CBS announced the cast of the new season of Survivor on Wednesday. The 45th Season premieres Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. EDT.
Eighteen contestants become "castaways" on an island competing in challenges that eliminate one each week, sometimes forming alliances to avoid elimination. Season 45 takes place in Fiji and the contestants are as follows:
Single mom divorcee Julie Alley, 49, is an estate attorney from Brentwood, Tenn. In a video introduction, Alley said Survivor: Second Chance Cambodia inspired her to compete. "This is my second chance at life," Alley said.Nicholas Alsup, 30, owns a gym and plays music in O'Fallon, Ill. His middle name is "Sifu" as in a martial arts instructor. Alsup practices Tai Chi and a martial art called Push Hands.Drew Basile, 23, said he expects competitors to compare him to Napoleon Dynamite and The Nutty Professor because of his glasses and curly hair. He is a grad student at University of Pennsylvania who began watching Survivor in middle school.Sabiyah Broderick, 28, is a Marine veteran, heptathlon competitor and truck driver in Jacksonville, N.C. "I've had to sleep outside for weeks at a time," Broderick said.Austin Li Coon, 26, played volleyball in the Junior Olympics. He comes to Fiji from Chicago, Ill., and hopes to find love on Survivor like Amber Brkich married Rob Mariano on the show. "If I could find my Amber out there that would be amazing," Coon said.Brandon Donlon, 26, from Sicklerville, N.J., previously sent application videos to Survivor as an 11-year-old. Donlon said his girlfriend assured him his best strategy is to be himself and "make people laugh."Mormon Sean Edwards, 35, is an elementary school principal in Provo-Orem, Utah. Edwards said coming out in a conservative community "taught me grit, mental tenacity. Those are the attributes that you need to have on Survivor."Emily Flippen, 28, is an investment analyst in Laurel, Md. Flippen admits she will have to overcome her fear of bugs, hatred of sand and tendency to sweat and sunburn.Kaleb Gabrewold, 29, learned several businesses on the job including his current software sales position in Vancouver, so he feels ready to learn Survivor. "I'm like a Black Huckleberry Finn," Gabrewold said.Janani Krishnan-Jha, 24, gave up a slot at Harvard to sing in Los Angeles, under the name J. Maya. She said Survivor need not be cutthroat. "I would love to make some friends," Krishann-Jha said. "Why not?"Brandon Meyer, 23, said he already digs for bugs as a software developer in Seattle, Wash. Meyer also wants to sample the Survivor pizza prize for winning challenges.Kendra McQuarrie, 31, said being a bartender was good training for pretending to like people from whom she needs something. Currently from Steamboat Springs, Colo., McQuarrie follows backpacking and van living adventures on Fiji.New York critical care nurse Kellie Nalbandian, 30, hopes competitors underestimate her nursing skills as limited to "just wiping butts" so she can prove them wrong. She also hopes to be the first lesbian Survivor winner.Jake O'Kane, 26, multitasks as a lawyer, children's theater teacher and bartender in Boston, Ma. O'Kane has also lost weight and considers himself "at the best point in my life to play this game."Insurance agent Bruce Perreault, 47, returns from Warwick, R.I., after suffering a concussion on Day 1 of Season 44. Perreault hopes to avoid becoming a father figure as he felt in his limited time that season. "I need to not be dad," Perreault said.Baltimore City, Md., therapist Hannah Rose, 33, finds the psychology of Survivor fascinating. However, Rose has learned from recovering from alcoholism and from previous therapists who competed. "I'm not counseling out here," Rose said.Brooklyn civil rights attorney Katurah Topps, 35, said being a Black queer woman heightened her survival skills. "I am constantly in survival mode because of that," Topps said.Entrepreneur Dee Valladares, 26, said immigrating from Cuba to Miami taught her to hustle since she began working at age 14. "Being an immigrant, I have grit," Valladares said.