 19, 2018, the season featured 20 contestants originally divided into two tribes of ten inspired by the biblical figures David and Goliath: the "David" tribe composed of underdogs who have had to overcome adversity throughout their lives, and the "Goliath" tribe consisting of ten overachievers who have leveraged their advantages to succeed in their respective fields. The tribes were switched on day 10 into three tribes of five selected by a random draw; "Jabeni", "Tiva", and "Vuku". On day 19, they merged into a single tribe, "Kalokalo", for the remainder of the game. Filming took place in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji between March 29 and May 6, 2018, making it the sixth season of Survivor to film in Fiji. Due to Severe Tropical Cyclone Keni striking during the season's filming, the castaways and crew were evacuated for two days, pausing the game.
After 39 days, Nick Wilson was named the Sole Survivor, defeating fellow finalists Mike White and Angelina Keeley in a 7–3–0 jury vote and winning a prize of US$1,000,000. The season garnered widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike due to the cast, theme and gameplay. It is generally regarded as one of the show's greatest seasons.
Overview
Survivor is a reality television show based on the Swedish show Expedition Robinson, created by Mark Burnett and Charlie Parsons. The series follows a number of participants isolated in a remote location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter. One by one, a participant is removed from the series by majority vote, with challenges held to give a reward (ranging from living- and food-related prizes to a car) and immunity from being voted out of the series. The last remaining player receives a prize of $1,000,000.
Production
Probst explained that a predetermined theme is undecided during casting, with ideas emerging during the casting process, being finalized a month before filming begins. The idea for the David vs. Goliath theme was inspired by the opposing personalities of eventual contestants John Hennigan and Christian Hubicki. The tribes were inspired by the biblical figures David and Goliath, with the David tribe being composed of underdogs and the Goliath tribe being overachievers. Probst said that there were risks to incorporating the theme due to the physically unbalanced starting tribes, but hoped it would reveal the Davids' strengths and the Goliaths' weaknesses.
Survivor: David vs. Goliath was filmed between March 29 and May 6, 2018 in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. It was the sixth season of Survivor to be filmed in Fiji. When the David tribe were returning to their beach from a challenge, their boat was hit by rough waters from Tropical Cyclone Josie, resulting in one contestant sustaining a back injury and being medically evacuated. The cast were later struck by Severe Tropical Cyclone Keni and production decided to evacuate them from their beaches into temporary housing where tribes were kept separated and not allowed to speak. The cast were evacuated for two days, the second such occurrence on Survivor following Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, which had also been filmed in Fiji two years earlier. The season premiered on September 26, 2018, with an extended 90-minute episode. Its live finale aired on December 19, 2018.
The season introduced a new advantage to the game, the idol nullifier. Initially hidden on Exile Island, once found the player could use it to negate another player's hidden immunity idol if they correctly guess whom the idol will be played on beforehand.
Contestants
The cast is composed of 20 players divided into two tribes. On day 10 during the tribe switch, "David" and "Goliath" were renamed "Vuku" and "Jabeni". The switch introduced a third tribe, "Tiva". The merged tribe, "Kalokalo", was named after the Fijian word for "star", which was suggested by contestant Elizabeth Olson. Notable cast includes filmmaker and two-time Amazing Race contestant Mike White, and professional wrestler and Tough Enough III co-winner John Hennigan.
+List of Survivor: David vs. Goliath contestantsContestantAgeFrom Tribe Finish Original Switched Merged Placement Day 41 Watervliet,New York rowspan="2" MedicallyevacuatedDay 3 19Lakeland,Florida1st voted outDay 6 40New York City,New York 2nd voted outDay 9 28Houston,Texas Quit (Injury)Day 10 26Irvine,California rowspan="2" 3rd voted outDay 11 57Los Angeles,California rowspan="2" 4th voted outDay 15 36Boston,Massachusetts rowspan="2" 5th voted outDay 17 31Longview,Texas rowspan="13" 6th voted out1st jury memberDay 20 38Los Angeles,California rowspan="3" rowspan="2" 7th voted out2nd jury memberDay 22 28Gainesville,Florida8th voted out3rd jury memberDay 25 24San Clemente,California rowspan="2" 9th voted out4th jury memberDay 28 41Houston,Texas rowspan="4" 10th voted out5th jury memberDay 30 25Denver,Colorado rowspan="2" 11th voted out6th jury memberDay 32 32Tallahassee,Florida12th voted out7th jury memberDay 35 30Atlanta,Georgia 13th voted out8th jury memberDay 36 28Chapel Hill,North Carolina rowspan="4" 14th voted out9th jury memberDay 37 30San Diego,California Eliminated 28San Clemente,California rowspan="3" 2nd runner-upDay 39 47Los Angeles,CaliforniaRunner-up 27Williamsburg,KentuckySole Survivor
Future appearances Nick Wilson returned to compete on Survivor: Winners at War.Meet the cast of Survivor: Winners at War Entertainment Weekly, Retrieved July 11, 2023 Christian Hubicki, Angelina Keeley, and Mike White returned to compete on Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.
Season summary The 20 new castaways were divided into two tribes based on adversity: David (underdogs) and Goliath (overachievers). Due to a series of injuries, the David tribe were down in numbers when the tribes were shuffled; on all three new tribes, the Goliaths held the majority. However, the Davids were able to take advantage of the dissension among the Goliaths, working with them to eliminate several Goliaths.
The Goliaths entered the merge in the majority. While the Goliaths tried to decimate the David alliance, the Davids’ sharp strategizing and well-timed playing of advantages put them in the majority after blindsiding the Goliath alliance’s leaders, John and Dan. Christian and Gabby then betrayed their David alliance to eliminate Carl, which ultimately turned the other Davids against them; Mike from the Goliath alliance used the opportunity to lead the charge to eliminate the rest of the Davids, while Kara played both sides from the middle. However, Nick from the David tribe won the last three immunity challenges, making his way to the end of the game with Goliaths (and Jabeni tribemates) Mike and Angelina. The jury respected Nick's social game and ability to fight his way out of being an underdog over Mike's late-game strategic emergence and Angelina's selfish, manipulative personality, voting Nick the Sole Survivor in a 7–3–0 vote over Mike and Angelina respectively.
+Challenge winners and eliminations by episodesEpisodeChallenge winner(s)Eliminated No. Title Original air date Reward Immunity Tribe Player1"Appearances are Deceiving"September 26, 2018 rowspan="2" Patcolspan="2" 2"The Chicken Has Flown the Coop"October 3, 2018colspan="2" Jessica3"I Am Goliath Strong"October 10, 2018colspan="2" Jeremy4"Time to Bring About the Charmpocalypse"October 17, 2018Bicolspan="2" rowspan="2" Natalia5"Jackets and Eggs"October 24, 2018 rowspan="2" Natalie6"Aren’t Brochachos Just Adorable?"October 31, 2018 rowspan="2" Lyrsa7"There's Gonna Be Tears Shed"November 7, 2018 Alison rowspan="10" Elizabeth8"You Get What You Give"November 14, 2018Alec, Alison,Christian, Gabby,John, NickDanJohn9"Breadth-First Search"November 21, 2018Alec,Dan, Davie,Kara, MikeAlecDan10"Tribal Lines Are Blurred"November 28, 2018Alec,Alison, Christian,Gabby, MikeChristianAlecCarl, Davie,Kara, MikeDavieCarl11"So Smart They're Dumb"December 5, 2018Angelina, Nick[Davie, Mike]KaraGabby12"Are You Feeling Lucky?"December 12, 2018Davie[Kara, Nick]MikeChristian13"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"December 19, 2018Nick[Angelina, Mike]NickDavierowspan="2" NickAlisonNick[Angelina]Kara14"Reunion Special"
Episodes
Voting history
Original tribesSwitched tribesMerged tribe Episode12345678910111213 Day3691011151720222528303235363738 Tribecolspan="2" EliminatedPat JessicaJeremyBiNataliaNatalieLyrsaElizabethJohn DanAlecCarlGabbyChristianDavieAlisonKara VotesEvacuated5–49–1Quit3–1–13–23–112–13–0–0 6–3–29–15–42–1–03–2–04–24–1 VoterVote Challenge NickJessicaNatalieLyrsaElizabethJohnDanDanAlecAlisonChristianChristianAlisonAlison MikeJeremyNatalieLyrsaElizabethChristian ChristianAlecCarlGabbyDavieDavieAlison AngelinaJeremy LyrsaLyrsaElizabethChristian ChristianAlecAlisonGabbyChristianDavieAlison KaraJeremy DavieElizabethChristian AngelinaAlecCarlChristianChristianDavieAlison AlisonJeremy ElizabethChristiancolspan="2" AlecCarlChristianDavieDavieMike DavieLyrsaNataliaElizabethJohn DanAlecAlisonChristianAlisonAlison ChristianJessicaElizabethJohn DanAlecCarlAlisonAlison GabbyJessicaElizabethAngelina DanAlecCarlChristian CarlLyrsaElizabethAngelina DanAlecAlison AlecJeremy NataliaElizabethChristian AngelinaCarl DanJeremy ElizabethChristian Christian JohnJeremy ElizabethChristian ElizabethJessicaNataliaAngelina LyrsaJessicaNatalieAngelina NatalieJeremyLyrsa NataliaJeremy Elizabeth BiLyrsaQuit JeremyNatalie Jessica Lyrsa PatEvacuated Jury voteEpisode14Day39 Finalist Nick Mike Angelina Votes 7–3–0 JurorVote Kara Alison Davie Christian Gabby Carl Alec Dan John Elizabeth Notes
Reception Survivor: David vs. Goliath received universal acclaim from both critics and fans, with many considering it one of the best seasons in the show's history due to its strategic play, unpredictability, and memorable contestants. The Tribal Councils also received praise for being entertaining and unpredictable, with the councils in the eighth and ninth episodes, during which the former Davids used game advantages to vote out former Goliaths John and Dan despite not having the numbers on their side, earning particular attention as impressive and smartly executed blindsides, and have been hailed by several media outlets as two of the best Tribal Councils in Survivor history. Angelina Keeley's performance was also well received, with her quickly becoming one of the most notable and entertaining characters in the history of the show due to her tendency to constantly overplay in an unknowingly transparent way, making all her attempted strategic moves obvious to the other players.