Survivor 34 cast identified; chaotic casting changes its twist

A lot of behind-the-scenes drama with casting, including last-minute drops and adds, has led Survivor to drop its planned winners versus jury versus early boot format, and instead go with a 20-person cast of all-returnee all-stars.

Perhaps “Survivor: The Cast We Could Assemble” is the most-accurate description right now. While their season’s title and twist is not currently known, I have learned that the cast has left for Fiji, and the game likely starts Friday.*

Inside Survivor, which earlier published a list of possible candidates, has published a list of the 20 returnees. That includes two people from season 33, Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X, but because this new season includes a range of players, from pre-merge boots to winners, their inclusion here tells us nothing about how well they did in season 33.

Some quick stats on the new cast:

• For 12 of the cast members, this will be their second chance at the game.
• Six of the cast members will be playing for a third time.
• Two people will be playing for a fourth time.

Survivor 34’s all-star cast

The returning all-stars are, according to Inside Survivor:

1. Andrea Boehlke, Survivor Redemption Island and Survivor Caramoan
2. Michaela Bradshaw, Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X
3. Aubry Bracco, Survivor Kaoh Rong
4. Brad Culpepper, Survivor Blood vs. Water
5. Sierra Dawn-Thomas, Survivor Worlds Apart
6. Sandra Diaz-Twine, Survivor Pearl Islands and Survivor Heroes vs. Villains
7. Ciera Eastin, Survivor Blood vs. Water and Survivor Cambodia
8. Cirie Fields, Survivor Panama, Survivor Micronesia, and Survivor Heroes vs. Villains
9. Hali Ford, Survivor Worlds Apart
10. Malcolm Freberg, Survivor Philippines and Survivor Caramoan
11. Sarah Lacina, Survivor Cagayan
12. Ozzy Lusth, Survivor Cook Islands, Survivor Micronesia, and Survivor South Pacific
13. Caleb Reynolds, Survivor Kaoh Rong
14. Troyzan Robertson, Survivor One World
15. Zeke Smith, Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X
16. JT Thomas, Tocantins and Survivor Heroes vs. Villains
17. Tai Trang, Survivor Kaoh Rong
18. Jeff Varner, Survivor Australia and Survivor Cambodia
19. Tony Vlachos, Survivor Cagayan
20. Debbie Wanner, Survivor Kaoh Rong

* This sentence was corrected and updated. I regret the earlier error in the timeline.