MAKE SURVIVOR SA GREAT AGAIN. From a mankini, a sleeping bag on Lion's Head and a dog ornament from grandma's house, the hilarious - and heartfelt - entry videos for the 7th season on M-Net will make your jaw drop.

As entries are flooding in to "help make Survivor SA great again", ordinary South Africans are surprising with their eye-popping homemade videos that range from funny to heartfelt, and interesting to zany as people show and explain why they want to be contestants in the upcoming 7th season of M-Net's Survivor SA: Island of Secrets.

There's the man in the neon green mankini, the one who recreated tribal council with grandma's glass dog ornament, the one in a sleeping bag on Lion's Head and the woman who reveals her struggle with infertility.

The new season of the Afrokaans produced series that will be shown on M-Net (DStv 101) in 2019 is for the first time only accepting video auditions, with the producers who figured that cellphone camera use in South Africa has become so ubiquitous that it wouldn't limit the type and quality of entries they get. They were right.

Even more surprising - and not that it's necessary for people who enter to do that - is the level of video editing skills displayed by people, who have to tell the producers about themselves in their video, what they do, why they want to be on Survivor South Africa, and why they would make a great contestant.

In just two weeks South Africans using their cellphones have recorded and uploaded humorous and fascinating videos trying to get the producers attention, with entries for Survivor SA: Island of Secrets that close on 30 September at www.mnet.tv/survivorsa.

Jason Brookstein who hilariously wants to "make Survivor SA great again", wants to build a wall that separates the tribes and says he has "lost count how many fish I've caught with my bare hands". As an engineering draughtsman, he says he will build better shelters than previous contestants did on the show. Tarzan is his spirit animal.

Noma Ngubane (36) from Pretoria who says she's a staunch fan of Survivor SA, says former winner Hykie Berg was the best and that she's "ready - physically, mentally - I am so ready. I've been ready".

Guy Dalamakis (20) from Stellenbosch who lives off of grass and plants and who "can sleep just about anywhere" says he will be able to survive on a barren island with little water since he's from the Western Cape.

Nolene Wessels (22) says one of her skills is finding clear water and that she's excellent at building a shelter.

Peet Liebenberg (29), a civil engineer from Cape Town who says being on Survivor has been a childhood dream of his and still is and that he loves the sound of "Island of Secrets", got testimonials from his friends who says "he can braai and he's proudly South Africa", and that he can "definitely cook rice".

Kagiso Katametsi says he would "represent the technical guys, the blue-collar guys" and that "after many years of watching the game I feel like the time has now come for me to enter the game".

Wedding photographer Aline Strydom (29) said she wants to be on Survivor because she is a survivor and revealed her struggle with infertility for five and a half years in her video entry. She says she knows how to "find common ground with all types of people and relate" and that "I want to show that I'm much more than infertile. So choose me, pick me. Let me be a castaway on that Island of Secrets."

The politics student Phumezo Jijana from Port Elizabeth says Survivor "is the best reality game created on Earth. It's gold." He says "it would be a huge check off my bucket list. This is the game to be in".

Frances Bezuidenhout (27) told the producers she's living "in a land far, far away from any paradise. Pretoria". In her video she searches for immunity idols and explain why she should be picked. In the end she lifts her dog out of the plants.

Steven van der Merwe (27) from Benoni who rode a bicycle from Durban to Benoni says he has been working in sales for the past 8 years and can influence people.

Dino Paulo who does skydiving asked friends and family to weigh in on if he should enter, as well as the cat, Bella.

Jason Moses (26) says he's a master builder because he builds Lego with his son. He says he wants to be a contestant to show that "you're more than just an everyday worker".

Marius Heyns (32) from Krugersdorp sat on the stoep, complete with torches, and apologises for not having a Nico Panagio or a fancy dragon at tribal council "but what I do have is "a common little glass dog that I borrowed from ouma's house". If he gets a place on the show, he says he will miss his "sanity sticks" (cigarettes).

Lenny Gorgulho (38) says "I love the game of Survivor. It reflects life greatly, you've got to make the right decisions, the best alliances".

Wayne Vorster (36), a personal trainer who've entered every Survivor SA since the beginning and who says he compares himself to Zavion Kotze, says "I've made a promise to my dad before he passed away that I'll be in Survivor one day and that I'll actually win it. And this is still a promise that I want to keep".

TV CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK. That coolest M-Net announcement that came at the end of the Survivor SA: Phillipines finale, and what viewers don't actually realise it means.

On Thursday night Tom Schwartz from Port Elizabeth was announced as the winner of Survivor South Africa: Philippines on M-Net (DStv 101) but the coolest announcement was actually what host Nico Panagio started teasing midway through and revealed right at the end: that M-Net has renewed Survivor SA for a 7th season in 2019 that will be entitled "Island of Secrets" and that entries has opened.

Many South Africans viewers don't realise what this actually really means and signifies about M-Net, about Survivor, and about Survivor South Africa, produced by Afrokaans.

South Africa isn't America.

And our much-smaller TV industry - where commissioning of shows and scheduling works more like the British TV system than the American one, and less local content is produced than what gets made in the United States - doesn't really have the "luxury" of being able to announce another season of a show right at the back-end of a just completed season.

While the American Survivor on CBS has always announced the next season at the end of the reunion show, it's been virtually impossible for South Africa because these decisions for big-budget shows take much more time.

This makes what M-Net and Survivor South Africa pulled off on Thursday night when it announced Island of Secrets, extremely groundbreaking, significant and special.

During the post-show press briefing a crucial part of this puzzle, is what became my most important question to ask: When during the just completed 6th season did M-Net decide to renew the show?

Kay Ann Williams, M-Net's head of local content and independent films for M-Net channels, explained that the decision was made midway during this season after analysing the ratings and viewer response.

It's incredible that M-Net was able to push to get all of the necessary paperwork and all of the must-sign-off-on's out of the way in order to make the announcement of Island of Secrets at the end of Survivor SA: Philippines.

It's a very smart and positive move, and a win-win for M-Net and for Survivor South Africa.

I would personally not be surprised if Survivor: Island of Secrets manages to get the most entries ever. Buzz builds buzz.

By announcing the next season immediately, M-Net and Survivor SA's new season can capitalise and build on the existing excitement, buzz, energy and general awareness of the programme.

It means that less effort and money needs to be spent by M-Net on marketing and publicity because the South African public and viewers know the show and haven't "forgotten" about it.

It also signals to people that M-Net remains serious about, and focused on, Survivor SA as a strong programme for the channel.

That in turn tells the media and the audience that Survivor South Africa is a programme that matters, deserves attention and is a desirable TV property to be a part of - like being a contestant in it.

Well done to M-Net for pulling off this announcement during the end of the show and everything it must have required from numerous people behind-the-scenes to get it greenlit and for the announcement to go ahead during the actual broadcast of the season finale.

The renewal announcement made Survivor SA and M-Net just that little bit more "American" in the best sense of the word - a plus for viewers, and for South Africa's local TV biz.

BREAKING. Tom Schwartz who lost 16 kg on the island, wins Survivor South Africa: Phillipines as M-Net announces a 7th season called Island of Secrets for 2019.

On Thursday night the adventure camp organiser Tom Schwartz (41) from Port Elizabeth was announced the winner of the 6th season of M-Net's (DStv 101) Survivor South Africa: Phillipines and won R1 million, with the pay-TV channel immediately announcing a 7th season entitled "Island of Secrets" for broadcast in 2019, and opening the call for entries for 18 new contestants.

The season finale of Survivor SA: Philippines was broadcast as a special 2-hour live finale done from the Silverline Studios in Cape Town.

It was the first time a Survivor SA finale took place outside of Johannesburg in the local series' six seasons - first showing days 38 and 39 and the last immunity challenge and jury grilling, before switching to the live, in-studio winner announcement, and a 40-minute reunion show with the contestants.

In a massive improvement and glorious fan-service, Afrokaans that took over production of Survivor South Africa finally for the first time gave DStv subscribers what they wanted and should get: a proper reunion show instead of a few minuted at the end.

Host Nico Panagio asked all of the clean-scrubbed contestants questions and cleverly elicited explainers, feedback and comments from them on various things that happened, and what happened since they've left the island, in front of the in-studio audience.

Nico Panagio ended the show with a teased "big announcement" - that Survivor South Africa will be back for a 7th season in 2019 and that entries are opening immediately.

At the post-show press conference, Tom Schwartz, who lost 16 kg during his 39 days sent on the island, was asked what he wants to do with his R1 million and he said he wants to buy the house he is living in with his family "so that there never comes a time when my family doesn't have one".

About watching himself on television Tom Schwartz said "Do I really look that fat? And, why am I sitting like that? So watching yourself on TV there's little idiosyncrasies that you find out about yourself  - from Mickey Mouse things to holy hell things."

Here's some of the 6th season live studio finale of Survivor SA: Phillipines in pictures: