"Survivor" returns tonight for its 49th season with a two-hour premiere on CBS and Paramount+. The new castaways face tough challenges, shifting alliances, and the twists that will shape this season's game. Former winner Jeremy Collins breaks down what to expect.

The long-running reality competition series Survivor marks its 49th season with a special two-hour premiere, featuring 18 contestants vying to outwit, outplay, and outlast each other. The show continues its tradition of challenging players to form and break alliances, relying on each other for survival while ultimately voting one another out.

Former contestant and winner Jeremy Collins joins host Jeff Probst on the official Survivor podcast, 'On Fire with Jeff Probst,' offering behind-the-scenes insights and answering fan questions. Collins, who has played three seasons and won once, shares that contestants receive no luxuries or handouts during filming. He also confirms he will not return for the upcoming all-returnee season 50, citing personal reasons, but leaves open the possibility for a future appearance.

What to expect in "Survivor" season 49 two-hour premiere

The hit reality competition series we've been seeing, Who Can Outwit, Outplay, Outlast. It's 25 years old, season 49, the premiere tonight right here on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Here's an early look at the special two-hour episode. It is your 18 individual pursuits of that victory, the decisions you each make, the risks you each take, that will define your season. And underneath all of this is the heart of the paradox of Survivor. You must and will rely on each other in order to survive in a real jungle. And you must and will vote each other out in order to win. That is the beautiful contradiction that makes Survivor so compelling, because without that constant push and pull, without alliances being formed and then broken, without trust being built and then shattered, there is no pursuit of greatness. This is your moment. This is your season, and it begins right now. Whoo! Jeremy Collins is considered one of the best contestants in the show's history. He played three seasons of Survivor. He won one of those seasons, and he is now joining Jeff Probst to host this season of the official Survivor podcast, On Fire with Jeff Probst. It reveals how the show is made, answers fan questions, and gives a behind-the-scenes take on each episode. And Jeremy Collins joins us right now ahead of tonight's premiere of season 49. Jeremy, good to see you. What does it take to win? What are you looking for when you see the players tonight? First, let me say good morning, and this is Survivor premiere night, so us players, we say happy Survivor Day, so happy Survivor Day. What I'm looking for in the players this season, I want to see some backstabbing. I want to see some big moves. Play like this is your last day on Earth. You want to play and... Did I lose you? You want to play and go hard, and that's what I'm looking for this season. Hearing is we're playing some video of Survivor, so you're hearing that audio. That's what you heard there. And happy Survivor Day to you, too. So you're joining this podcast with Jeff Probst, On Fire with Jeff Probst, and I love that one of the things you guys do is you answer fan questions. When you're out in the wild, the wild of civilized society, not the island, what is the thing that people are most surprised to hear about the behind the scenes of Survivor? I'd say the biggest thing is that they don't give us anything. People think that, oh, no, we go and we stay in a hotel, or we have bathrooms. They don't give us anything out there. We go to the bathroom in the water. There's no toothbrushes. It's bad, it's bad, and we get no handouts at all. It's horrible, but we sign up for it all the time, and we love it. I don't know, we're kind of crazy. Earlier this year, the season 50 cast of Survivor had all the returning players. It was announced you're not returning for season 50. How come? Would you have liked to return? Scheduling differences? What's going on? You see the gray whiskers on me? I'm getting old. I have 100 days in. I'm getting super old out there. I think I'm done. I think I'm done. I told you if I'm done, I can't do it anymore. That being said, if this was the last season ever, give me a call. I might do it again. Oh, I like it. So you're saying there's a chance, Jeremy. There's a chance, there's a chance. What is it that you think has led to Survivor surviving all these years? I mean, it's a beautiful game, first of all. The game is so fun. It's just, there's nothing that matches it in reality TV. It's just raw, and the energy, and the emotion. And then you have Probst, and Probst is the man. You know, Probst just gives you what you're looking for, and he gives you just a little bit here, and then takes it away. It's a beautiful thing, man. It's been on for 50 years for a reason. It's just a perfect marriage with emotion, and you know, drive, and hunger, and pain. It's just all beautiful. It's all the senses. All true. 50 seasons, 25 years of love. Everything. Everything. Happy Survivor Day, Jeremy Collins. Happy Survivor Day. Happy Survivor Day. All right, the special two-hour premiere of season 49 of Survivor airs tonight at eight, seven central, right here on CBS, and streaming on Paramount+. And each week after the show, you can catch Jeremy Collins on the On Fire podcast with Jeff Probst, available wherever you like to listen to those podcasts.

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Breakdown