Survivor: Why There Will Never Be A ‘First Boots’ Season
Over the years, Survivor has featured several seasons with returning players, but it has yet to have a "First Boots" season and, unfortunately, probably never will. The theme is often bandied about by hopeful fans, but it has yet to become a reality. Instead, the show has developed several other returnee season themes over the years. In fact, 13 of its 41 seasons have featured returning players in some capacity.
The first returnee iteration was season 8, Survivor: All-Stars, which pitted the most popular players of the early era against one another in an unprecedented season. Because it was the first to feature players entering the game with pre-existing relationships with one another, All-Stars became extremely personal and uncomfortable to watch at times. Survivor went on to establish other returnee themes, like "Heroes vs. Villains" and "Second Chance" that, unlike All-Stars, became some of the greatest seasons in the show's history. In addition to full all-star seasons, many seasons also feature Survivor vets competing with new players.
When it comes to pitching potential returnee-themed seasons, one of the most commonly proposed ideas is a "First Boots" season, a returnee season that would feature a cast comprised entirely of players who were the first voted out on their initial outings. Unfortunately, the idea will almost certainly never come to fruition. The hook is inherently compelling: former first boots get a second chance in a season in which one former first boot would, by virtue of the theme, go from being the first eliminated to winning the game of Survivor. The primary hindrance to crafting such a season, however, is the impracticality of casting 18-20 first boots who would not only be willing and able to return to the game but who would also make for a dynamic and diverse cast.
On several occasions, Jeff Probst, Survivor's host and executive producer, has even publicly dismissed the theme due to the issue of casting. The fact of the matter is that most first boots were eliminated early for a reason. Many of them were already on the older end of the spectrum during their seasons and were voted out due to being physical liabilities in challenges. These players are now at too advanced an age to return to the island, and most other first boots were eliminated due to their social and strategic ineptitude and probably wouldn't fare too well on a return either.
That doesn't mean that some first boots won't eventually return to the game, though. Over the years, there have been several fluky vote-outs at the first Tribal Council. Players like Darnell Hamilton, Jessica deBen, and So Kim were mostly victims of bad luck and unfortunate social circumstances, and they could have done well if they had been cast with a different group of players. Others, like Pat Cusack and Kourtney Moon, were pulled from the game because of injuries. These types of players could potentially return in a Second Chance season or a "Pre-Merge" returnee theme, a more likely alternative for a First Boots season that would feature returning players who were eliminated before the merge on their first try. This would give many of the more compelling first boots a chance to return and play with other standouts who were eliminated early. Hopefully, some of these players get a chance to return to Survivor, but all signs point to a First Boots season being little more than a pipe dream.