Students gathered in University Hall on Wednesday night, cheering as their favorite “Survivor” players popped up on the screen. Yet, these players are not the classic castaways, like Boston Rob or Parvati; they are current and recently graduated Northwestern students.
“Survivor Northwestern” premiered its fifth season Wednesday night — its first full season to air since 2021. The season, which was filmed during the 2022-23 school year, will now be released in full over the coming weeks.
The season, titled “Into the Gauntlet,” holds a new twist revealed during the first episode. One player was sent to “The Gauntlet,” where there was a choice between two boxes, either containing an advantage or a disadvantage.
For season five player and Communication senior Drew Slager, the season can best be described as “intense.”
“Everyone who’s on the season came to play,” Slager said. “We’re all college students, but it’s very apparent how much people were like, ‘I’m going to play Survivor, and I’m going to put my all into this.’”
Not only are the castaways students, but the show itself is entirely student-run. Student competitors participate in regular competitions, such as capture the flag and tribal councils. Most parts of “Survivor NU” replicate the show it’s based on, aside from being stranded in a jungle. And everything from the challenges down to the editing is run by students.
“Survivor NU” president and McCormick senior Ryan Kessler worked on the production of season five. He said the editing process after filming is incredibly lengthy, given the amount of footage and work that goes into producing nearly hour-long episodes.
Every Fall Quarter, the club plans the upcoming challenges and the twists for the season, Kessler said. Filming this season took place from the Winter to Spring quarters.
While the club has fully filmed seven seasons and the eighth is currently in the works, this season will mark the second season to be edited and aired in full, due to the amount of editing that goes into putting together a completed season.
Kessler said that usually, students only get to play as a contestant once. He said he started working on the production side of the club for season five to stay involved in the club after competing in season four.
“I made such good friends with some of my other players and production on season four,” Kessler said. “It was a pretty easy decision for me to stay in the club and be involved with production for future seasons.”
Students like Kessler and Slager said they both joined the club out of their love for the show “Survivor.” Others, like season five contestant and NU alum North Hinze (Communication ‘24) discovered the show through the club.
After finishing filming season five, Hinze said he started watching the show and is now a superfan.
The club not only brought Hinze a new bingeable TV series, but he said it also brought him a new community.
“Over the course of that summer, every season I watched, I kept texting friends about it,” Hinze said. “By the time we came back the next year, I ended up talking to them pretty much every day.”
Email: [email protected]
X: @SarahSerota
Related stories:
—‘Cats Collide: “Survivor Northwestern” premieres inaugural season
—Evanston resident Liana Wallace joins “Survivor” cast
—Podculture: Northwestern “Survivor” shows contestants’ true selves
