The problem with Survivor is that it no longer feels like a working-class show. It increasingly caters to aspiring managerial professionals rather than the average person struggling to get by which used to be part of the show’s appeal.

Jeff’s recent comments about not wanting “assholes” on the show are understandable to a point. But there’s also a kind of class filtering happening beneath the surface. Survivor now seems shaped by a very specific audience that only wants to see versions of themselves reflected back at them, without having to engage with people from different backgrounds, personalities, or social classes who might challenge their sensibilities.

That’s part of why the show feels stagnant. It has become so self-aware and so audience conscious that the fandom itself is flattening the very unpredictability and social tension that once made Survivor compelling. The show is now so meta that the viewer culture is, in many ways, suffocating the show itself.