Detailed Info

Survivor: Redemption Island is the 20 second season of the American CBS reality show. It is scheduled to air from February 16, 2011 through May 2011. The 22nd season of Survivor introduces a new concept, "Redemption Island" to the United States series based in part to the "Outcast" tribe from Survivor: Pearl Islands, and already used in foreign versions of the show, as The Island of the Dead in the Israeli version, Isla Purgatoryo in the Philippine version's second season and the Swedish Expedition: Robinson 2002. When a contestant is voted off their tribe, instead of leaving the game, they are taken to the area known as Redemption Island. There, they will have to sustain themselves in the same manner as when they were with their tribe, living on limited food and water supplies and shelter. When the next contestant is voted off, they are also sent to Redemption Island, and the two people will face off in a duel challenge. The winner remains in the game, living at Redemption Island, while the loser is finally removed from the game. At pre-determined points in the game, the person at Redemption Island will have a chance to return to the game and be reunited with the remaining players in the game.

Host Jeff Probst compared the concept to the Pearl Island's Outcast tribe, stating that the concept did not seem to work well with the audience because the Outcast twist was not revealed to the players ahead of time, and was considered unfair to the remaining players in the game. With Redemption Island, the players will be told at the start of the game of the existence and rules of Redemption Island, and Probst will expect this to have an impact on how the tribes will vote out members. Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross postulates that due to the Redemption Island duel as part of each episode, all regular challenges in the show will be combined Reward/Immunity challenges until the tribes have been merged