Russell Hantz is back ... but not where you might have expected!
If you are a Survivor super fan, you better know the name Russell Hantz. Whether you like him or not, Russell has proven himself to be a force on the American version of the reality-competition show. Unfortunately, even though he has made to the Final Tribal Council twice and has played the game three times, the title of "Sole Survivor" and the money that goes along with it has never been bestowed upon him. That could all change though as Russell Hantz is now hoping the fourth time playing Survivor will be the charm. However, in order to finally complete his nearly ten year quest, the self-described "Idol King" is taking his manipulative mind down under as he will be competing on Australian Survivor.
Back in 2002, after the success of the American series, Australia decided it was there turn to test some of the countries most adventurous people by producing their own Survivor series. The first season was basically a replication of America's season two, Survivor: The Australia Outback. Due to low ratings, the show was cancelled but Australian Survivor was revived for a second season with celebrity castaways that aired in 2006. The show was then cancelled for a second time. Two years ago, the Aussies decided to give Survivor another chance, and to the delight of Australia's Network Ten, the channel in which the show airs on, Australian Survivor was a success.
So far, two seasons of the new Australian Survivor have been produced with a third currently airing now. For it's latest installment, the show has jumped on the theme bandwagon that it's American counterpart has been stuffing our throats with. However, unlike the American season themes which are becoming outlandish and almost comical, Australian Survivor has come up with a clever theme that makes sense for a game like Survivor, "Champions vs. Contenders."
The "Champions" tribe consists of individuals who have excelled in their line of work and can be called the best of the best in their field. Some of the castaways include a five-time Olympic gold medalist, a World Series of Poker player, a former Special Forces Commando and an astrophysicist. The "Contenders" tribe consists of everyday people who might be considered the underdog in many situations because they haven't quite yet reached the top. Their group of castaways include a sales representative, a builder, a construction manager and Hunter from Gladiators, the Australian version of the hit television show from our side of the world, American Gladiators.
From the description of the two tribes, you might be saying to yourself, "that theme sounds a bit familiar." Well, next season of American Survivor is titled Survivor: David vs. Goliath which features a battle between so-called "underdogs" and so-called "topdogs." If you compare the two themes, David vs. Goliath and Champions vs. Contenders, they are pretty much the same thing and are synonymous with each other. Officially, Champions vs. Contenders was announced to the world first via social media on November 9, 2017 compared to the release of the David vs. Goliath teaser at the Survivor: Ghost Island finale on May 23. This begs the question as to whether CBS copied the generic theme from the Aussies because they needed a new, compelling idea and simply just changed the name.
What also makes the comparison interesting is both seasons, despite filming on different specific island groups, marooned their castaways on beaches in Fiji. Survivor has made Fiji it's permanent filming location since season 33, Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, and this is Australian Survivor's first go-around in Fiji after two seasons filming in Samoa. Someone very familiar with the island nation of Samoa is Russell Hantz, who competed twice there during seasons 19 and 20 of Survivor, Survivor: Samoa and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Russell will now get his first chance to prove himself worthy of the "Sole Survivor" title in Fiji and to do so he needed to join the cast of Australian Survivor, and not get on another season of American Survivor, to be given the opportunity.
Russell Hantz is, hands down, one of the best Survivor players the game has ever seen. He is certainly a Game Changer, despite ridiculously not being chosen or even asked to compete on season 34, Survivor: Game Changers. Russell was to first person to find a hidden immunity idol without a clue, in back-to-back seasons he orchestrated a number of memorable moves and blindsides, and he basically gave a rebirth to the term "Survivor Villain."
Based on his game play, he was robbed of the victory twice and many viewers felt the same way. In season 22, Survivor: Redemption Island, he returned to the game for a third time but was voted out third after his tribe stupidly threw the challenge just so they could vote him out. Russell unfortunately ended up losing his "Redemption Island" duel and was out of the game for good after 88 consecutive Survivor days.
After an emotional ending, Russell dropped his buff in the urn and exited the game for the very first time. In a confessional that aired after his send-off, Russell said that Redemption Island was going to be his last time playing Survivor because he has nothing left to prove to himself or his family. With that statement, Russell must of meant that it was his last time playing the American version of the show and left international versions of Survivor open. Just like Michael Phelps got the itch to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympics after retiring at the London 2012 Olympics, Russell got bit by the Survivor bug yet again, and although he technically isn't competing on Australian soil, the taste of potential victory led him to Australian Survivor.
It seems like jet lag never set in for Mr. Hantz as he starts hyping himself up as soon as he appears on the screen. During a 14 minute sneak peak of the new season that was released, the first thing the always humble Russell says is, "If you don't know me, you've been living under a rock for the last ten years. I'm the greatest player the world has ever seen." Now, you might think Russell would have a huge advantage playing Australian Survivor because the castaways are not going to know who he is, so there won't be any notion of immediately voting him out just because he's Russell Hantz. However, that isn't necessarily the case.
Australia has been airing the American version of Survivor from the very beginning, so any Aussie fan of the game is sure to know who Russell is. Plus, don't forget about that little thing called YouTube. As you can see from above, there are plenty of Survivor videos devoted just to Russell's time on the show, meaning his game can be studied from 10,000 miles away and his celebrity status in the Survivor world can certainly travel across continents. In fact, as soon as Russell walked in as a member of the "Champions" tribe, a couple of the "Contenders" tribe members instantly recognized him and pointed him out. In addition, Zach, A.K.A. Hunter from Gladiators, when asked by host and Jeff Probst wannabe Jonathan LaPaglia if any of the "Champions" concern him, Zach replies, "It's good seeing Russell."
Of course, Russell can't help but start the "Champions" half of the opening conversation off with a remark of warning to the "Contenders," saying, "We're Champions for a reason." LaPaglia then responds by asking Russell, "What makes you a champion?" This is where Russell gets a bit on the defensive, probably because he doesn't want to blow his cover too much just in case some of the castaways really don't know who he is. Instead of barking about how he is a two-time Survivor finalist who is the greatest to ever play the game, Russell intelligently just says, "I've played the game before."
As Jeff Probst has said previously about Russell, he is polarizing to watch, and there's no doubt he will be as, if not more, polarizing to watch on Australian Survivor. To win this game though, it's going to be tougher than any of his three previous Survivor experiences because the season is longer and there are more castaways than in America. Even though it's not 55 days like the last two seasons of Australian Survivor, Champions vs. Contenders will last 50 days, which is 11 more days than how long a traditional American season runs. In addition, instead of a cast of 20 or 18, there is a total of 24 people being marooned in Fiji, making the odds of Russell winning less than ever before.
No American castaway has ever traveled to play on an international version of the show, so once again Russell Hantz is making Survivor franchise history. However, to win the $500,000 prize, which might sound like chump change to Russell since he played three times for $1,000,000, he better hope that he can find idols as easy as he did on Samoa, manipulate the opposing tribe like he did on Heroes vs. Villains and not get the Zapatera treatment like on Redemption Island.
Russell playing on Australian Survivor has been a rumor for a little while now, but to know it's true and to see him back on a show where he belongs and thrives is a Survivor dream. If Boston Rob could win the game on his fourth attempt, so can Russell, and if anyone finally deserves to get all the jury votes necessary to claim the title of "Sole Survivor," it's Russell Hantz.
Brad Fact: On this season of Australian Survivor, the tribe buff colors are red and blue, the same colors featured as tribe buff colors on Russell Hantz's second season, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. As part of the "Villains" tribe on the American version, Russell wore a red buff. However, as a member of the "Champions" tribe on Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders, Russell will wear a blue buff.