Survivor 46

Survivor 46 is the forty-sixth season of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. It premiered on February 28, 2024, on CBS in the United States, and was the fourteenth consecutive season to be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. The season ended on May 22, 2024, when Kenzie Petty was crowned the winner, defeating Charlie Davis and Ben Katzman in a 5-3-0 vote.

Production
On February 21, 2023, CBS renewed Survivor for its forty-fifth and forty-sixth seasons. A preview for season 46 was released on December 20, 2023, right after the finale of Survivor 45 was aired. Sneak peeks of the castaways' audition tapes were released on the Survivor Instagram account in the form of a story, which were deleted after twenty-four hours.

The season observed strict safety protocols just as in seasons 41 to 45, and continued to feature the reduced 26 days of gameplay, with 18 contestants starting in three tribes, as with every season since season 41. Survivor 46 and The Amazing Race 36 retained the 90-minute runtime; the first two episodes of Survivor 46 each ran for two hours.

Contestants
The cast of 18 contestants was announced on February 5, 2024. Notable castaways this season include former BET on-air personality Tiffany Nicole Ervin.

Season summary
Eighteen new castaways were divided into three tribes of six: Nami, Siga, and Yanu. Yanu fared the worst in challenges, leaving only Kenzie, Tiffany, and Q. Siga was spearheaded by a strong alliance and friendship of Charlie and Maria, who eliminated Jem with an idol in her pocket. Nami went undefeated in challenges, but the mistrust throughout the tribe hindered their ability to stay united.

Before the merge, Hunter, Tim and Q met together on a journey and decided to join forces at the merge, with each of the men choosing an ally from their tribe (Tevin, Maria, and Tiffany, respectively) to join them and form a majority, called the 6. However, Maria defected from them, joining Charlie and the others in eliminating the 6 and other major threats (including Hunter, Tiffany, Venus, and Q also getting voted out with idols.)

At the final six, Charlie and Maria turned on each other. Charlie prevailed, and he, Kenzie and Ben made it to the final three. Kenzie was praised for her social game while Charlie was commended for his strategic prowess. In the end, Kenzie won in a 5-3-0 vote over Charlie and Ben, respectively.

Voting history

 * Notes

Reception
Survivor 46 received mostly positive reviews. Praise was given to the cast and the abundance of stand-out moments during the season but the season was also criticised for its disproportionate editing, particularly during the pre-merge. Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross ranked the season 21st out of 45, praising the season's strong cast and presence of drama and rivalries that had been missing from recent seasons.