Another season of Survivor is coming to an end. Just four players are left heading into the upcoming season 47 finale, and fans are anxious to see how it all plays out.
The season 47 finale of Survivor airs on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode is two hours long, which means the winner will be announced by the 10 p.m. ET conclusion.
This season's finale was actually split into two parts - part 1 aired on December 11, 2024, and was also two hours long. Normally, the Survivor finale is one three-hour episode that also includes a reunion show. Because of the two two-hour finale episodes, rather than one three-hour episode, Survivor fans are getting an extra hour of content this season.
On the December 12 episode of his "On Fire" podcast, host Jeff Probst explained that CBS came to the Survivor team "months before" they shot season 47 and asked if it would be possible to make the season 14 episodes instead of the usual 13. "They had some things they wanted to try in their schedule, and part of that working out would depend on whether or not we could do 14 episodes," Jeff added. "So [executive producer] Matt [Van Wagenen] and I sat down and broke the finale down into parts and examined if and how we could pull it off."
Normally, there are five or six players remaining in the Survivor finale. This season, part one featured the sixth and fifth place castaways being voted off, leaving just four left in the final episode of the season.
"What we really quickly realized was if we structured it so that part one got us down to four players, then part two, we could spend a lot more time with our final four as we lead into the final four challenge, and then the fire making, and then the final three, and then the final tribal council," Jeff continued. "Because typically our finales are so full of content that we end up not having enough time to show all the stories we'd like to show."
Because of the new finale format, some fans speculated that season 47 might return to the original final 2 format instead of a final 3. However, Jeff did not beat around the bush and made it clear that that is not what happens.
"It's certainly possible, but I don't want to have speculation that goes nowhere," he said. "I don't want to confuse or disappoint anybody. But I will say, it is a tremendous finish to a great season."
The four remaining players are Sam Phalen, Sue Smey, Rachel LaMont, and Teeny Chirichillo. Genevieve Mushaluk finished the season in fifth place after winning immunity at the final six to survive one extra week. Andy Rueda was blindsided and eliminated at the final six vote.
While Rachel seems to be the widespread favorite to win, anything can happen on Survivor. The finale will feature the players competing in their final immunity challenge. The winner will get to decide who he or she wants to take to final tribal council, leaving the other two players to battle it out in a fire making challenge. The winner will take the final spot to plead their case to the jury.