Survivor is arguably one of the best reality shows of all time, and is responsible for influencing countless projects that followed since its 2000 debut. Two seasons air every year on CBS and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, and all eyes are on what's happening with Survivor 50, which will feature returning players. That includes three-time player Coach Wade, and a wild story about him is already running around prior to the season's premiere in February.
The cast list of Survivor 50 is pretty stacked, with OGs and New Era contestants set to clash in Fiji. While fans wonder how much money Survivor contestants make, I'm always fascinated by the BTS stories that we don't see when watching. We got some great ones courtesy of EW, including a story about Coach getting frustrated in the pre-game, where he was asked to stay in a tent and not talk to his fellow castaways. As the Dragon Slayer himself tells it:
This shit here wouldn't have flown with some of the old schoolers. They would've been like, 'Fuck this. We're talking.' I said out loud to the handler, 'Has anybody ever just gone fucking crazy and just run out of the tent?' We were there for 11 or 12 hours. There were times when we were on seasons and me and Boston Rob and Tyson, we'd be like, 'Fuck that. Open the door. We got to go pee. This is bullshit!'
Yikes. That's a ton of time to ask to stay still and quiet, so I understand that it was frustrating for Coach. It sounds like that type of lockdown didn't happen in his first three seasons, and the 54-year-old TV personality got hot about not being able to even speak during that time. I just wish the cameras were up so fans could see this outburst ourselves.
Coach was part of some of the best Survivor seasons, including my personal favorite Heroes vs Villains. But things have changed, and the pre-game lockdown seems to be a point of contention for him. He wasn't the only contestant from Season 50 to talk about this story, during the same interview Season 48's Kamilla told her version of the same incident. As she said:
Coach was losing his mind the first day. He was asking one of the handlers, 'Has anyone ever ran out of the tents because they lost their mind?' And she's like, 'No.' And he turned to me and is like, 'I'm about to do it.' I'm like, What the fuck is going on, Coach?'
Coach clearly made a big impression with the New Era players, and it should be interesting to see if that helps or hurts him as we get deeper into Survivor 50. Rizo admitted to seeing him practicing Tai Chi at LAX, showing that he was as a big of a character IRL as he appears on TV.
Some of the New Era players were actually taken by Coach's originality, including the tent incident (aka tentgate). Genevieve from Season 47 spoke highly about her first impression of him, offering:
It is enthralling to see someone who appears to just be so comfortable in their own skin doing and saying whatever the hell they want at any given moment, social norms be damned.
She's not wrong. This is no doubt why Coach Wade was originally cast in Tocantins, before being asked to return for both Heroes vs. Villains and South Pacific. He's getting his fourth chance at competing in Season 50, we'll just have to wait and see if he's able to finally pull off the win and be named Sole Survivor.
Survivor 50 will premiere on February 25th as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Hopefully, we get a full-length trailer sooner rather than later, as it'll arrive on screen in a month and change.
