Being marooned on a island and exposed to the elements is a far cry from the luxurious resorts of The White Lotus, but that isn’t stopping Mike White from trading in the luxe life for another shot at Survivor glory.
White, the Emmy-winning creator, writer and director of HBO’s hit anthology, first competed on the show during it’s 2018 season ‘David vs. Goliath,’ and came in second place.
He will return for Season 50 of the cult reality series, featuring 24 players from right across Survivor‘s 25 years. It is set to air in February 2026 on 9Go!.
Despite the rapid rise in his star power following the success of The White Lotus Season 1 in 2021, Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst told CBS Mornings that White was insistent that he return to the series at some point.
“Mike, after he finished playing, said, ‘I want to play again. When White Lotus hit I thought, ‘Well, he’ll never play again.’ But he kept texting and saying, ‘Look, I’m serious. If you ever do anything where you have returning players, I want to play again.’ So we’re happy to have Mike back,” Probst explained.
White will play alongside other legends of the show for a US$1,000,000 prize ($1.55m), and may have a secret weapon up his sleeve when it comes to forming all-important alliances.
The 54-year-old has been known to offer Survivor alum cameo roles in The White Lotus.
His castmates Alec Merlino, Angelina Keeley, Kara Kay and Natalie Cole have all appeared in the series.
Fans of the series were surprised and excited by the announcement.
”I’m shocked he is going back on Survivor. I’ve missed the last few seasons but will definitely be watching Season 50,” one wrote.
READ MORE: Patrick Schwarzenegger dishes on new The White Lotus season
“Never in a million years thought he’d come back since White Lotus took off. Assumed he’d be too busy or whatever… Very excited to see him play again!!” said another.
“Mike’s about to win because they’re all gonna be in an alliance with him to get on the show,” a third joked.
The writer, producer, director and actor has long been a superfan of reality TV competitions. He appeared on The Amazing Race with his dad, Mel, in 2009 and again in 2011, but has spoken many times about Survivor being his ultimate obsession.
After hounding producers for years, White scored himself a spot in the cast of the 37th season ‘David vs. Goliath’.
READ MORE: The complicated 1000-Lb Sisters family tree
“The truth is I was a Survivor fanatic from the beginning,” he told IndieWire in 2018.
“After watching around 35 seasons, my philosophy is, don’t just be a spectator – be a participant. It took a while for me to convince them. But I was down to do it for years.”
Besides The White Lotus, White has more than 50 other writing, producing and acting credits to his name.
Most notably, he wrote beloved Jack Black film School of Rock and also starred as Ned Schneebly, the roommate of Black’s character Dewey Finn.
He also wrote the film The Good Girl, which stars Hollywood heavyweights Jennifer Aniston, Zooey Deschanel and Jake Gyllenhaal, and has writing credits on films including Pitch Perfect 3, Despicable Me 4 and The Emoji Movie.
Survivor Season 49 will be fast tracked on 9Go! later this year, with Season 50 expected to premiere in 2026.
Stream the latest episodes of Survivor US for free on 9Now.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest news from your favourite shows via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
