The only thing more exhilarating than the Survivor: Winners at War premiere was Rob Cesternino’s party in Los Angeles that brought back 20 years of contestants. More Survivors showed up than anyone expected.
Wednesday night’s premiere party at buzzy Busby’s East in East Hollywood was a 10-year celebration of Rob Has a Podcast and a commemoration of the two decades Survivor has been on the air. In addition to stars of Big Brother, The Bachelor and The Circle, a confirmed 46 Survivors showed up to the party. The list, compiled by RHAP patron Jim Rosario in collaboration with other patrons, was so long even the most loyal fan who was there could have overlooked some of these contestants.
Here are the names of all the Survivors who showed up for the occasion: Coby Archa, Vytas Baskauskas, Lauren Beck, Julie Berry, Aubry Bracco, Christina Cha, Rob Cesternino, Christina Coria, Max Dawson, Terry Deitz, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Wendy Diaz, John Fincher, Stephen Fishbach, Tyler Fredrickson, Katie Gallagher, Abi-Maria Gomes, Nate Gonzales, Chris Hammons, Christa Hastie, Ken Hoang, Francesca Hogi, Christian Hubicki, So Kim, Dean Kowalski, Bret LaBelle, Dan Lue, Roark Luskin, Ozzy Lusth, Nick Maiorano, Bobby Mason, Cole Medders, Simone Nyguen (Chung), Lauren O’Connell, Nina Poersch, Shane Powers, Parvati Shallow, Hannah Shapiro, Phillip Sheppard, Jay Starrett, Natalie Tenerelli, Chelsea Walker, Kelley Wentworth, Desi Williams, David Wright and Robb Zbacnik.
Some of the former Survivors who showed up are regulars at these types of events, like Abi-Maria Gomes, Hannah Shapiro and Bret LaBelle. Others, like Nate Gonzales, Katie Gallagher and Dan Lue, haven’t been as visible as of late, primarily because it’s been a long time since their season aired. But with Winners at War, many of the former Survivors who showed up played with at least one of the winners competing for the two million dollars. Said Cole Medders of the winner of his season, Ben Driebergen, “He’s the reason I got voted out, so I’ve got to make sure he’s a legitimate winner.”
Others who played on a season in which the winner of their season didn’t make the cast still had someone they were rooting for. Max Dawson, who competed in Worlds Apart where Mike Holloway won and inexplicably was snubbed from season 40, said, “I’ve been saying for a long time, Michele. Is the one. To watch.” Chris UnderwoodWh was the champ of Wendy Diaz’s season. She said she’s hoping Sandra pulls it out for a third time, although she doesn’t love the Queen’s chances of doing so. Said Diaz, “I want to see cutthroat.”
The wild premiere party set the stage for what is going to be an epic 39-day adventure for fans to enjoy and for the winners who were out there to relive. While there presumably won’t be the same type of turnout at any other parties this season, many cast members are continuing to throw watch parties around the country, uniting fans and players in their love of Survivor.
Next: Survivor: Rob Cesternino Looks Back at 10 Years of Podcasting
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8pm EST on CBS.
