Survivor 51 · The Open Era

Kristin Flickinger

• Age: 49
• Occupation: Crisis management
• From: Ketchum, ID, now living in Santa Barbara, CA

The preseason read

The oldest player in the cast at 49, in a profession that is literally about staying calm and controlling the story when everything is on fire. Older players in the New Era have had a genuinely rough time — first boots or first-swap casualties — so the age risk is real. But crisis management is the exact skill the Open Era's unpredictability should reward.

What to watch for

Surviving the first two votes. If she is there at the swap, she is there for a while.

Kristin 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.