Survivor season 43 and The Amazing Race season 34 premiere dates have been announced after months of anticipation from fans of both CBS reality competition shows. The upcoming season of Survivor was first announced back in March, with production in an undisclosed location in Fiji beginning shortly afterwards (the reality show films two seasons back-to-back); Survivor season 43 will feature 18 new players physically, mentally and emotionally battling it out to be the last one standing, with the winner taking home the grand prize of $1 million). The Amazing Race season 34, like Survivor, was renewed shortly after YouTubers Kim and Penn Holderness were declared the victors of season 33 in early March.
Like many other reality competition shows that have aired new seasons since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the upcoming seasons of Survivor and The Amazing Race are set to feature several changes in response. The Amazing Race, for example, has had to limit race legs to parts of Europe that haven’t been as affected by COVID-19, as well as eliminating contestants traveling via public transportation. Survivor, on the other hand, has shortened their filming schedule to 26 days; in addition to the players being separated into three tribes, the reunion was also reportedly filmed on-location to avoid unnecessary exposure.
Fans of Survivor and The Amazing Race have been speculating when seasons 43 and 34, respectively, would be premiering on television for months. This week, Deadline reported that Survivor season 43 and The Amazing Race season 34 will both kick off on Wednesday, September 21. Survivor will be first on the lineup, with its two-hour season premiere beginning at 8 p.m. EDT. The Amazing Race will then air its premiere starting at 10 p.m. EDT. Following 90-minute episodes on September 28, Survivor season 43 and The Amazing Race season 34 will then continue to air every Wednesday at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. EDT, respectively, with the new dating show The Real Love Boat (which will feature stars like Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Hannah Ferrier) sandwiched in between at 9 p.m. EDT starting October 5.
Survivor and The Amazing Race aren’t the only shows returning to CBS this fall either. The 48 Hours season 35, a true-crime series that has reported thousands of cases since 1988, returns to the network on September 17. A week later, September 25, will mark the finale of Big Brother season 24; the upcoming Big Brother season, which will feature a shorter game and higher cash prize of $750,000, will kick off with a live premiere on July 6 with longtime host Julie Chen Moonves at the helm. Also premiering on July 6 is The Challenge: USA, which will feature 28 contestants who got their reality television starts on Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, and Love Island.
CBS has proudly hosted dozens of competition reality shows for decades, and the network has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Although fans of Survivor and The Amazing Race still have months to go until the series’ latest season premieres, The Challenge USA may satisfy some cravings by featuring Survivor and The Amazing Race alumni like Domenick Abbate, Ben Driebergen, Cayla Platt, Sarah Lacina and Tyson Apostol. With a $1 million grand prize on the line for the winners of both respective shows, there will no doubt be plenty of drama, competition and conflict in store.
Survivor season 43 and The Amazing Race season 34 premiere September 21 on CBS.
