Survivor 51 · The Open Era
Eric Macksoud
- Age
- 34
- Occupation
- Mental health counselor
- From
- Lincoln, RI · lives in Windsor Locks, CT
A licensed mental health counsellor in Windsor Locks and a Clark University alum who spends his off hours in community theatre. He points at the theatre, not the therapy room, as the Survivor training: every show drops him into a new group of strangers he has weeks to bond with.
GAME STATE
Lost his fellow Rhode Islander when Rob quit, then banked immunity with Savu. A target the moment Savu loses again. +3.
Eric's season so far
- Season
- +2
- Solo
- −4
- Tribe wins
- 2
- of 21
- #17
- Episode 3“What I’m Smellin’ Is Stinky”+3TRIBE1 win +3
- Episode 2“Weaponized Honesty”−2
Rob Tries to Vote Himself OutRob promised Eric that something history-making was coming, then tried to write his own name at Tribal. A producer stopped him because it's against the rules, so he wrote Eric's name anyway. The idol is still in his bag.4 votes against, survived−4In on the blindside+2 - Episode 1“Permanent Uncertainty”+1Cringe moment−2TRIBE1 win +3
Eric plays like…
Matched on Eric's game so far (blindsider). It changes as the season does.
Eric's orbit
As of Episode 3. Closer means a stronger bond. From the votes, the scenes the recaps wrote up, and relationships our editors have confirmed.
Bonds
Against
- Rob · rivalBoth from Rhode Island. Rob decided only one of them could stay and turned on Eric in Episode 1, pushed his name in Episode 2, then tried to save him at Tribal. Ended when Rob quit.
- Ana · voted againstVoted for each other (Ep 2).
- Carter · voted againstCarter voted for Eric (Ep 2).
- Ori · voted againstOri voted for Eric (Ep 2).
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.
Off the island
- 1He performs with the Opera House Players and the K and E Theatre Group.
- 2Clark University class of 2013.
- 3He passed the LMHC licensing exam on his fourth attempt, and names not giving up as his proudest accomplishment.
- 4He is trained in Muay Thai and swam competitively from age 8 through college.
In Eric's words
- What prepared him
- “Being involved in community theater has definitely prepared me for Survivor.”
- Who he identifies with
- “a charming, slightly sassy East Coast Italian American like me.”
Answers given to CBS and published by Entertainment Weekly, August 2026.
TREEMAIL
Latest articles & podcasts featuring Eric
Eric has never played Survivor before. The preseason read and what to watch for are speculation built from the age, occupation and hometown CBS announced on August 26, 2026 — draft-table conversation, not scouting. The biography, facts and quotes come from Eric's published cast questionnaire and press coverage. Now that the season is airing, we're replacing the guesswork with what actually happens.
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. Premiered Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 8/7c on CBS with a two-hour episode.
More to explore
The Cast
All 21 first-timers, ranked 1–21, with the numbers behind the cast list.
Head to Head
Any two castaways side by side: points by kind, episode by episode, and what they shared on screen.
Elimination Order
Who went home, when, and how the boot order is shaping up.
Survivor Bingo
Free printable watch-party cards. Share the link, share the card.