Every Survivor Season Ranked Worst To Best

"Survivor" is a lot like pizza. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty darn good. Hosted by rule-loving TV personality Jeff Probst, the reality television series kicked off in the year 2000, merging human drama, physical excellence, and survivalism into a veritable small-screen phenomenon. Each season, a group of castaways are divided into "tribes" and left to fend for themselves in a (usually tropical) remote location, where they must endure the elements, challenges, and each other for 39 days. There are rewards, eliminations, alliances, and second chances. So who needs sports when you've got gaggles of everyday folks ready to get all "Lord of the Flies" for a million bucks?

But with over two decades on the air and 40 seasons (with a 41st on the way), it can be difficult to suss out how the show's many entries stack up. Even when you take a peek at a general consensus (for instance, the aggregated reviews on IMDb), the "worst" season of the show still manages to pull a perfectly respectable score. Like the best seasons of "Survivor," it's a tight race with plenty of favorites to choose from. So if you're wondering how the whole show shakes down, hold fast, and keep your Hidden Immunity Idols close. Here's a look at every season of "Survivor," ranked from worst to best.

The stars just weren't aligned in 2010, as Survivor's 21st season is often considered one of the show's very worst offerings. Described charitably by Purple Rock Podcast as "an absolute slog," a gaggle of impressively unlikeable contestants were divided into two tribes by age, a gimmick that host Jeff Probst vowed, "I hope we never do again," to CBS Watch! magazine. (Spoiler alert: They did, in fact, do it again.) The unpopularity of the advantage granting-Medallion of Power, which Probst rightfully described as "embarrassing" was only outdone by the amount of contestants who straight-up quit. Good riddance, "Nicaragua."

Season 14 of "Survivor" infamously introduced the much-hated "Haves vs. Have Nots" twist, which dared to ask the question: Can a malnourished, exhausted group of people vanquish their well-rested, well-fed peers? 

At the beginning of the season, all of the castaways were provided with enviable amenities, from a toilet to fire-making equipment to furniture. And when the contestants were divided into two tribes, the winning group (the "Haves") continued to enjoy their souped-up camp, while the losers (the "Have Nots") had to start from scratch with nothing but a pot and a machete. Predictably, the "Have Nots" got absolutely destroyed week after week, a one-sided battle that killed all sense of tension until the post-merge game.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Season 39 is the pits. Two of the game's biggest "idols," Sandra Diaz-Twine and Rob Mariano return not as players but mentors, periodically offering castaways advice, as well as opportunities to win advantages. Unfortunately, all of the goofy (if screen-hogging) potential of the mentorship set-up is soured after the early post-merge. The controversy surrounding contestant Dan Spilo (who's accused of harassing cast members and crew) throws a dark shadow over the season. And in the end, the inaction of the producers to address the situation not only taints "Island of the Idols" but the show as a whole.

Season 35 may not crack the top 30, but it does have the most intriguing name ... so that's got to count for something. 

As its moniker suggests, this season's gimmick involved separating a cohort of newbies into three tribes based on their dominant trait — courage (heroes), compassion (healers), and tenacity (hustlers). In addition to its contrived theme, Season 35 received a fair amount of flack for introducing the then-unannounced Final Four fire-making challenge, which, without giving anything away, robbed viewers of a karmic moment of justice for a player who spent much of the game hiding behind Immunity Idols. In the end, too many late-game advantages and twists spoiled the soup.

Season 19 is a polarizing season. And the reason for its divisiveness is also the reason it tends to rank low amongst fans of the show — all the focus is on one player. Namely, Russell Hantz, a stout, trilby-wearing Immunity Idol magnet whose charisma and cutthroat sense of strategy absorb the vast majority of the season's screen time. All to say, your personal mileage with Season 19 will inevitably be tied to your ability to swallow Russell's divisive arrogance and camera-hogging. This editing choice, focused around a single character, marks a huge departure for the show that isn't going to float everyone's boat. Odds are, a more balanced edit would've placed "Samoa" in higher esteem.

Filmed in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji, this season introduced viewers to the titular Ghost Island, a secluded location where banished players would "resurrect" misused advantages from previous seasons. While the self-referential twist becomes a bit repetitive after a while, this season's biggest problem is that two players hog the entire narrative: Domenick Abbate and Wendell Holland. While Dom and Wendell's dominance does lead to an interesting "Survivor" first, in hindsight, it feels like the entire season's edit was reverse-engineered to the detriment of crafting a dynamic, re-watchable season. Season 36 does get props for having the coolest name though.

Season 5 of "Survivor" can be summed up in one word: boring. Sandwiched between two massively influential seasons ("Marquesas" and "The Amazon"), the dull, predictable gameplay of "Thailand" feels like a massive step backward. Throw in a wildly unpleasant cast and a handful of fun-killing dark moments, and it begins to make perfect sense why "Thailand" sits at the back of the pack. 

Even host Jeff Probst isn't a fan, telling Entertainment Weekly (via Digital Spy) in 2005 that "Thailand" was his least favorite season of the whole series, explaining, "There was a lot of hostility, a lot of ugliness, and that's not fun to watch."

The second pass on the returning "players vs. relatives" format. Season 29 is the very definition of "middling." The repeat theme (a mere two seasons after its introduction), the return of "Exile Island," and the location retread of Nicaragua don't bring anything new to the table. A slow-burn season with unremarkable pre-merge gameplay, "San Juan del Sur" makes for a languid, uneven watch. Luckily, things take a turn for the better when entertaining heavy hitters like Keith Nale hit their stride. As People's Stephen Fishbach succinctly notes, it's "a humdrum season" that happens to have a great winner.

If you're not a fan of purple rock tiebreakers, you have Season 4 to blame. That said, "Marquesas" is a fantastic season that marks a pivotal shift in the series towards more engaging and unpredictable gameplay. Until "Marquesas," the winner was always from whichever tribe had more numbers after the merge. And in addition to its more fluid vision of what "Survivor" strategy could look like, Season 4's cast is one of the series' best, from the naive, coattail-rider Neleh to "Boston Rob" Mariano's uncut gem of a first appearance. The biggest sin of "Marquesas" comes down to its editing, which leaves its ultimate winner feeling a bit like a stranger.

Also known as "Fans vs. Favorites," Season 16 was the first time the show mixed first-timers with returning castaways. This is, to put it lightly, an absolutely iconic season of "Survivor," featuring many of the most memorable and outrageous moments in the show's history (including multiple blindsides and a fake Immunity Idol at a Tribal Council). 

However, while "Fans vs. Favorites" has a lot going for it, the season isn't without its faults. The two medical evacuations of beloved contestants are a little somber. And it could be argued that the edit is a bit too weighted towards the favorites.

Season 26 sees the return of the "Fans vs. Favorites" formula, pitting familiar players from the likes of "Gabon," "South Pacific," and "Redemption Island" against a cohort of newbies.

While "Caramoan" has its highs (Malcolm's double idol play being one of them), the season is a little bottom heavy. But if you're willing to sift your way through the grating early half of the season, you'll be treated to a smorgasbord of bold, edge-of-your-seat late-game plays. The stellar six final episodes of "Caramoan" are well worth the wait, finishing the game strong with one of the most deserving winners in the series' history.

Also known as "White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar," Season 30 saw three tribes of new players divided by their profession, be it corporate, manual labor, or passion-based. In addition to its workplace division gimmick, "Worlds Apart" is noteworthy for introducing the "double vote" reward at the Survivor Auction and for reigniting the fire-making tiebreaker challenge.

"Worlds Apart" has a little something for everybody — a largely comedic, quirky pre-merge and an intense, drama-filled late game. With deplorable villains, sympathetic underdogs, and a satisfying winner, if you're looking for a sense of karmic justice, you need look no further than "Worlds Apart."

Season 8 granted the dreams of many fans by giving popular players from previous seasons the chance to compete again. "All-Stars" features some amazing highlights, including the whirlwind romance of "Boston" Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich. And yet, for all its highs, "All-Stars" also has one of the most uncomfortable moments in the history of the show – an instance of sexual misconduct — which leaves a dark stain on the season and, in truth, the show as a whole. This, coupled with a predictable post-merge game and a larger tonal shift from "stranded survivors" to "ego-driven reality stars," makes "All-Stars" a hit-and-miss watch, instead of what could've been one of the show's best outings.

Season 34 is a polarizing season, but "Game Changers" easily scoots to the top of this list. A season full of returning players who (ostensibly) shook up the game, "Game Changers" succeeds in delivering a strong winner and several excellent one-off episodes (Sandra Diaz-Twine stirring the pot by devouring sugar is a wild ride). 

It's a top-heavy season with most of its twisty thrills reserved for the pre-merge game. Then, things get bleak, with one of the darker and arguably most discussed "Survivor" moments of the last 10 years, with one contestant outing another as trans at Tribal Council. An excess of advantages and a slap-dash edit don't help lighten the mood.

Season 9 saw two tribes divided by gender, with a languishing pre-merge game redeemed by an enjoyable post-merge portion. Often accused of parroting the "men versus women" gimmick of "Amazon" to lesser effect, Vanuatu benefits from strong castaways, the first genuinely dominant female alliance in the show's history, and a showstopper endgame. The individual parts of "Vanuatu" are nothing to write home about, but as a whole, this season has a lot to offer, from the rise and fall of an iconic female villain to a triumphant underdog to one of the most engrossing final Tribal Council's in the show's history.

In past seasons, the downside of mixing old and new players is that the returning cohort invariably hogs the spotlight. Season 25 sidesteps this lopsided fate by bringing back players who were pulled from the game for medical reasons, pairing them alongside a truly entertaining cohort of newbies who more than hold their own (including top-tier narrator and former "Facts of Life" star Lisa Whelchel). 

From the meteoric fall of the Matsing tribe to the underdog success stories of dynamic duo Malcolm Freberg and Denise Stapley, "Philippines" is a great season on all fronts (with the exception of Michael Skupin, who's hard to watch knowing his post-show legal troubles).

Season 38 is responsible for introducing one of the latest twists in the show — an outright format change known as "The Edge" that grants eliminated players the opportunity to return to the game if they can survive in a desolate no man's land. It's difficult to explain the thrills of "Edge of Extinction" without giving away key details, but suffice to say, the twist is arguably the best, if not the most consequential, execution of the "second chance" style of "Survivor" gameplay. "Edge of Extinction" delivers exactly what it promises — a bold creative risk and an expansion of what the game of "Survivor" can look like.

The first season to split tribes with a theme, Season 6 breathed new life into the series after the absolute bummer that was "Thailand." The "battle of the sexes" gimmick frames much of the early game, but if you can tolerate the sexism of the time period, it's a must-watch of the early era of "Survivor." That's especially true since "Amazon" includes twists and experimental gags (like dual confessionals) that make it a unique watch. However, as is often the case, we'd bet that the cast is the main reason fans seem to enjoy Season 6 so much. How can you not fall for the charms of master narrator Rob Cesternino?

This truly biblical season of "Survivor" pits scrappy underdogs against privileged overachievers in a bid to see if the mighty or the meek will inherit the title of Sole Survivor. Season 37 boasts the great "Survivor" season trifecta — an engaging group of endearing castaways, a well-balanced edit, and edge-of-your-seat gameplay. 

And don't let the gimmicky theme fool you. This time, the tribal division works to the show's credit, with a thrilling pre-jury game (minus one bummer evacuation), well-timed advantages, idols, and all manner of social power plays to keep you on your toes right to the bitter end.

When it comes to the best of the beast, Season 31 takes the number one spot. Though, with a season of returning castaways voted in by the fans, perhaps it's no surprise that "Cambodia" has a soft spot in everyone's hearts. 

With a second shot at the title and the added pressure of being voted in, these players come out of the gate swinging with chaotic, all-or-nothing gameplay, especially with the introduction of the now-ubiquitous "voting blocs." This is a season with great gameplay, great characters, and a (pretty) even-keeled edit. "Cambodia" has it all. It's dramatic, humorous, and nail-biting. And at the end of the day, that's what "Survivor" is all about, baby.