Survivor 51 · The Open Era

Eric Macksoud

• Age: 34
• Occupation: Mental health counselor
• From: Lincoln, RI, now living in Windsor Locks, CT

The preseason read

Counsellors have quietly one of the better records on this show. The job is getting people to tell you true things in a short conversation, which on Survivor is just information gathering with better manners. Thirty-nine days of exhausted, homesick people is close to a professional home field.

What to watch for

Post-swap adaptability. This profile tends to land softly on a new beach.

Eric has never played Survivor before. Everything above is preseason speculation built from the age, occupation and hometown CBS announced on August 26, 2026 — it is draft-table conversation, not scouting.

About Survivor 51

Survivor 51 is subtitled The Open Era: for the first time, every twist, idol and advantage from the show's first fifty seasons is back in play, in any order and without warning. All 21 players are first-timers, and they start in just two tribes — the first two-tribe season since Winners at War. Filmed in Mamanuca Islands, Fiji. Premieres Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 8/7c on CBS with a two-hour episode. Tribe names and assignments have not been released.