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.
Contents
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.
Future appearances
Nick Wilson returned to compete on Survivor: Winners at War. 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.
Voting history
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.
Nicole Clark of Vice called the season "the best thing on TV this year", and "one of the best [seasons] in recent history", praising the cast and memorable Tribal Councils. She concluded: "It's a rollicking clusterfuck to watch, one that only gets more and more convoluted as the season develops. If you're a potential Survivor fan looking for a season to start with, this is the one to pick." Joe Reid of Decider argued that David vs. Goliath was potentially the best season of the show, stating "Up until now, the closest thing to a consensus choice for Best Survivor Season Ever has been season 20: Heroes vs. Villains. That was an all-star season full of returning players, which meant it had the advantage of characters we loved and had long histories with, playing with and against their own reputations. Consider that David vs. Goliath was starting from scratch and you'll see why this season has been getting such respect." He felt that "the ready-made underdog storyline worked wonders", that the season had "more memorable, sharable (sic) moments than any season in recent memory", and that it "has been hugely satisfying to both halves of the Survivor fan brain: the half that craves clever, savvy game play and the half that craves big, memorable characters. It's harder than you think to marry the two."
Josh Wigler of The Hollywood Reporter called it "one of the most consistently exhilarating seasons in recent memory" and "one of the most exciting iterations of the CBS reality franchise", adding,"Years from now, when Survivor fans look back on the events of David vs. Goliath, a slew of memories are likely to come to mind: the season-opening medical evacuation, Natalie Napalm and 'Jacketgate,' just to name a few." In an article published two thirds into the season, Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly claimed that while "[not] every episode this season has been A+++", "every episode has had something. Every episode has earned its keep. Every episode has felt like it is moving the story forward. Yes, the cast is better, but the editing and the storytelling have been better as well." Ross ranked David vs. Goliath as the fifth-best season of the series, only behind Borneo and Micronesia (tied for first), Heroes vs. Villains, and Cagayan. After the ninth episode, FanSided stated, "Let's be thankful for just how great the season has gone." Lauren Piester of E! called David vs. Goliath "One of the best seasons of Survivor ever". In 2020, "Purple Rock Podcast" ranked this season 12th out of 40 due to the casting and great gameplay. Later in the year, Inside Survivor ranked this season 5th out of 40 saying "It's not just one of the best seasons of recent memory; it's also rightfully placed as one of the greatest of all time." In 2021, Rob Has a Podcast ranked David vs. Goliath 6th during the Survivor All-Time Top 40 Rankings podcast. In 2024, Nick Caruso of TVLine ranked this season 5th out of 47.
Controversy
Before the cast for the season was announced, contestant Alec Merlino posted a picture on Instagram with fellow contestant Kara Kay captioned: "Fuck it". This violated the non-disclosure agreements contestants signed before filming, which said they could not follow each other on social media or post photos together. As a result, he was banned from the reunion and his absence was not addressed during it.