Local fans of the iconic reality series Survivor braved the bitter cold in Camp Washington on Thursday for a chance to meet some of their favorite contestants from the series and enter a raffle to be on set for the upcoming season’s live finale.
At the American Sign Museum, the line stretched out the door and around the block while CBS held an ‘Immunity Idol Hunt’ pop-up event as part of the Survivor 50 Challenge, an ongoing nationwide scavenger hunt to commemorate the upcoming 50th season of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.
On the Survivor 50 Challenge website, the clue for today’s event in Ohio read: “A city’s glow, a neon dream, where letters shine and colors gleam. A place where signs of old reside, follow the lights and step inside.”
Fans who successfully deciphered the clue headed to the Sign Museum, where they could take photos with this season’s hidden immunity idol and enter to win a trip to the finale. They also got to talk to and take selfies with several past Survivor contestants, including Cincinnati natives Matt Bischoff from Survivor: Caramoan and Angela Perkins from Survivor: Ghost Island.
Bischoff sat down with CityBeat to talk about his thoughts on ‘New Era’ Survivor (seasons 41-49, for those not well versed in reality television) and his predictions for Survivor 50.
“Obviously, I’ve watched from day one,” he said. “Some of the New Era seasons have been subpar to me, so I’ve been watching a lot of Australian Survivor. But for season 50, I think the cast is great, I’m super excited, and I think it’s gonna be literally one of the best seasons of all time.”
For his favorite contestants from recent seasons, he lists Sage Ahrens-Nichols from Survivor 49—a take he knows is “not gonna be popular” due to her “controversial” status—and Genevieve Mushaluk, a contestant from the 47th season who will return for Survivor 50.
“Genevieve was my winner pick for her season,” he said. “I think she’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with [on Survivor 50.]”
He also listed the returning contestants he’s most excited to watch: Chrissy Hofbeck (“a great friend of mine and she’s very smart”), five-time Survivor veteran Cirie Fields, and Benjamin “Coach” Wade.
In Survivor 50, he thinks Rizo Velovic and Savannah Louie from Survivor 49 will be early outs, followed by season 48’s winner Kyle Fraser as “no one’s gonna want him there, he just won a million dollars.”
For an official Survivor event to pop up in his hometown, Bischoff described the feeling as “incredible.”
“I’ve done a lot of [Survivor] events. This is, by far, one of my favorite things I’ve ever been a part of outside of my own personal season,” he said. “Today was absolutely incredible. The fans showed up for Cincinnati, Ohio, and it was awesome.”
Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans premieres on CBS on February 25 at 8 p.m., and subsequent episodes will air every Wednesday after that.