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For 39-year-old pop culture fiend and cinema manager Eden Porter, being cast in the new series of Australian Survivor was the culmination of a decades-long dream. He has been a fan of the series since he was a 16-year-old high school student when the US version launched to immediate success in 2000. Porter has auditioned for the last eight Australian series, even applying for the US green card lottery in an attempt to get on the American show.
Australian Survivor: Titans v Rebels contestants Eden Porter (left) and Viola Jokudu.
“I am a super fan,” says Porter. “It has been a goal of mine to get on this show for more than half my life. I feel like Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka. I got the golden ticket to Samoa, except it’s not chocolate, it’s coconut and rice.”
Porter could not have been chosen at a better time, with Australian Survivor riding a wave of global acclaim, boosted by the masterful gameplay of George Mladenov, better known as King George, in last year’s Heroes v Villains series. The New York Times included Australian Survivor in its round-up of the best TV episodes of 2023, saying: “American Survivor is still a delight, but this iteration currently wears the crown”.
The all-new cast of Australian Survivor: Titan v Rebels on location in Samoa.
Fellow Survivor contestant Viola Jokudu (who eagle-eyed television viewers might recognise as the receptionist from The Dog House Australia) agrees the local series is at a peak. “The last season was phenomenal,” says the 24-year-old powerlifter. “In Australian Survivor, the amount of strategy and gameplay and entertainment you get watching it is pretty unparalleled, especially the most recent seasons.”
Hosted again by Jonathan LaPaglia, the new season is tagged Titans v Rebels, with the titans comprising experts and overachievers, while the rebels play by their own rules. For Jokudu, being cast as a titan was flattering and intimidating.
Last year’s Australian Survivor: Heroes v Villains was rated one the year’s best shows by The New York Times.
“Titans v Rebels, that is a very daunting title, right?” says Jokudu. “When they selected me to be a titan, I was like, ‘Oh my god, they think I’m this amazing person that has all these achievements.’ But when I really sat down to think about it, I was like, ‘wait a minute, I’m going to be on a team of 11 other people that have their own achievements that either parallel mine or are far greater. I’m going to be on a team with the absolute guns of the game’. It was daunting.”
Porter and Jokudu devised their own preparations before flying out to Samoa. For Porter, he was 3D printing puzzles to solve and building objects in his backyard to practise balancing on.