The Rizgod reigns: Survivor season 49 returns in full force

The most-watched Emmy-nominated series of 2025 is back with its 49th season and is just getting started after two diabolically entertaining episodes. The premiere of season 49 of Survivor took place on Sept. 24 and will continue to release episodes every Wednesday until the two part finale, taking place on Dec. 17. With the second episode airing yesterday, it is my duty as the Newshouse Survivor superfan to provide what and who you need to know to fully enjoy this season of the greatest reality TV program in the history of existence.

What You Need to Know

The first two episodes of Season 49 have been defined by the dominance of two tribes in comparison to the disaster of the other tribe. The Kele tribe has yet to win a single challenge, forcing themselves to send two tribemates home in back-to-back episodes. Both the Hina and Uli tribes, however, seem to be heading in the right direction despite some minor cracks beginning to form.

The swan songs from Kele’s Nicolle Mazullo of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Annie Davis of Austin, Texas were relatively obvious from an editing perspective. Nicolle was given a remarkably strange edit where she was seen spitting water in a teammate’s face during a challenge and then later vomiting all over the place before the tribal council. Annie was shown to be completely oblivious to her surroundings while thinking she was the so-called “puppet master” of her tribe. Both players were voted out unanimously by the Kele tribe.

Who You Need to Know

There are currently three players that you need to watch moving forward throughout the rest of Survivor season 49.

MC Chukwujekwu is one of two season 49 alternates who were added to the final cast just a few days before production started, and she couldn’t be in a better place right now. MC is a 29-year-old fitness trainer from San Diego, California, who is on the Hina tribe. The San Diego native formed strong connections with her tribemates, leaving multiple people in the tribe begging for an alliance with her.

Rizo Velovic is a current member of the Uli tribe and has already joined a four-person alliance in his tribe alongside someone that I will mention later. The Rizgod (as he proudly likes to call himself) is a 25-year-old tech salesman from Yonkers, New York, who is proudly the first player of Albanian descent on Survivor. Rizo is a chaotic force of nature who throws around Gen Z slang and isn’t afraid to make a mess.

My Current Pick to Win

The third player you need to keep an eye on is also a part of the Uli tribe. Savannah Louie is a 31-year-old former reporter from Atlanta, Georgia, who currently has all of the tools to win this season of Survivor.

The 31-year-old member of the Uli tribe reminds me of a mixture between former fan favorite Rick Devins and former winner Dee Valladeres. Savannah holds nothing back from the audience in her confessionals and seems to be a part of a rock-solid four-person alliance. The producers seem to already be giving Savannah a really good edit and Jeff Probst has nothing but good things to say about the former reporter on the On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Only Survivor Podcast. Jeff even compares her to Richard Hatch (the first winner of Survivor) in the first episode of the podcast.

Survivor is one of the longest-running shows in America for a reason. The chaos, lies, and deception are only half of the fun. You can catch the next episode of Survivor Season 49 on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS or the next day on Paramount+.