by Thinus Ferreira
Filming of M-Net's upcoming 9th season of Survivor South Africa will take place early in 2022 with new and unexpected twists - very likely once again somewhere in South Africa due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic - with players from all previous South African seasons who are being considered for the new "all-stars" season who never made it to the final Tribal Council.
At the MultiChoice Showcase 2021 M-Net confirmed a media query first made by TVwithThinus earlier that Survivor SA has been renewed for a 9th season that will be broadcast on the channel from July 2022.
M-Net (DStv 101) tells TVwithThinus in response to another media query this week that M-Net can't disclose the specific location of the 9th season of Survivor SA that is subtitled "Survivor SA: Return of the Outcasts".
This is likely due to the production company Afrokaans - with Handrie Basson as executive producer and Leroux Botha as creative producer and series director of the South African version of the reality competition series - that wants to keep prying eyes away during filming.
M-Net and the production company also don't want to disclose the exact dates and duration period of filming to maintain the confidentiality of the production, although filming will likely again take place over about a month and a half of on-location shooting somewhere in South Africa with Nico Panagio back as the host of the local version of the Banijay format reality competition.
According to Afrokaans, all previous Survivor SA seasons' players are eligible to make a comeback in Survivor SA: Return of the Outcasts, and are being considered for the new season.
"The casting process has not yet been completed but all previous seasons' players are eligible and being considered for the new season," says M-Net.
As to which players specifically are eligible, Afrokaans says "none of the players eligible for the 9th season would have made it to the final Tribal Council of their season and all will have a score to settle".
Survivor South Africa season 9 will once again be filmed within a tightly-controlled Covid-19 safe production bubble with potential cast and crew screened with PCR tests. M-Net says that all Covid-19 safety protocols will once more be in place for the production.
As to why Afrokaans and M-Net went for an "all-stars" 9th season? "After Survivor SA season 8 and calls from viewers to see previous players return to the game, it was decided that the time was right for a returning players season," M-Net says.
Will the 9th season - that will clearly be as gruelling and mentally and physically exhausting as previous seasons of Survivor SA - be even more difficult, with more difficult challenges since it's returning players who know a bit more and already have first-hand experience of the game?
"As Survivor SA fans have become accustomed to, the new season will include new and exciting twists and turns that are unexpected - even for returning players," Afrokaans says. "However, with a bunch of contestants who have already played this game once, they are all better equipped to Outwit, Outplay and Outlast."
A preliminary title card for Survivor SA: Return of the Outcasts yields a tantalising first clue: micromaze symbols in the shape of an upside-down red triangle (nabla), a blue hexagon and a yellow square.
